Ex-N.M. governor opens White House bid

CONCORD, N.H. – Highlighting his background as both a governor and outdoor adventurer, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson announced his presidential campaign outside the New Hampshire Statehouse on Thursday before heading for a mountain known as the birthplace of extreme skiing.

Johnson, a Republican, acknowledged that he is virtually unknown in New Hampshire and other key primary states but said he won’t be outworked when it comes to retail politics.

“I have to do, and want to do, really well in New Hampshire,” he said.

Johnson, who has climbed Mount Everest and is an avid skier and bicyclist, planned to follow up his announcement with some spring skiing Saturday in New Hampshire’s Tuckerman Ravine.

Before serving as governor from 1995 to 2002, Johnson started a one-person fix-it business that grew to become one of the largest construction companies in New Mexico, with 1,000 employees. He said he can fix what he called America’s bankrupt status by asking two simple questions: What are we spending our money on, and what are we getting in return?

Johnson mentioned President Barack Obama just once, saying he supports repealing Obama’s health care overhaul legislation. But he also criticized Republicans, saying they also are to blame for out-of-control spending.

Johnson said he would bring spending down by raising the retirement age and making other changes to Social Security and reducing spending on defense, Medicare and Medicaid by 43 percent each. The latter two programs would become block grants controlled by the states, he said.