Michigan businessman Perry Johnson suspends longshot presidential campaign
Perry Johnson, an Oakland County businessman who poured millions of his personal wealth into an unlikely bid for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2024 election, announced on social media he was suspending his campaign Friday.
Johnson posted the announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter. He maligned the Republican National Committee's decision to deny his participation in the GOP debates so far — in August, the RNC announced that Johnson was not among the eight candidates to make the stage for the party's initial debate.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, the people should decide the next President of the United States, not the RNC and their cronies," Johnson said in a statement. "With no opportunity to share my decision on the debate stage, I have decided at this time, suspending my campaign is the right thing to do."
Federal campaign finance data shows Johnson loaned his campaign $12.5 million of the $14.5 million it raised. Johnson's campaign said he would keep a small team of political staff "in the event the dynamics of the race change."
Despite the money loaned to his campaign, Johnson always stood unlikely to earn the nomination, holding vastly less political cache than former President Donald Trump, who remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination by a wide margin. Johnson also lacked political experience and the name recognition that comes with it compared to candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. He also couldn't create a groundswell of support like another businessman in the race, Vivek Ramaswamy.
Johnson previously sought the Republican nomination in Michigan's gubernatorial race in 2022, but was one of five Republican candidates who failed to qualify for the primary ballot after a signature-gathering fraud scandal upended the race. Johnson and other candidates were unsuccessful in convincing state and federal courts to place them on the ballot.
The Republican nomination in that race was won by Tudor Dixon, who ultimately lost to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the general election last year.
In 1994, Johnson founded Perry Johnson Registrars, a Troy-based company that audits and certifies other firms as meeting international standards for quality management systems. He dubbed himself the "quality guru" in the Michigan governor's race.
Lansing Bureau Chief Paul Egan contributed. Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Perry Johnson suspends campaign for GOP presidential nominee
