Will Libertarian Gary Johnson be Mitt Romney’s Ralph Nader in Florida?
by George Bennett | November 6th, 2012Returns are incomplete and the lead has gone back and forth, but as of 9:07 p.m., President Barack Obama holds a 6,437-vote lead over Mitt Romney out of more than 6.6 million votes cast in Florida. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson — a former Republican governor of New Mexico and a failed GOP presidential contender during this year’s primaries — had 34,302 votes.
If Romney ends up losing Florida by a smaller margin than Johnson’s total, it will undoubtedly bring memories of liberal activist Ralph Nader‘s 2000 candidacy as the Green Party presidential nominee. George W. Bush won Florida, and the White House, my a mere 537 votes over Democrat Al Gore. While Democrats fumed at the Butterfly Ballot and the Supreme Court’s Bush vs. Gore decision, many of them also blamed Gore’s loss on Nader, who got 97,488 votes in Florida that year.
Tags: bnblogs, Gary Johnson, presrace
November 6th, 2012 at 10:26 pm
Why do people assume that Libertarians would vote Republican if they had to pick? Most Libertarians I know dislike both parties equally, and some hate Republicans more.
November 6th, 2012 at 10:53 pm
Yet another news story about how Johnson is a spoiler and yet another news story that fails to understand that 99% of Libertarians would never vote for Romney or Obama.
November 6th, 2012 at 10:55 pm
I agree with the above statement. I voted Johnson, not to spite either Romney or Obama, but because neither Romney or Obama appeal to me as a rational human being.
November 6th, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Gary Johnson 2012!!!!! Screw the broken two-party system!!! and please don’t give me “a vote for Johnson is a vote for Obama” because I’m sick and tired of choosing between the lesser of two evils! LIVE FREE!
November 7th, 2012 at 1:00 am
I would have been more likely to vote for Romney if the Republican Party had been more fair to Ron Paul and his supporters during the primaries. I am in Florida and voted for Gary Johnson. I wish he had made it to 5%. Hopefully the Republican Party learns from this so I can return to voting for their candidates. I honestly believe Ron Paul could have won. I got 2 Obama supporters to change registration to vote for Paul in the primary.
November 7th, 2012 at 1:15 am
I personally knew more disillusioned liberals who voted for Johnson than conservatives but I knew a good number of them as well.
November 7th, 2012 at 1:57 am
I voted for Gary Johnson, but would have voted for Obama. The press underestimates the attrition the libertarian candidates attract from democrats.
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