http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... ce-agains/Poll shows Gary Johnson in double digits in 3-way race against Clinton, Trump
Libertarian presidential hopeful Gary Johnson, possibly benefiting from dissatisfaction with the two major parties’ front-runners,[ya think?] is in double digits in a potential three-way race, according to a poll released Thursday.
In a three-way contest, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton was at 42 percent, GOP front-runner Donald Trump was at 34 percent, and Mr. Johnson, who is seeking the Libertarian Party’s nomination, was at 11 percent, according to the Monmouth University poll.
More than three-quarters of respondents didn’t know enough about Mr. Johnson, the former New Mexico governor and 2012 presidential candidate, to have formed an opinion. Mr. Johnson received more than 1 million votes in 2012 — a record for a Libertarian candidate — which amounted to about 1 percent of the popular vote.
But 40 percent of registered voters said they had a favorable opinion of Mrs. Clinton, compared to 51 percent with an unfavorable one.
Mr. Trump fared even worse, with 30 percent reporting a favorable opinion of him and 60 percent viewing him unfavorably.
“A vigorous third party campaign is a very real possibility this year, but it is not yet clear what the impact could be,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. “Including Johnson’s name in our polling seems to be more of a placeholder for voters who are not particularly thrilled with either major party choice right now.”
In a head-to-head match-up, Mrs. Clinton had a 10-point lead over Mr. Trump, 48 percent to 38 percent.
And something else that will no doubt give Johnson a boost:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/william-wel ... an-ticket/William Weld joins Gary Johnson on Libertarian ticket
SALT LAKE CITY -- Seizing new fuel for his appeal to Donald Trump's critics, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson has joined forces with another former Republican governor to strengthen his Libertarian presidential bid.
William Weld, who served two terms as the Republican governor of Massachusetts in the 1990s, will announce plans Thursday to seek the Libertarian Party's vice presidential nomination, Johnson confirmed in a Wednesday interview with the Associated Press. The pair met privately in Las Vegas over the weekend when Weld agreed to run as Johnson's running mate in the party's upcoming nominating convention and into the general election.
"We got together and shook hands on it," Johnson told the AP in an interview in Salt Lake City, where his underdog presidential campaign is based. "It brings an enormous amount of credibility to what it is I'm doing. I'm unbelievably flattered by this and humbled."
Johnson is casting himself as the best -- and perhaps only -- alternative to Trump, as the New York billionaire's Republican critics struggle to identify another third-party candidate.
Johnson earned just 1 percent of the national vote during his 2012 presidential run, but reminds reluctant conservatives that he'll likely be the only third-party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states this fall.
Weld, a well-respected former governor in the Northeast, offers Johnson some credibility and badly needed fundraising prowess. The 70-year-old will announce his vice presidential bid in New York on Thursday, Johnson said.
"He could be a huge influence when it comes to fundraising. Huge," said Johnson, whose campaign had only $35,000 in the bank at the end of March. "That was something that he in fact volunteered -- that he enjoys doing it."
Weld was an active fundraiser for 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Like Johnson, Weld has a moderate view on social issues. He favors abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Years after leaving the governor's office in Massachusetts, Weld launched an unsuccessful bid for New York governor as a Republican and a Libertarian.
A few observations:
Personally, I can't support Johnson for the same reasons I could never have supported Rand Paul. He supports the repeal of The Patriot Act, he wants to cut defense spending even further, and he even opposes US military involvement in bringing down the ISIS caliphate... All policies that would be disastrous for the country, and as far as I am concerned are completely disqualifying for the Presidency.
That having been said, I thought he got a raw deal being left out of the early GOP debates in 2012. As a former two term governor, he was as much or more qualified then some that participated, and while he polled very low, he didn't poll any lower than others who were included...
Also it has to be said that this ticket, with two popular and successful two term governors, both with track records for vote-getting success and administrative accomplishment, qualifies as "serious" even if I have strong policy disagreements with them. This is not a pair of unqualified, marginal cranks.
(BTW, this is the second recent poll where Johnson has broken into double digits:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05 ... dates.html)What about former Republican governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson, who is favored to top the Libertarian Party ticket? He ran in 2012 and received almost one percent of the vote nationally.
The poll finds Johnson garners 10 percent in this hypothetical three-way matchup.
But the most interesting thing to me about these poll results, is what they say about the "popularity" of Trump and Clinton. You put a guy in the poll with them that 75% of respondents say they don't even know enough about to have an opinion of him, and he still gets 11% of the vote...
If you conducted a poll between Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Rufus T. Firefly, Firefly would probably be in double digits...
But even so, these results are going to help Johnson in several significant ways:
First, it's going to make it more likely that he will continue to be included in additional polls, where given the unlikeablility of the other two candidates, the results are likely to be similar.
This in turn will enable him to get more media attention and raise more money, that will help to further raise his profile.
That, (and the nonstop shit-storm between Trump and Clinton, as they both seek to raise each others negatives even higher) will put him in a better position to raise his poll numbers a bit more...
Perhaps to the 15% level he needs to be included in the fall debates...He's already well within range...
Gary Johnson is not going to be elected President. But while he's not going to get my vote, there's a lot about his candidacy and policy positions that could appeal to a significant chunk of both the "Never Trump" and "Never Hillary" folks.
Given sufficient media exposure and financial resources, combined with the unpopularity of the two major candidates, and the restive nature of the electorate in general, he could garner enough support to become a real factor in the race, and attract the most third party support since Ross Perot.
