Gary Johnson: I have better than '50 percent chance' at making a debate
Despite currently polling below the 15 percent threshold, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is “really optimistic” about his chances of making the general election presidential debates.
“We really think we’re going to make it happen, I think there’s better than a 50 percent chance that it will happen,” said Johnson in an interview Monday with Yahoo News. “Right now we’re reaching over 30 million people on social media, of course at the fringes that just means they’re hearing the name for the first time, really optimistic this is going to happen.”
Since 2000, the Commission on Presidential Debates has required a candidate to reach at least 15 percent in an average of five national polls in order to qualify for the autumn’s general election debates. Recent four-way polling (featuring Johnson, along with Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Green Party candidate Jill Stein) has him in the high single digits, with some state polling placing him right at the necessary number.
Johnson said he could still make the later debates if he misses the first bout, which takes place on Sept. 26.
“They keep the polling going on even though you wouldn’t make the first debate,” said Johnson. “It’s conceivable you could make 15 percent for the second or third, so that remains a possibility.”
He added: “If you’re not in the presidential debate, there’s no way you’re going to win the presidency, given that the first presidential debate is estimated to garner more viewership than the Super Bowl.”
Johnson, a two-term former governor of New Mexico, cited social media as critical in getting his message out.
“We addressed a group the other night in Vermont, there were over 400 people at the event but within two hours after the event over 300,000 had viewed it on Facebook Live.”
In the wide-ranging interview with Yahoo News, Johnson — who was also the Libertarian candidate in the 2012 presidential election — shared his views on the Clinton Foundation, Trump’s immigration plan, the necessity of the EPA, his plans for North Korea and Syria, his support among the military and the Black Lives Matter movement.
