Although Trump and Clinton are (near) certainties, not so certain are Libertarian Party candidate and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein.
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The commission required that candidates register an average of 15 percent support in five recent polls the commission had selected.
SEATTLE (AP) – Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson is rallying supporters in Seattle.
The announcement also means that William Weld, the Libertarian vice presidential nominee, will not participate in an October 4 debate involving Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence.
The Commission on Presidential Debates said that only Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump met the threshold for inclusion in the debate.
Johnson’s running mate, former Massachusetts Republican Governor William Weld, has signaled he may quit the campaign.
Green Party candidate Jill Stein was also excluded.
In an op-ed by Stein in The Guardian on September 6, she wrote that excluding Johnson and her from the debates was “undemocratic” and that the CPD was “phony”.
Evan McMullin, an independent conservative candidate who launched his campaign last month, has fallen far short of Mr. Johnson and Ms. Stein thus far. Johnson averaged 8.4 percent, while Stein was trailing at 3.2 percent, according to the Associated Press. Yet, the Republicans and Democrats are choosing to silence the candidate preferred by those millions of Americans.
A major protest is set to take place this evening in Washington D.C.as some Americans push for all candidates to be included in the upcoming presidential debates.
Stein and Johnson struggled to gain traction, but both gained attention in an election that has seen dissatisfaction with their choices for president at similar levels to 1992.
“There are more polls and more debates, and we plan to be on the debate stage in October”, Johnson said in a statement.
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But there is still a chance for the two long shots in the second and third presidential debates, if they can reach the 15 percent standard. Several prominent Republicans, including Mitt Romney and Arnold Schwarzenegger, have backed Libertarians in their quest to appear on the debate stage.
