Gary Johnson Darts Across America To File For New Hampshire Primary: ‘We Just Screwed Up’

Frances MartelOct 29th, 2011, 9:10 am

“I don’t want for a second for anyone to think that we didn’t screw up.” It’s been quite a long time since a presidential candidate uttered a sentence like that, but then again, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson never seemed to get a handle on what catering to Republicans during a presidential campaign consists of. Take, for example, the event that led to this declaration: his campaign completely forgetting to file for the New Hampshire ballot, resulting in a red eye from Arizona and rushing to sign into the primary a hair before the deadline.

On Thursday night, Johnson tweeted excitedly, “Headed to New Hampshire to file for the primary!,” which may have come as a surprise to those following the 2012 election who knew the other candidates had already filed. As it turns out, somehow the actual paperwork to file for the presidential ballot fell through the cracks, and the candidate himself had to traverse the country to make it before the Friday deadline.

Johnson, according to CNN, was more than happy to admit that this was a logistical campaign mistake, and refused to blame his staff:

“Bottom line, we just screwed up,” Johnson told members of the press who repeatedly pressed him on the near-oversight Friday.

The campaign had planned to file by proxy but realized Thursday they had left it too late. A candidate filing on the last day of the filing period must do so in person, according to the secretary of state’s office.

Candidates who wish to appear on the New Hampshire ballot must file with the secretary of state by Friday. The campaign had planned to file by proxy but realized Thursday they had left it too late – a candidate can only file in person on the last day, according to Johnson.

Politico has a handy list of every name on the ballot– which includes a healthy number of unknowns– here.

The interesting bit of this story is not really that Johnson’s campaign is so far removed from the workings of politics that they could completely forget the New Hampshire ballot (New Hampshire, incidentally, is the state Johnson has the best chance in, as it leans more libertarian than Iowa, South Carolina, and several other primary states), but just how this sort of monumental gaffe could have impacted any other candidate polling higher. Any time Rick Perry sounds like he had a few cups of chamomile during a debate or Herman Cain‘s campaign manager starts mumbling to himself outside a warehouse on camera, the media pronounces their candidacies finished. What would the news cycle look like if anyone who can get themselves a podium at a debate had simply forgotten to file? What sort of organizational skill does that demonstrate for a top tier candidate and, more importantly, what challenges does a “fringe” candidate like Johnson face that can justify this sort of oversight more than it would for Cain or Perry? As no one seems to be pushing Johnson for any answers, it is highly unlikely we’ll ever get to know.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.