Half of U.S. voters want the Libertarian and Green Party nominees, Gary Johnson and Dr. Jill Stein, included in the first presidential debate, a Morning Consult poll released Wednesday found.
The former New Mexico governor received 52 percent support from respondents while the physician pulled in 46 percent of supporters. Only one-quarter of people disagreed over either candidate’s inclusion in the televised debate.
It could be good news for Johnson, who must pass 15 percent in five randomly selected national polls in order to qualify for the first debate, September 26. Johnson has said “there’s no chance” for him to win in November “without the debate.”
A main stage appearance by a third-party candidate would be historic. Nearly 25 years ago, Independent candidate Ross Perot took the stage in the 1992 election, but did not go on to win in November.
Supporters of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton are more confident in their candidate than those who have backed Republican nominee Donald Trump. Clinton clenched support from 84 percent of her fans, while Trump received support from 69 percent of his backers.
Among all voters, four-in-ten say Clinton will put out a win and three-in-ten sided with Trump.
Morning Consult polled 2,002 registered voters from Aug. 29-30 for a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
