Zogby:”Do Not Dismiss Gary Johnson And The Libertarians”

James Zogby runs a leading polling company, and in this article he notes that third parties have rarely had success in American Presidential elections, but this is an unusual year:

The two parties appear ready to nominate two of the most unpopular candidates in the country and confidence in both the Democratic and Republican parties is at an all time low. Not quite half (45%) say they are willing to support an independent candidate–and this is late in the game. Trump has broken all the rules of engagement and Hillary Clinton faces either a possible indictment or at least some sort of serious reprimand.

But most importantly is the question of who Millennials will support. They will decide the outcome in 2016. Donald Trump’s support is miniscule among this group and Clinton does not generate any enthusiasm among younger voters because she appears to many to be a combination of too establishment and too disingenuous. Even though Bernie Sanders most likely will endorse and campaign for Clinton, as will President Barack Obama, who received a large percentage of support among young voters in 2008 and 2012, they still may not vote in significant enough numbers. To be sure, many will hold their nose and vote for Clinton because of their fear of a Trump victory. But the real question is will there be enough excitement to get Millennials out to vote. While early reports on the Libertarian ticket of former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson and former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld suggest that they may draw votes away from Trump, I think  they may actually hurt Clinton even more.

Full commentary @ Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnzogby/2016/05/30/do-not-dismiss-gary-johnson-and-the-libertarians/#77b4dd2627ad