ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson was selected as the 2016 Libertarian presidential nominee in Orlando on Sunday.
"I will work as hard as I can to represent everybody in this room," Johnson said on Sunday. "I tell the truth. I'm not a liar.
Anti-computer virus company founder John McAfee and Austin Petersen, the founder of The Libertarian Republic magazine, were other candidates.
Johnson was the party's nominee in 2012, getting about 1 percent of the general election vote.
“I realize, I realize the confidence you've put in me to be that spokesperson and I'm very, very grateful for that,” Johnson said.
The unpopularity of both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in some quarters has led to an unprecedented level of excitement at the Libertarian Party's presidential nominating convention in Orlando this year.
Libertarian officials said Friday as the party's four-day convention began that 985 delegates and 344 alternates were attending from all 50 states -- a record.
They also said dues-paying members have increased by 30 percent since the beginning of the year.
Trump, the apparent Republican presidential nominee, headlined an event honoring veterans, missing in action and prisons of war on Sunday.
"In many cases illegal immigrants are taken much better care by this country than our veterans and that's not going to happen,” Trump said.
Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders is still pushing for a presidential debate with Trump.
“If you have any guts, come on down and let's debate the issues,” Sanders said.
The hashtag "chickentrump" is going viral after Trump declined.
Cox Media Group
