2012 Elections

House Republican Minority Leader John Boehner said earlier this summer that if the Republicans regain control of the House this year, among the initiatives they would likely consider would be raising the age of social security retirement to 70. Most New Mexico congressional candidates, including incumbent Democrats Martin Heinrich and Harry Teague, as well as Republican challengers Jon Barela and Steve Pearce, offered varying degrees of resistance to that idea. Democrat Ben Ray Lujan was vague in his answer, while his challenger, Tom Mullins, said the retirement age will “undoubtedly” be raised.

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson has usually been quick to quell questions about a potential presidential bid, telling media outlets he can’t simultaneously pursue a presidential nomination and work with Our America, a nonprofit organization he leads.
But during an interview Thursday in Waterloo, Iowa, Johnson was asked when he’d decide if he’d run for president. The [...]

“A hickie from Kenicke is like a Hallmark Card: When you care enough to send the very best,” a smitten Kenicke says in Grease.
And a birthday card from a spouse as a campaign stunt is…just plain icky. No loving husband or wife would seriously write a birthday card that included the words “Wall Street reform” [...]

Ron Paul, a Republican candidate for President in 2008, said in a recent interview that he has not yet decided whether he will run again in 2012, but that he thinks former New Mexico Gov.  Gary Johnson would be a pretty good candidate.

President Barack Obama leads former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson by a wide margin in a hypothetical presidential matchup, according to a poll from a Democratic polling firm from North Carolina. Obama leads other potential Republican candidates by smaller margins.

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson appeared on the satirical news show Colbert Report and spoke about his belief that marijuana should be legalized and taxed.

When reacting to a piece in Salon about former New Mexico governor — and likely 2012 Presidential candidate — Gary Johnson, politically liberal film critic Roger Ebert wondered, “Why is this man a Republican?”

Former Gov. Gary Johnson said that he “would absolutely have vetoed” the recently signed Arizona immigration bill if it had been put on his desk when he was governor. Johnson also called the bill “racial profiling.”

Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson came in last place in a Presidential straw poll at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, held in New Orleans this past weekend. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won the straw poll—which Nate Silver warns is not necessarily representative of Republicans or even Southern Republicans—by a single vote over Ron [...]

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson will appear on the Colbert Report on May 10. The appearance, which Johnson announced on Facebook, is part of a media blitz that many believe is a prelude to a presidential run in 2012.

Washington D.C. journalists have been analyzing the fallout of the surprising victory by Ron Paul, R-Texas, in a conservative straw poll held this weekend. Paul easily outdistanced his second-place competitor, Mitt Romney, R-Mass., and the rest of the conservative field.
Many see former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, R-N.M., as a natural successor to the Paul [...]

Libertarian attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference packed room after room for lectures by the likes of Fox News commentator Andrew Napolitano and likely 2012 presidential candidate Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico.

“The support that I’ve found surprising is sitting down with what would be described as right-wing Christian Republicans and finding support. That’s been a surprise,” Johnson said during a visit to Washington, D.C., this week.

In an interview with ABC News, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, a libertarian Republican, took some clear shots at potential 2012 Republican Presidential candidates, saying “All the other candidates– all the other suspects … if you put a piece of cardboard over their caricature and did some voiceover on what it is [...]

Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, a libertarian-leaning Republican, told a New Hampshire paper that the victory by a Republican in the Massachusetts special election is not a mandate for Republicans. “I just see (voters having) a real disgust with those in office,” Johnson told the New Hampshire Union-Leader.

Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson is heading to New Hampshire to speak to the New Hampshire Liberty Caucus, the Santa Fe New Mexican’s Steve Terrell reported today. Johnson will be there on January 23.

Last week, Politico profiled potential future New Mexico governor, and current lieutenant governor, Diane Denish. This week, the online news Web site profiled Gary Johnson, an ex-governor and potential future Presidential candidate.

Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson weighed in on the health care debate that is currently going on in the Senate, saying the “system is broken” but it needs to be fixed in a way that won’t increase the deficit. The statement came on the Web site for Johnson’s Our America Initiative.

Once again, the big news of the day is all about health care reform debate in the Senate. The Senate is debating and voting on amendments at a pace similar to that of over the weekend. As of this writing, there have been votes on two amendments today, but the Ben Nelson, R-Neb., amendment to [...]

It’s almost like clockwork. Libertarian Republicans, many of whom are opposed to the political leadership of the Republican Party, are looking for a politician to be their standard-bearer. This year, after enthusiastically backing Ron Paul in 2008, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports that these groups are looking (again) towards former New Mexico Governor Gary [...]