Conservatives on the internet almost universally mocked Gov. Gary Johnson’s admission earlier this week that he “had some edibles” (digested marijuana) just seven weeks ago — and his pledge to not smoke in the White House. If you watch the video (below), you’ll laugh too.
But Johnson will be laughing all the way to the debate stage.
Johnson is already polling as high at 18 percent among independents and averaging around 12 percent support from millennials. This is astounding, considering most polls put his name identification among voters at around 35 percent.
So, what does talking about weed get him? Headlines and millennials. Media attention on an issue young voters overwhelming agree with him on.
52 percent of voters believe in marijuana legislation, including 63 percent of millennial Republicans.
Johnson’s problem is that most young voters don’t know they agree with him on this issue — because they haven’t ever heard of him. It’s tough for a third-party candidate to get into the news. Johnson’s strategy is brilliant because in a media market where you have to compete with Trump, you need something to stand out.
Now, maybe Johnson will lose some voters who believe the studies that claim dope hurts brain functions and already find Johnson a bit odd. But, as Johnson’s polling averages nationwide approach 10 percent, he needs to capture 5 percent more of the vote to end up on stage. Most likely, this 5 percent isn’t going to come from anti-drug voters; it’ll come from former Sanders voters and other anti-establishment types.
