Politics & Government
Gary Johnson Should Be Allowed in Presidential Debates: Poll
A majority of voters want Gary Johnson on the presidential debate stage, but he likely won't clear the polling hurdle.
A majority of voters want to see Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson on the presidential debate stage with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump, according to a new poll released Thursday.
More than half of respondents — 52 percent — said Johnson should be allowed to participate in the Sept. 26 presidential debate, according to the new Morning Consult poll. About a quarter of respondents said they don't know or don't have an opinion, while 22 percent said they don't think Johnson should be allowed on the debate stage.
On Sunday, Johnson said it would be "game over" on any chance at the White House if he can't make the debate stage, but he said he was "optimistic" he would participate in the debates.
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"We're optimistic we're going to actually get into the debates," Johnson said on Fox News. "We're spending money right now in many states, and in five states right now we're at 16 percent. So I'm just really optimistic."
Green Party nominee Jill Stein also garnered significant support among voters with 47 percent saying she should be included, while 26 percent said she should not.
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For third-party candidates to appear on the debate stage, they need at least 15 percent support across five national polls designated by the Commission on Presidential Debates. In recent national polling, Johnson has 7.4 percent support and Stein has 3.1, according to averages compiled by RealClear Politics.
The polls that the commission will be following leading up to the first debate include:
- CBS-New York Times
- Fox News
- CNN-Opinion Research Corporation
- NBC-Wall Street Journal
- ABC-Washington Post
The Morning Consult poll found that two-thirds of voters are likely to watch the first debate on Sept. 26 at Hofstra University. However, only 25 percent said the debates will be "very important" when deciding how they will vote in November, and 20 percent said the debates will not be important at all.
The poll was conducted from Aug. 29 to 30 among 2,002 registered voters. The margin of error is 2 percent.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons
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