Libertarian Gary Johnson For President: What Effect Might His Candidacy Have In 2012?

Former New Mexico Republican Governor Gary Johnson is the candidate of the Libertarian Party for President in 2012.

Johnson has been pretty much ignored, and was only allowed in two GOP Presidential debates during the primary season.

Johnson, however, will be on the ballot in all 50 states, and the question is whether he could be an effective third party candidate, and be a threat to either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, and even reach the threshold of 15 percent required to be part of the three Presidential debates in September and October, as Ross Perot was able to accomplish in the 1992 Presidential campaign.

Right now, that possibility seems highly unlikely, but who knows what might transpire over the next three months, as disillusioned Americans might start to look at Gary Johnson’s candidacy!

Johnson’s views are a mix which COULD draw support from voters who are unhappy with Obama and Romney.

Among his views are:

Creating a balanced budget by cutting 43 percent of the Medicare and Medicaid budget in one year.
Abolishing the federal income and corporate taxes, and instituting a national sales tax based on consumption, instead.
Opposition to the ObamaCare legislation and the Prescription Drug Plan under George W. Bush.
Desire to withdraw from overseas engagements in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and was opposed to our involvement in Iraq and Libya from the beginning.
Opposition to the Patriot Act, and belief in civil liberties without interference by the American government.
Belief in states rights to deal with issues in their borders.
Opposition to abortion and the death penalty.
Belief in legalizing marijuana use, and the lowering of the drinking age, and believes the war on drugs has failed, and should be abandoned.
Opposition to measures for gun control legislation.
Belief that the Arizona law on illegal immigration was wrong, and would have vetoed it had it passed the legislature in New Mexico.
Support of same sex marriage and gay rights, including in the military.
Opposition to public funding of stem cell research.

This is a mix of issues that has the capacity to draw support , particularly among young people, and disillusioned voters with the major political parties.

So the question remains: Will Gary Johnson have an impact on the election, and if so, in what way?

The guess of the author is that Johnson could actually harm Mitt Romney in certain states, and possibly throw the election in those states to Barack Obama, including the states of Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and Alaska, all states believed to be RED or Republican!

So Gary Johnson COULD effectively become the Ross Perot of 2012, even without gaining 19 percent of the total national vote, a feat only a wealthy person such as Ross Perot could manage. However, Gary Johnson is said to be worth about $40 million, not a measly amount, to say the least!

6 comments on “Libertarian Gary Johnson For President: What Effect Might His Candidacy Have In 2012?

  1. Paul Doyle July 7, 2012 7:54 pm

    Professor,
    Johnson has ZERO chance of impacting the Presidential race. His name recoginition nationally is nowhere near what Ross Perot or Ralph Nader were in prior campaigns.

    Searched for column I read a couple of months ago on 3rd party candidates and found it. What say you? (Sorry for the O’Riley reference):

    http://www.sportsmenvote.com/news/carl-leubsdorf-whither-a-third-party/

  2. Ronald July 8, 2012 1:38 am

    Paul, I could have done without the Bill O’Reilly reference! 🙂

    I tend to agree with you and with the two journalists that no third party candidacy will have an effect,but with disillusionment existing, one can never tell whether Gary Johnson might not throw some states to Obama over Romney. There is Zero chance of Johnson throwing any states to Romney over Obama!

  3. Paul Doyle July 8, 2012 12:44 pm

    Professor,
    Still disagree. Johnson’s positions don’t seem to align with hard core red state voters. If anything, some of his positions align with those of the President’s.

  4. Paul Doyle July 8, 2012 12:58 pm

    BTW, I meant closer to social policy, not fiscal policy positions.

  5. Ronald July 8, 2012 1:30 pm

    Ok, I will not argue with you! 🙂

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