Collins said that if Weld were a presidential candidate for the Libertarians instead of Johnson she would vote Libertarian this year.
Advertisement
But Libertarians say its presidential tickets have used the practice in the past, most recently in 2004. The Albuquerque Republican said “I am proud to see that our state could play a pivotal role in deciding this election”. However, Johnson is now polling at 10 percent with Stein at only 5 percent, leaving both third party candidates well below the required threshold to take part in the debates.
Through June, the most recent campaign filing period, Johnson and running mate Bill Weld had raised $1.36 million.
In his newest in a series of ads for his presidential campaign, Gary Johnson may have done his best job yet.
I’m exhausted of people telling me I’m wasting my vote when it comes to the presidential election this fall. Weld, the former Republican governor of MA, joined the campaign with an eye on fundraising, telling reporters in June that he was starting to hear back from his old donors after some lobbying – and some missteps by Donald Trump.
In a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released last week, Johnson’s support didn’t break into the double digits, hovering at 8 percent, while Stein, a physician and activist, only half that level of support at 4 percent. “And if that’s the case, then siphoning off votes from one of the major party candidates could mean that one of these minor party candidates is a spoiler”.
To qualify for the debates, a candidate must be polling an average of at least 15 percent.
Still, it will be hard for Johnson to win Montana, a state that historically has voted Republican in the presidential election, or garner enough support nationwide to influence the outcome. The other significant third-party candidate running is Jill Stein, the Green Party’s nominee.
“The media should take leadership this year for [covering] third party candidates”, Williams says.
Advertisement
Last week, the Libertarian Party of OH raised eyebrows when it filed petitions, seemingly to put its national Presidential candidate Gary Johnson and Vice Presidential Candidate Bill Weld, on the statewide ballot.
