Gary Johnson won’t be the next president of the United States. But the Libertarian Party candidate could still have something to say about who does get elected–or re-elected–in November. That’s because third party candidates with a following beyond extended family and the terminally gullible can be spoilers. Think Ross Perot and Ralph Nader. George H.W. Bush and Al Gore occasionally do.
A recent Gallup Poll had Johnson, 59, the former two-term governor of New Mexico, with 3 percent nationally. And he could add to that in the wake of the Republican Convention, the one that Ron Paul has been denied the opportunity to speak at. The Paul followers–libertarian, non-Romney zealots, could take some serious umbrage over a perceived snub (by Republican state delegations).
In the quintessential swing state that is Florida, which could remain too close to call right up to the election, Johnson could siphon off meaningful votes from frustrated and disaffected Paul supporters with nowhere else to go. In a viable scenario, the biggest beneficiary would be President Barack Obama.