It’s that time again. Time for all the naysayers and doubters of third-party candidates to reveal their utter contempt for those refusing the “Republican vs. Democrat” framework of elections. The latest target is Republican-turned-independent Rep. Justin Amash from Michigan, who is launching an exploratory committee that will almost certainly lead to a campaign for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination.
Some in the political class support Amash but think a strong third-party candidate will help reelect President Trump. For example, Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller lavish praise on Amash for his moral clarity and devotion to the Constitution — before begging him to abstain from a White House run.
“There is a downside risk to his running and the price of a second Trump term is too great for anyone to be playing dice with it,” the pair write with a singular worry. “Could we be certain that a third-party campaign from a Constitutional conservative would not help Trump get reelected? The answer, unfortunately, is no.”
Miller and Longwell cite 2016 election results in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania as evidence that Libertarians, Constitution Party members, and those who wrote in Evan McMullin helped propel Trump to victory. “For all the discussion about the voters who switched from Obama to Trump — and turnout decline in urban areas — Hillary Clinton could have won the White House simply by getting a minority share of the voters who hadn’t historically voted third party, but in 2016 decided to throw their hands up.”
But the numbers from 2016 say otherwise.
The losses in at least two of the three states fall squarely on the shoulders of Clinton and the Democratic Party, not third-party candidates. Clinton’s hubris and absence in Wisconsin, where she ran zero campaign ads and failed to visit prior to the general election, delivered the state to Trump. Michigan voted for Trump due to a failure of competency and cohesiveness by Clinton and Democrats. One organizer moaned that the Clinton campaign’s blasé attitude towards Michigan doomed her bid to secure the state.
Pennsylvania is its own separate animal. It seems Clinton’s campaign successfully operated by bringing in 2,000 more votes than Barack Obama did in 2012. Trump’s campaign did better, however, garnering almost 300,000 more votes than Mitt Romney. According to the Brookings Institution, most of those votes were from rural towns, where Trump successfully galvanized people to his “Make America Great Again” campaign.
Clinton just got outcampaigned by Trump in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Nothing more, nothing less.
It is highly insulting to assume those who supported third-party candidates would pick the so-called “Lesser of Two Evils” if there were no other options besides Republican or Democrat. No one is forced to pick a presidential candidate on Election Day — even “None of the Above” or leaving the presidential section blank section are options.
Hillary Clinton was no friend to liberty or limited government. She vowed to use executive action to circumvent the Second Amendment and force her will onto businesses. Her interventionist foreign policy put her at odds with anyone who believes in the nonaggression principle. Libertarians and limited-government advocates saw Clinton as much of an ally of limited government as they see Trump: not one at all. That’s why many opted for either Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson in 2016 or no one at all.
Justin Amash’s entry into the Libertarian Party presidential primary is a welcome one. His defense of the Constitution and belief in limited government provides a welcome alternative to Trump and Joe Biden.
Taylor Millard (@TaylorMVLR) is a freelance journalist.
