
Will
Libertarian Party presidential candidate siphon off enough Romney votes
to swing a few states back into blue territory for President Obama?
Fox News worries about a reverse Ralph Nader for the GOP:
The
Libertarian Party is now touting that possibility. An emailed statement
from the organization earlier this week carried a rather sensational
subject line: "Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gov. Gary Johnson
Could Deprive Mitt Romney of 5 battleground states, 74 Electoral Votes,
27% of the Electoral Votes needed to win in 2012." Libertarians
reasoned Johnson, then, "could determine the winner" of the election.
It's impossible to gauge at this point what effect Johnson could have,
but of course it's not unprecedented for a third-party candidate to tilt
the scales. In 1992, third-party candidate Ross Perot won roughly 19
percent of the popular vote, which many people think cut into GOP
incumbent George H.W. Bush's take and put Democratic candidate Bill
Clinton in the Oval Office with just 43 percent of the vote. Though
Johnson is polling barely above 5 percent nationwide, Romney and Obama
are separated by single digits in the battleground states of Colorado,
Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia.
The
above-linked article adds another wrinkle regarding Colorado: "The
survey found Obama leading Romney 49-43 percent, but his lead was cut to
46-42 when voters were given the Johnson choice."
(Tipped by JMG readers Wayne and PGHMike)
Reposted from Joe
Comments