There are not many active political offices held by people from any party outside of the Democratic or Republican party. Gary Johnson would be an exception to this convention. He is an author, businessman and former frontline politician. He is also the founder of one of the largest construction companies operating in the state of New Mexico. Johnson was also the 29th governor of New Mexico and a former Libertarian Party presidential candidate in 2012 and 2016.
Gary Johnson Wiki, Bio
Gary was raised in the town of Minot in North Dakota. Her father, Earl Johnson, worked as a public school teacher. His mother, Lorraine B. was a staff member of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was born on January 1, 1953. Johnson attended high school at Sandia High School in Albuquerque. He was admitted to the University of New Mexico where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. He became involved with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity during his time there, where he spent four years from 1971 to 1975. It was at UNM that he met Denise Simms, who would later become his woman.
He was inspired to start his own business after his time at school where he combined study with a side gig as a door-to-door handyman. Gary Johnson started his own machine building business in 1976. He called it Big J Enterprises and was the only employee at first.
His “enterprising spirit” at the end of the tunnel” came when Johnson was awarded a major contract by Intel’s Rio Rancho expansion. That singular contract boosted Big J Enterprises’ revenue to $38 million.
Johnson would later sell the company in 1999 for a tidy sum, but not before building it into a multi-million dollar business employing more than 1,000 people. After Intel’s deal, he even had to take a time management course which he says helped him to be highly goal-oriented and self-motivated.
Political career
By this time he was already heavily involved in politics and was in his first term as Governor of New Mexico. Gary launched his gubernatorial campaign in 1994 with $500,000 of his own money under the slogan “People before Politics.” He offered to lead with a “common sense business approach” if elected. He talked about cutting taxes, creating jobs, reducing budget growth and law and order. Johnson has beaten all of his opponents, including the incumbent, Bruce King in the office.
He proposed numerous tax cuts in his first budget but failed to pass the 6 cents per gallon gas tax cut. However, it also nearly tripled education spending. During his re-election campaign, he won by a wider margin than in his first campaign. He did this by promising above all to continue in the line of his first mandate.
By the end of his two terms, he was widely regarded as a strong leader who, through his administrative efforts, left the state financially sound. He left office with New Mexico, going from a government spending surplus to a $1 billion budget deficit.
Johnson was once quoted as saying he was a Republican who was not interested in running for president. The statement came in the wake of efforts by the Libertarian Party to nominate him as its ticket holder for the 2000 presidential election.
After his term as governor, he would stay away from active politics for some time. He endorsed Ron Paul for the Republican presidential ticket in 2008. Indeed, like him, Ron was committed to reducing government spending and increasing freedom and lasting prosperity for all Americans.
During his non-active time, he wrote a book called Seven Principles of Good Government. He also served on the advisory board of a non-profit student organization, Students for Sensitive Drug Policy, which advocated for changes in drug policy. He was also a board member of Students for Freedom, a libertarian non-profit organization.
Johnson announced in 2011 that he would take a shot at the presidential seat. However, after posting poor performances in Republican polls and failing to qualify for the debates, he switched sides and ran under the Libertarian Party. He won the party’s nomination. However, he would only get 0.99% – 1,275,971 popular votes – which was still the best result in the party’s history.
Johnson again won the Liberty Party nomination in 2016, but again fell short in the election proper.
Gary Johnson’s wife
Johnson met his wife Dee Simms while at the University of New Mexico. They married in 1977, two years after Johnson left UNM, and they have two children. They were married until their divorce in 2005. During her tenure as First Lady of New Mexico, she was active in campaigns against smoking and for breast cancer awareness.
Dee Johnson died on December 22, 2006 of hypertensive heart disease.
In 2012, Gary Johnson got engaged again. His partner is a real estate agent named Kate Prusack whom he met in 2009. According to her, the reason they are not married is that Gary is still on the road.
Heart attack and tongue stunts, net worth
Gary Johnson is a businessman and politician. However, sometimes he has a way of going against the grain by displaying a flair for the theater. The event that comes to mind is a video that surfaced where Gary faked a heart attack. It was a February 2015 video of Gary Johnson at the Conservative Political Action Conference. He was debating the legalization of marijuana.
US Representative Anne Marie Buerkle made an incorrect statement about heart attack rates for marijuana users. Gary Johnson, instead of answering him, grabbed his chest and strapped himself onstage. This video surfaced at just the right time, helping some undecided voters choose to vote for the Libertarian Party in the 2016 presidential election.
Another video of Gary had gone viral before the “heart attack” joke. This time though, it worked against him. Johnson stuck his tongue out between his teeth during an MSNBC interview with Kasie Hunt. He was asked how a place for the debate could allow him to win the election. He replied that he couldn’t say anything throughout the debate and that he was still the winner.
Johnson’s pre-political career as a businessman certainly earned him a lot of money in the bank. His current net worth is between $3 million and $10 million.