Justin Amash has the support of about 1 in 20 registered voters nationwide, according to the first poll that tested his level of support in a three-way matchup against President Trump and Joe Biden.
A Monmouth University poll released Wednesday found the ex-Republican Michigan legislator at 5% support when listed alongside Trump, who got 40%, and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who had 47%, while 1% said they would vote for another candidate, 1% would vote for no one, and 6% were undecided.
In a matchup without Amash’s name listed, the Monmouth poll found 50% support for Biden, 41% support for Trump, 3% support for an independent candidate, and 5% who said they were undecided.
The Monmouth poll surveyed 739 registered voters contacted by cellphone and landline from April 30 to May 4 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6%.
Amash, 40, announced a presidential exploratory committee for the Libertarian Party nomination last week and is polling behind where the last Libertarian nominee was at this point before the 2016 election. Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who was the Libertarian Party presidential nominee in both 2016 and 2012, had 11% in a March 2016 Monmouth poll and dropped to 5% by October 2016. He captured 3% of the national popular vote in 2016, the best-performing Libertarian presidential candidate in the minor party’s history.
“Overall, there is not as much of an appetite for a third option as there was four years ago. It’s too early to tell whether Amash will have an impact, but if this election ends up being as close as 2016, even a small showing can have a crucial impact,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
To participate in national televised presidential debates alongside Trump and Biden, Amash would need to earn 15% support or more in at least five national polls, per rules designed by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
A Politico/Morning Consult poll released Tuesday found that 56% of registered voters had heard nothing at all about Amash’s candidacy. That poll conducted online surveys with 1,987 registered voters from May 2-3 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2% and did not ask voters whom they would pick in a three-way matchup between Biden, Trump, and Amash.
Both the Monmouth and Politico/Morning Consult polls showed Amash has a low national profile, with only about 1 in 5 voters having an opinion about him. In the Politico/Morning Consult poll, 60% of voters had never heard of him, while 6% had a favorable opinion of him, 15% had an unfavorable opinion, and 18% had no opinion. In the Monmouth poll, his ratings were 6% favorable and 13% unfavorable.
Amash has not yet won the Libertarian Party nomination. Delegates at its national convention, which was scheduled for the end of May but will be rescheduled due to the coronavirus, will pick its nominee.
