Johnson, the folksy, Libertarian former New Mexico governor has all but no chance at becoming president. He is, in every respect, a legitimate and reasonable contender for the presidency – but only if the voters give him a fair hearing.
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“I’m for whoever has the best plan on startup companies”, said the 31-year-old who’s working on a business networking app.
Two weeks ago, on August 25, I read an opinion article in the Technician titled “It’s not worth voting for Gary Johnson”.
As the nominee of the Libertarian Party, Johnson is expected to be on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, is the kind of leader I’ve been searching for.
The pair has no history of being questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation like Clinton, nor has either Johnson or Weld ever accused a rival’s father of plotting the assassination of President Kennedy, as Trump did.
Recent days have seen a flood of op-eds calling on the Commission on Presidential Debates to include Johnson in their roster, touting a Quinnipiac poll that says almost two-thirds of Americans would like Johnson to square off with Clinton and Trump.
But McMullin isn’t under the illusion that he’ll get to the 270 electoral votes needed to win.
Flake, who had endeared himself to many Libertarians while serving in the House, won his Senate race that year, too.
It’s a far-fetched scenario, but not much farther-fetched than the Trump takeover of the GOP, or Sen. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton received 45 percent of the vote and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump received 38 percent in a question that asked about all four candidates.
“A third-party voice is necessary to the public discussion”, Hughes said in an interview Wednesday.
At least two prominent Republicans who refuse to support Donald Trump – gubernatorial nominee Bill Bryant and U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert – have said they will take a look at Johnson while agonizing over how to vote in November. So while Clinton enjoys a 48-42 lead in a head-to-head with Trump, she is ahead only 41-39 in a four-way contest, with Johnson drawing 9 percent and Stein getting 4 percent.
The independent Commission on Presidential Debates will hold its first debate on September 26 in Hempstead, N.Y. In order to get a spot in that debate, Johnson will need to surpass the polling threshold of 15 per cent.
For now, he said, the biggest task for Johnson is to qualify for the presidential debates.
Despite the heightened interest in third-party and independent candidates this cycle, none have been unable to hit the 15 percent threshold in any national poll. The latest information from RealClearPolitics, a Chicago-based political news and polling data aggregator, shows Johnson averaging 8.2 percent across nine national polls.
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Johnson’s best argument there is, of course, that 2016 is more unpredictable than any election in recent memory: If he’s allowed to debate, he believes, his position in the race could alter dramatically, as his name recognition rises, and voters are given a chance to compare his policies to those of the two front-runners.
