Having taken 1 percent in Florida when he was the Libertarian presidential nominee in 2012, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson hopes to do better in the Sunshine State this time out.
Johnson will be in Miami on Wednesday night for a town hall event at Florida International University as he looks to build enough support to average 15 percent in five national polls. That’s the threshold set by the Commission on Presidential Debates for minor party nominees and independent candidates to be included in the debates with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
On Monday, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced it would be using polls from ABC-Washington Post, CBS-New York Times, CNN-Opinion Research Corporation, Fox News and NBC-Wall Street Journal to determine if Johnson and other minor party candidates can make the debates. Some national polls place Johnson in high single digits. The only other minor party candidate who makes an appearance in most national polls is Green Party nominee Jill Stein who usually places in low single digits.
Johnson won’t be alone in Miami as his running mate--former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld--will also be at the event. In the end of May, Johnson and Weld were nominated at the Libertarian convention held in Orlando.
Libertarians have made strides in Florida in recent years with Alex Snitker taking one half of one percent in his Senate bid back in 2010 and gubernatorial candidate Adrian Wyllie pulling 4 percent in 2014. Libertarian candidates in special congressional elections in Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida that year also helped build the party.
But outside of Johnson, Libertarians might be headed for a step back in Florida come November. Attorney Augustus Invictus is running for the Senate and has drawn national attention due to his paganism, including sacrificing a goat as part of a ritual. He’s also draw fire from Libertarian leaders due to his positions on issues including eugenics. Iraq War veteran Paul Stanton has less of a profile but he’s also running for the party’s Senate nomination.
While there are several competitive congressional races in Florida this year, the Libertarians only have candidates in these contests. Rob Lapham, who led the party in Texas, is running for the seat held by retiring Congresswoman Gwen Graham. There are a handful of Libertarians running for state House seats and none aiming for Florida Senate seats.
