Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson says he agrees with most of Bernie Sanders’s positions, pitching himself as an alternative to the Democratic presidential candidate.
“Of course I side with myself 100 percent of the time, but interestingly, of all the presidential candidates, I next side with Bernie Sanders at 73 percent,” Johnson said Tuesday on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.”
{mosads}“Now, that’s the side of Bernie that has to do with pro-choice, pro-marriage equality, let’s stop with the military interventions, that there is crony capitalism, that government really isn’t fair when it comes to this level playing field, legalize marijuana,” Johnson continued.
“Look, 73 percent of what Bernie says I agree with. We come to a T in the road when it comes to economics. I would really argue that if we absolutely had a fair system of economics, that free markets, that we would do a lot better than going down the path of socialism,” he added.
Johnson cited the unaffiliated website ISideWith.com, created in 2012 to help voters pick candidates who best represent their views. Users who take a quiz on the site are shown which candidates align with their views.
His remarks came after a caller to “Washington Journal” highlighted Johnson’s past as a Republican governor of New Mexico.
Johnson emphasized that he is now a Libertarian.
“Don’t we all owe it to ourselves to find out who we align with? Who we side with?” asked Johnson.
“Libertarians agree with socialism as long as it’s voluntary,” Johnson noted, referring to Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist.
Libertarian Party voters tapped Johnson to be their nominee along with former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld as his running mate this weekend.
The Libertarian Party has gained more attention this year amid reservations among some Republicans over supporting Donald Trump, their party’s presumptive presidential nominee, and Democrats for Hillary Clinton, who is likely to clinch her party’s nomination over Sanders.