Democracy served? No Gary Johnson or Jill Stein at first debate
The first presidential debate of 2016 gets underway on September 26. Two people who won鈥檛 be there: Gary Johnson and Jill Stein.
To qualify for the debates, each candidate has to be across five major polls. Libertarian candidate Johnson received 8.4 percent and Green Party candidate Dr. Stein 3.2 percent, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonpartisan commission which has been 听补苍诲听which released its results on Friday.
That means that the first debate at Hofstra University in New York will be a head-to-head contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Their running mates, Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, will be the only ones on the stage for the October 4 vice-presidential debate.
The Commission will continue to track the candidates鈥� polling numbers, and Johnson and Stein may make the cut in October. But the exclusion of the two candidates has raised concerns for the campaigns 鈥� and goes against most voters' wishes.
鈥淭o be excluded from the debates is an 鈥�,鈥欌�� Johnson and Stein told a federal judge in August, during a lawsuit that aimed to get both candidates a spot on the debate stage. Both needed the free exposure a nationally broadcast debate brings.
The two candidates have vowed to continue their campaigns, with Stein saying that 鈥� just like four years ago 鈥� she and her supporters will on September 26.听
Looking at the 1980 and 1992 elections, Molly E Reynolds听补苍诲听Curtlyn Kramer听at听the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, write that it's unlikely that participation in the debates would help boost the two candidates' overall numbers. But this election may be different. They write that, "With more voters this election cycle looking to vote against a candidate they don't support rather than for a candidate they do, the electorate than usual when considering third party candidates."听
Three out of five Americans want to see a third-party candidate at the debates, as 海角大神鈥檚 Lucy Schouten reported in August. The interest in third-party candidates is largely driven by dislike of the two major-party candidates and a distaste for the political polarization that seems to have dominated this election cycle.
Third-party candidates, some argue, have moved beyond 鈥渟poiler鈥� status, with support for Johnson, in particular, coming from voters on both sides of the aisle.
At Cornell University, the Cornell Republicans made headlines early this month when they came out .
This election鈥檚 unprecedented nature has made blind commitment to our Party unpalatable. The Cornell Republicans cannot, in good faith, endorse our party鈥檚 nominee. Mr. Trump should not be the face of American conservatism. Instead, we are proud to endorse the true conservative in this election:听.
Governor Johnson鈥檚 commitment to fiscal conservatism is unparalleled. Governing a blue state, he shrunk the size of the government, balanced the state鈥檚 budget, and never increased taxes. While we do not agree with all of his positions, we firmly support his devotion to free trade, states鈥� rights, and other conservative principles.
Meanwhile, longtime Democrats have also found themselves attracted to the Libertarian candidate. Clinton should about Johnson鈥檚 presence in Nevada, former Democratic governor Bill Miller told Politico. 鈥淭here鈥檚 just every kind of opinion you can think of. [The] northeastern part of the state and other parts of rural Nevada have a libertarian element.鈥�
Support for third-party candidates is particularly high among voters in some swing states. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that almost one in four Ohio voters , or were uncertain for whom they were going to vote.听
If the messages voters hear 鈥� or don鈥檛 hear 鈥� from Johnson and Stein in the next seven weeks are decisive in swing states, they could take on a sizable role in the outcome of the election. The votes in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida听 in determining whether it is Clinton or Trump who takes over the Oval Office come January.
And like Ross Perot in 1992, who put the issue of a balanced budget on the national agenda, efforts by the two main parties to appeal to Johnson and Stein鈥檚 voters may change the tone of political debate.听
For some, that鈥檚 reason enough to give them a podium at the upcoming debate.
鈥淭he more voices in political discourse 鈥� the better,鈥� Sean McLaughlin, a Massachusetts Democrat, told 海角大神 in August. He said having Johnson and Stein on the stage 鈥渕ight pull the right and the left more center.鈥�
