Gary Johnson continues to hold a surprisingly strong position as a third party candidate in the 2016 presidential race, trailing close behind Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Utah.
“Despite being one of the darkest red states in the country, Utah is also one of the most anti-Trump,” The Salt Lake Tribune’s Robert Gehrke and Matt Canham observed.
A recent poll reflected the Utahns dislike for Trump, with results showing Gary Johnson just 3 points behind Trump in Utah.
“To win over Utahns, Trump needs to tone down the hard-line rhetoric when it comes to immigrants and religious minorities,” Jason Perry, executive director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah said. “That doesn’t play well in Utah, given Mormon history. At the end of the day, though, many Utahns will vote for Trump simply because he’s not Hillary Clinton.”
Johnson revealed his campaign is strategically targeting states to prevent both Clinton and Trump from receiving their 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. If no candidate receives 270 electoral votes, the decision is up to the House to determine the next president.
With Johnson not far behind Trump and Clinton in Utah, his campaign is capitalizing on potential opportunity in other states, too.
“Looking at the west, you could be looking at Utah, you could be looking at Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, the Dakotas, New Mexico perhaps, perhaps Colorado,” Johnson told Red Alert Politics.
The internal poll, conducted two weeks ago for Representative Mia Love, showed Trump leading with 29 percent of the vote, Clinton at 27 percent and Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, close behind at 26 percent.
“Other state polls have found Johnson in the high double digits before, but this is his first time in the twenties,” The Salt Lake City Tribune noted. “Although it’s hard to work out a scenario wherein winning only Utah could keep the other two under 270, when you add it with New Mexico, it is doable. Gary Johnson could very well be the first third party candidate to throw the election into the House in centuries.”
