WASHINGTON — Ron Paul gave a speech to about 400 libertarians at the Young Americans for Liberty conference on Tuesday and he didn’t say Gary Johnson’s name once.
The former Texas Congressman who led the libertarian wing of the Republican Party during the 2008 and 2012 elections and ran on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1988 has shown no signs of endorsing Johnson. Paul didn’t even comment on the Libertarian Party at all throughout the 45-minute speech.
“We don’t need a third party, we need at least a second party that will challenge [the] system,” he said suggesting that Democrats and Republicans are two sides of the same coin.
Considered the grandfather of the liberty movement, Paul carries significant support among libertarians. With Johnson taking home 13 percent of the general election vote in a recent CNN poll, an endorsement from Ron Paul could help bump the former New Mexico governor over the 15 percent threshold needed to debate Clinton and Trump.
Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” last month, Paul said that he’s not “enthralled” with any of the candidates in any party.