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Libertarians choose N.M. Gov. Gary Johnson as presidential nominee

By Shawn Price
Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson won the nomination of the Libertarian Party on Sunday and chose former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld as his running mate. Johnson and Weld are both former Republicans. After his nomination, Johnson called presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump's immigration policies "Just racist." Photo by Ron Hill/Wikipedia.
Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson won the nomination of the Libertarian Party on Sunday and chose former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld as his running mate. Johnson and Weld are both former Republicans. After his nomination, Johnson called presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump's immigration policies "Just racist." Photo by Ron Hill/Wikipedia.

ORLANDO, Fla., May 29 (UPI) -- The Libertarian Party on Sunday chose two former Republican governors as its 2016 presidential and vice-presidential nominees.

In choosing former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson as the presidential nominee, and former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld as the vice presidential nominee, Libertarians put forward their most experienced ticket in party history. Johnson was the party's nominee in 2012 as well.

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The experience of two somewhat well-known, formerly elected officials also raises party hopes they can present a viable and serious alternative to voters displeased with either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, whom polls show are the two most disliked presumptive presidential nominees in history.

As soon as the ticket was set, Johnson fired away on Trump, calling the billionaire real estate mogul and reality TV star's policies immigration policies "just racist"

RELATED The issues: Presidential candidates worlds apart on immigration policy

Weld tried to talk up their own record.

"Someone doesn't have to be disaffected with Ms. Clinton to think that we have a good story," Weld said. "One doesn't have to be Never Trump to see that we were two of the most fiscally conservative governors in the United States."

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Despite never attracting more than about 1 percent of the presidential vote, a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll showed almost half of the country is interested in the possibility of a third party alternative, with Johnson gathering 10 percent support in a recent Fox News poll.

The Libertarian Party is also on the ballot in all 50 states, giving the entire country at least the opportunity to consider them as an alternative.

"At a minimum, I think we're in the presidential debates," Johnson told cheering fans at the Orlando convention, and offered a glimpse of the what a Libertarian presence at the presidential debate might sound like. "How about some skeptic at the table when it comes to these military interventions?"

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