OXON HILL, Md. (AP) – Republican businessman Perry Johnson has announced his long-shot bid for president.
Johnson, who tried to run for governor of Michigan last year but was believed by the state’s elections bureau to have filed thousands of fraudulent nomination signatures, announced his White House candidacy to a group of supporters Thursday night, his campaign said. Hours earlier, he spoke at the opening day of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference just outside Washington, D.C.
Johnson did not directly mention his presidential campaign when he spoke at the CPAC gathering in Oxon Hill, Maryland, where a handful of other candidates and potential contenders, including former President Donald Trump, are scheduled to speak Friday and Saturday.
Johnson spent the money earlier this year to run an ad during the Super Bowl targeting voters in Iowa, the first state to vote in a GOP presidential field, about his plan to cut federal spending by 2% each year. by stating.
The businessman made a fortune by starting Michigan-based Perry Johnson Registrar Inc., which certifies whether businesses are meeting industry standards. He failed to appear on the ballot for the GOP primary for governor of Michigan after election officials said he did not register enough valid signatures.
State elections bureau staff said Johnson collected 13,800 valid signatures, but he tossed 9,393, including 6,983 they said were fraudulent. Johnson, who was prepared to spend millions of dollars on his campaign for the office of governor, said his rights were violated during the process.
