Former US governor Gary Johnson wins Libertarian presidential nomination

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson gives acceptance speech during National Convention held at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida, May 29, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

WASHINGTON - Gary Johnson, former governor of the US state of New Mexico, was again picked by the Libertarian Party as its presidential candidate, emerging as a contender against the two major parties' nominees in the general election.

Johnson won the nomination on the second ballot at the party's weekend-long biennial convention in Orlando, Florida, TV networks reported.

Johnson, who also won the country's third largest party's presidential nomination in 2012, fell five votes short of the majority on the first ballot this time but finally garnered 55.8 percent of the vote on the second, said reports from TheHIll news daily and the ABC news.

"We do have the opportunity to reach millions and millions of Americans," said Johnson on Sunday. "I've never been involved in this without the notion of winning."

During the speech, Johnson pleaded to the delegates to select his running mate -- former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, suggesting Weld would help secure millions in fundraising donations and garner national media attention that no other vice presidential contender would be able to.

Libertarian delegates have not yet voted on Weld, who joined the party just less than two weeks ago. Many of them viewed Weld's recent addition to the ticket of Johnson with suspicion since he was a state campaign chair for 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney's campaign and endorsed Ohio governor John Kasich in the Republican primary before Kasich quitted the race earlier this month, said local analysts.

The Libertarian Party has drawn more attention this year as many voters seek alternatives to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the likely nominees for the Democratic and Republican parties. Both of them have unprecedentedly low favorability numbers in modern US history of election politics.

Recent polls show that Johnson may earn the support of around 10 percent of likely voters. However, the US Commission on Presidential Debates mandates that a candidate receive 15 percent in national polls to earn a spot in the debate. The Johnson campaign is currently involved in a lawsuit against the commission to lower the threshold, according to a Huffinton Post report.

The US Libertarian Party was officially formed in December, 1971, aiming to promote civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire economics and abolition of the welfare state.

Johnson once states that the party is more culturally liberal than the Democrats, but more fiscally conservative than the Republicans.