Who is Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party presidential candidate?

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson speaks to supporters and delegates at the National Libertarian Party Convention, in Orlando, Fla., Friday, May 27, 2016. (AP / John Raoux)

A Libertarian former governor of New Mexico is hoping to sway voters away from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton when Americans go to the polls in November.

Gary Johnson, 63, served two terms as a Republican governor of New Mexico and briefly ran for the GOP presidential nomination, before joining the Libertarian Party in 2011 to become their presidential candidate. Johnson is running this year on the Libertarian ticket for a second straight election campaign, with former Massachusetts governor William Weld as his nominee for vice-president. The self-described fiscal conservative is running on a platform promising small government, low taxes, free trade and few restrictions on individual freedoms.

'Governor Veto'

Johnson was born in North Dakota and raised Lutheran. According to a biography on his campaign website, he helped pay his way through college by founding a door-to-door handyman business, which he later developed into a construction company. He later ran for and won the governor's office in New Mexico, where he earned the nickname "Governor Veto" for nixing hundreds of bills.

Johnson has been attempting to lure anti-Trump Republicans to vote for his party in recent weeks, with talk of a more inclusive approach to social issues, coupled with a focus on fiscal responsibility and small government. Johnson attacked Trump in an op-ed piece for Politico last month, saying: "His campaign has been one of serial attacks on opponents and climbing to the top by hurting people. And frankly, his immigration and trade policies appear to consist of the same strategies."

Johnson has also attempted to capitalize on rifts in the GOP. In July, for instance, Johnson pounced on Ted Cruz's refusal to endorse Donald Trump. "Vote your conscience," Cruz told delegates at Republican National Convention. "Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution."

Johnson claimed the next day that Cruz was indirectly telling people to vote Libertarian by saying they should vote with their conscience.

Nicholas Sawark, chair of the Libertarian National Committee, echoed Johnson's suggestion in a statement. "Come November, we encourage those who seek to follow their conscience, who love freedom and the Constitution, as Sen. Cruz describes, to vote Libertarian."

Libertarian Party political director Carla Howell told CTVNews.ca that her party is courting "rank-and-file" Republicans, "especially those who were supporting Ted Cruz, who after last night may be far less inclined to support or stay with the GOP." She added that the Libertarian Party is appealing to those who want a small government, an end to Obamacare and a move toward a more free-market economy.

Bill Scher, a contributing editor to Politico Magazine, says Johnson could garner enough support to participate in the presidential debate, if he continues to climb in the polls. Johnson needs an average of 15 per cent support across five national polls in order to achieve that goal. "He's breaking 10 per cent in some places. I've seen him as high as 13," Scher told CTV News Channel on Wednesday. "It could happen."

But as Scher points out, many polls do not offer third-party candidates as an option, so that could ultimately hurt Johnson's chances of appearing in a debate.

Scher says the Libertarian platform offers a mix of policies that could prove attractive for anti-Trump Republicans and disgruntled Democrats who backed Bernie Sanders. The party holds a number of economically conservative views, yet it also calls for limited American foreign intervention, and an end to the war on drugs.  "Gary Johnson is pulling a decent amount from the right and the left because the Libertarians have a mix of positions that appeal to both sides," Scher said.

The website Real Clear Politics, which collects the latest polls from various news organizations, suggests Johnson holds an average of 7.4 per cent support among voters. RCP lists Clinton as the top choice among those polled, at 42.2 per cent, followed by Trump at 37.8 per cent. The Green Party's Jill Stein is at 3.2 per cent.

Election candidates must win at least five per cent of the vote in order to receive federal funding for their next campaign.

Scher says Johnson and Stein are "cancelling each other out" right now, but they could play a role in the election results if the vote is close. He points out that Green Party nominee Ralph Nader helped tip the election results in 2000, when Al Gore and George W. Bush finished in a virtual tie.

"It creates an element of uncertainty to what's going to happen in November," Scher said.