Gary Johnson Considering 2012 Election Bid As Libertarian Candidate

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson says that he's seriously considering running for president in 2012 as a Libertarian.

"I feel abandoned by the Republican Party," Johnson told the Sante Fe New Mexican. "The Republican Party has left me by the wayside."

Johnson announced in April that he would seek the GOP nomination for president, but he has been excluded from almost all of the GOP debates so far, having failed to meet the criteria set up by the debate hosts. Johnson has protested his exclusion, arguing that the media is playing favorites.

"If I'd have been included in 16 of the last debates we wouldn't even be having this conversation," Johnson told the New Mexican

The Wall Street Journal reports that the time may be ripe for a third-party candidate.

According to Gallup, 81 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with how the nation is being governed.

An ABC/Washington Post poll last month found that 60 percent of voters were open to the idea of an independent candidate.