Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson believes Americans shouldn’t have to choose between the two major party candidates, there is a “third way.”
“The America I know wasn’t on the television screen on Monday night. My America is about the freedom to make choices, pursue your dreams and use your skills as entrepreneurs. It is about having more choices than just red versus blue,” wrote the third party presidential candidate in a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday.
“I’m offering that choice. I wasn’t part of the presidential debate on Monday, but as Americans listened in dismay to the so-called major parties’ candidates, Google searches for ‘Gary Johnson’ skyrocketed.” The Libertarian candidate hit number 6 on Google’s most searched list with more than 100,000 searches.
In another slight to both Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump, Johnson wrote, “Americans want to be able to choose a president who is capable of reason, of learning from failures, and of telling them the truth, even when it hurts. Most of all, they want to choose a president who will adhere to the Constitution and will make government live within its means.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates deemed Johnson ineligible for the first presidential debate Monday after the libertarian failed to maintain an average of at least 15 percent support in the organization’s polls. Johnson’s candidacy is reportedly cutting into Clinton’s efforts to gain the youth vote, a trend that could affect her chances at the voting booth.
“Less than six weeks before Election Day, independents and, particularly, young voters are increasingly turning to Bill Weld and me as reasonable, rational and experienced candidates. We are the party that can break the partisan gridlock which for too long has kept real solutions out of reach,” Johnson wrote.
