Gary Johnson Helps Narrow Obama’s Lead in NM

Gary Johnson

National Review - Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson has become the Rodney Dangerfield of the 2012 election — he can’t get any respect. Either as a Republican or as the Libertarian party nominee for president he has now become. First, the mountain climber and triathlete was muscled out of the gold medal he thought he had a lock on. Ron Paul’s decision to run in the GOP primaries at age 77 guaranteed the Texas congressman would be the top-dog libertarian in the race. Johnson participated in two cable-news debates, but was mostly excluded from them because of low polling numbers. That created a Catch 22 for his candidacy. Without TV exposure he couldn’t raise money for ads to tell people about his fairly successful two terms as New Mexico’s chief executive. Without money, he couldn’t possibly compete with Ron Paul’s direct mail and Internet machine. Things haven’t been much better for him as the Libertarian nominee. He shows up as a trace element in national polls, with most supporters of Ron Paul deciding to go with Mitt Romney in order to eject President Obama from the White House. Even in New Mexico, the latest Public Policy Polling survey finds him at 13 percent of the vote, down from 25 percent earlier this year. As Johnson’s vote shrinks, it turns out it appears to have drawn from a more Democratic-leaning voter base that may be attracted to his stands against the PATRIOT Act and for legalizing drugs. He gets 24 percent of the independent vote in the Silver State, with much of it coming from Democratic-leaning independents. His strong showing with that group has helped narrow Obama’s lead in the state to only five points, way down from his previous lead of 15 points. Read More News New Mexico

Gary Johnson Helps Narrow Obama’s Lead in NM