From the Hutchinson News:
TOPEKA –Buoyed by a likable presidential candidate, Kansas libertarians are confident they can swell their ranks this year in pursuit of an improved party status in 2018.
“It’s going to be a dynamite year for us, and that is mainly because of the Gary Johnson situation,” said Rob Hodgkinson, chair of the Kansas Libertarian Party, referring to the former New Mexico governor and libertarian presidential candidate.
Johnson’s popularity has soared in recent months as dispirited voters seek alternatives to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, both of whom have high disapproval ratings. Johnson, on average, is polling at about 9 percent nationally.
“I think Gary Johnson, here in Kansas, can get in the teens,” Hodgkinson said.
The Kansas Libertarian Party has two other numbers in mind: five and 2018. If a Libertarian candidate can garner 5 percent of votes in the 2018 gubernatorial race – 1 percent more than libertarian candidate Keen Umbehr did in 2014 – the party will earn “major party” status. With that comes fewer restrictions on ballot access and the ability to take part in August primaries.
Wait . . . . I thought Gary Johnson was terrible for the LP . . . At least that’s what I read every day on here.