In that time, Romney repeatedly rebuffed efforts to be drafted as a third-party candidate, and Johnson and Weld – the former governors of New Mexico and MA, respectively – have edged up in public polling and hinted that Romney might endorse them.
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“Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton meets the fundamental moral and professional standards we have every right to expect of an American president”, the editorial board writes.
Last month, the Libertarian Party of OH asked the high court to allow their top-of-the-ticket contenders to be listed with their party’s name. For the sake of the American people, Democrats, Republicans, and independents should all hope that Johnson’s ad blitz succeeds. Neither is remotely within reach of carrying a state.
Washington Post writers Lazaro Gamio and Darla Cameron crunched the numbers, and when you factor in third-party candidates into the polling and take a look at the polling across all 50 states, Johnson and Weld are doing much better than single digits. “What is clear is that Republicans believed that (the Libertarian Party’s) absence from Ohio’s ballots would increase Republican candidates’ electoral odds in future elections”. “Donald Trump has managed to make this an interesting state in terms of presidential politics, and not in the way that Republicans have wanted”.
Libertarians aren’t recognized as a political party in Ohio. Multiple reputable sources have put him at 10 percent in recent surveys, inching closer to that threshold.
But two weeks ago, the businessman and philanthropist ponied up $117,000 to Gary Johnson’s Libertarian bid for the presidency – the legal limit one can give directly to a campaign.
But Trump’s advantage over Clinton in the poll actually widened slightly when Johnson was included, from 5 points to 7 points. Gary even began his 2012 presidential campaign as a Republican Party member!
A big struggle for Johnson has been getting voters elsewhere to know who he is. According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, Johnson is now drawing around 8 percent of the vote.
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Johnson could complicate a close presidential race in OH if voters with unfavorable opinions of Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton seek another choice.
