Is it too late for Gary Johnson, 2016 Libertarian presidential candidate, to gain enough traction to make a real bid for the Presidency?

There’s only so much attention he can expect until the primaries have run their course, so if anything it’s too early for him to start pushing hard (which is why I expect he’ll take it slow at first). He also has the advantage of being the most successful Libertarian Party presidential candidate of all time (in 2012, he received nearly 1.3 million votes and 1% of the popular vote). Since his main goal will be to differentiate himself from the mainstream candidates, he has plenty of time to make his case.

Not that he ever had a whisper of a chance, but if he did, it’s pretty much dead.

He won’t get more than a handful of democrats. He might get some of the unhappy republicans, but they’re fragmented to hell now, so who would notice?

Bottom line, this is a vanity effort, with no real change of success.

I mean… any bid is “real” right?

Does he have an ice cube’s chance in hell at winning? No.

Right … a Libertarian “real bid” for the Presidency. Gotcha.

As one who actually used to belong to the capital-L Libertarian Party, and had naïve and idealistic hopes that “someday they [voters] will understand”, I doubt that there will be a Libertarian president in my lifetime.

Is there even a chance that any Libertarian candidate can break through the 3% margin in the general election? I doubt it.

@CWOTUS – your life time and the lifetime of your grandchildrens’ grandchildren….

@elbanditoroso If I asked you a year ago who would stand a better chance at getting elected President….a Libertarian Candidate or Donald Trump?

Q: Is it too late for Gary Johnson, 2016 Libertarian presidential candidate, to gain enough traction to make a real bid for the Presidency?
A: Not for the 2020 election.

Gary Johnson: ‘I Have No Delusions of Grandeur Here’

I’m trying to find a sign for my yard.
A really big sign, to put on the busy 2 lane highway out front.

It’s worth noting that there’s a difference between a real bid and a successful bid. Third party candidates have always gauged their campaigns according to a different set of standards, and it is relative to those standards that I made my earlier response. It is not too late in the election season for Gary Johnson to make a better showing than he did in 2012, and the fracturing of the Republican party combined with the absence of Ron Paul in fact increases the chances that he will do so. Of course he’s not going to win. But that alone doesn’t answer the question asked.

He can’t win, but enough votes could swing an election.

Just like the last time, he is going to have a hard time getting any media attention so his viability is in question.

I know Mr. Johnson is a marijuana proponent, but I’m sorry he didn’t take his run a little more seriously. I strongly disagree that running as a Libertarian cannot lead to political power, as Wes Benedict, the executive director of the Libertarian National Committee, said in my link above.

Someone who could appeal to all the disaffected could be a force to be reckoned with. Admittedly ”all” isn’t an achievable goal, but a large percentage is, IMO.

Libertarianism is all well and good if you’re already well off enough to afford a comfortable living. It does nothing for the growing numbers of people struggling to eke out a living on rising costs and shrinking wages.