Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson ended his Republican presidential bid Wednesday, opting to run as the Libertarian Party’s candidate for president. He is encouraging supporters, however, to vote for Texas Rep. Ron Paul in upcoming GOP primary elections.

Johnson told The Daily Caller that his supporters should vote for Paul in primaries, but support his own candidacy in the general election.

“Yeah,” he told TheDC when asked if he believes supporters should vote for Paul — with whom he shares many libertarian policy positions.

But, Johnson cautioned, “I’m believing that Ron Paul is not going to win the nomination, and that is the exciting part about this for me. I do think it is about an agenda and a message. I think Ron Paul’s a messenger. I think that I am. I think there are others.”

In a Wednesday statement announcing his Libertarian Party candidacy, Johnson noted, “While Ron Paul is a good man and a libertarian who I proudly endorsed for president in 2008, there is no guarantee he will be the Republican nominee.”

“You know the old adage, by the time you tell a person the tenth time, that’s just when they are first starting to listen,” Johnson explained, suggesting that he would build on the libertarian message that Paul has championed so loudly.

“The exciting notion for me is to potentially be on the general election ballot in all 50 states,” he added.

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