Wealthy self-funder Perry Johnson suspends presidential campaign

Businessperson Perry Johnson has dropped out of the race for the GOP nomination for president, ending a mostly self-funded campaign.

Johnson is the third candidate to drop out of the race following Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and former Rep. Will Hurd.

The announcement comes after the RNC didn’t qualify Johnson for the first debate in August and the second debate in September. Johnson appeared to qualify for the first debate, but the RNC deemed the qualifying polls ineligible. He was unlikely to make it to the third debate, which had much higher thresholds.

“I must admit, the corruption among leaders at the RNC during this process was appalling,” Johnson said in a statement Friday. “Not only was the debate process set up to keep outsiders off the stage and without a voice, but when we did meet their arbitrary metrics, corrupt leaders used their authoritarian power to kick me off the stage at 11 p.m. the Monday before the debate, despite our team working with Fox News all weekend on logistics.”

“With no opportunity to share my vision on the debate stage, I have decided at this time, suspending my campaign is the right thing to do,” Johnson continued.

While Johnson has suspended his campaign, he plans to keep a small political team on staff "in the event the dynamics of the race change."

Johnson engaged in a number of gimmicks to pull in the number of donors debate qualifications required. Johnson offered donors a $10 gas gift card in exchange for a $1 donation for the first debate. The candidate also organized a “Big and Rich” concert for anyone who donated $1 to his campaign. After the RNC announced that Johnson had not qualified for the debate, Johnson started the Defend Them PAC to defend those “who are facing politically motivated charges stemming from the 2020 elections.” Johnson vowed to personally match up to $1 million.

Johnson, 75, announced his candidacy in March and touted his plan to cut federal spending by 2 percent every year if elected. Johnson largely self-funded his campaign, lending his campaign $8.4 million so far, according to campaign finance documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Throughout the campaign, Johnson appeared heavily on Newsmax, but very little on national news outlets. Johnson had a recurring reality show called “Backstage Pass” that aired on Newsmax every Sunday night. The show chronicled the everyday life of what it’s like to run for president.

Johnson has never held a public office before. He ran for Michigan governor in 2022 but was deemed by the state’s elections bureau to have filed thousands of fraudulent nominating signatures.

The businessperson gained a majority of his wealth when he founded Perry Johnson Registers in 1994. The company audits and certifies other firms as meeting international standards for quality management systems.