Johnson and Sanford don't come from analogous situations. Sanford was involved in a scandal and illicit affair - Johnson just got a divorce and shacked up with a new girl.
I've talked to Republican women as well on the issue - campaign strategy is my career and my candidates are mostly Republican - and while I would agree that Rudy's situation was detrimental, I didn't hear much of anything about Thompson's wife - but then again Thompson was a non-starter anyway so perhaps it wasn't necessary.
Johnson was a remarkably successful and popular governor, even among his state's GOP. If you're talking about the drug issue, that's something we can spin - with groups like Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and their ilk gaining steam, we can switch the paradigm easily away from the "responsible conservatives" vs "mindless hippies" false dichotomy.
That said, I think we have yet to establish Johnson's infidelity. The articles I've read point only to Johnson divorcing his wife and then taking up a new girlfriend. Please, could you post a link that corrects me on this? I think I'm only getting half the story.
We'll just have to clear up exactly what Johnson's situation was.
By Leslie Linthicum
Copyright © 2005 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Staff Writer
Former Gov. Gary Johnson and his wife, Dee, were New Mexico's first
couple for eight years.
Now, they're calling it quits.
Johnson said this week the couple had been separated since May and
were taking legal steps toward divorce.
"I love her. I always will," Johnson said in a phone interview from
Hawaii, where he was giving a speech. "We have just grown apart for
what I consider a long time. I've been going from one adventure to
another and I've been doing it by myself."
Johnson, 52, said Tuesday that he initiated the separation and that he
has been dating Deborah Werenko of Santa Fe, a family practice
physician and divorced mother of three who is also a competitive
athlete. Werenko on Wednesday confirmed the two are dating.
Dee Johnson, 52, said Gary's actions are responsible for the split.
"My heart is broken with what Gary's done to me but I'm a survivor
and I'll make it through this." Dee Johnson is living at the couple's Albuquerque house; Gary
Johnson is living at their Taos Ski Valley house.
The Johnsons, who met while skiing at Red River when they were
teenagers, have been married for 28 years and have two grown children.
They built a construction firm together, Big J, and were self-made
millionaires by the time Johnson decided to run for governor in 1994.
Johnson, a maverick Republican, took office in 1995 and served for
eight years. His tenure was marked by furious fights with state
lawmakers. He attracted the nickname "Governor No" for his record
number of vetoes and "Puff Daddy" for his quest to decriminalize
marijuana use.
Since leaving office in 2002, Johnson has pursued athletics, training
for triathlons, climbing Mount Everest and skiing nearly every day in
the winter from his home in Taos Ski Valley.
Dee Johnson has been involved in charity events and has pursued art,
learning welding and sculpting from renowned artist OK Harris.
Johnson and Werenko attended the gala grand opening of the
Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum together in
Albuquerque on Saturday— the former governor's hair done up in a
French braid— and were in Johnson's pickup truck the following
afternoon when it was involved in an accident on Interstate 25 north of
Albuquerque.
They competed together in the "Quest for Fire" adventure race in
Angel Fire in May and both represented New Mexico in the World
Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii in 2002.
