The Gary Johnson Effect Revisited: Is the Libertarian Hurting Hillary?

Back in May, I speculated that the conventional wisdom that Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson would disproportionately impact Donald Trump was wrong, and that Johnson was instead pulling support from both Trump and Hillary Clinton in almost equal measure. Fast-forward roughly four months, and it would appear the major candidates are realizing this as well — especially Clinton, whose campaign is now reportedly worried about the effect Johnson may have in a handful of important swing states: …[A]s national and battleground polls tighten and Democrats’ hand-wringing grows more urgent, operatives both within and allied with Clinton’s political operation who are looking

Could Trump and Clinton Really Finish in a Tie? It’s Possible…

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the Electoral College and how Donald Trump could stop Hillary Clinton from winning 270 electoral votes. The implied assumption from my piece was that Trump would automatically win by stopping Clinton. Of course, that’s not necessarily true — I left out an obvious outcome. What if nobody wins? What if neither candidate reaches 270 electoral votes? There are two main ways this could happen: 1.) Libertarian Gary Johnson wins a state (or two) and throws off the electoral map. This seemed like a more likely outcome in July and August. It’s little more than

Please, Can Someone Help Explain Religious Freedom to Gary Johnson?

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson recently sat down with Townhall.com’s Guy Benson for a fascinating interview covering a number of different topics. In “Part II” of the interview, Johnson intimated that he disagreed with his running mate Bill Weld’s one-time suggestion that Stephen Breyer or Merrick Garland would be ideal Supreme Court nominees, and he suggested that he would not be opposed to a bill protecting the unborn after 20 weeks (though he also insisted that he did not object to the pro-abortion Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling being “the law of the land”). However, when the discussion turned

Independent Candidate Evan McMullin Declares Run for President

Anti-Trump conservatives have been searching for a third party candidate for months to run against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Many of them, understandably, balked at the idea of supporting “Libertarian” Gary Johnson after learning about his positively anti-liberty views on religious freedom.   But today, at long last, after an exhaustive search that featured public flirtations with near-candidates like National Review columnist David French, the #NeverTrump’ers have found their champion. His name is Evan McMullin. CNN reports: Conservative Republicans have recruited a former CIA staffer and top House GOP aide to launch an independent White House bid — and

The Third Party Debate Lawsuit Was Just Rejected

“Libertarian” presidential candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein received bad news on Friday when Federal Judge Rosemary Collyer threw out their lawsuit aimed at entering the general election’s presidential debates this fall. Johnson (former Governor of New Mexico) and Stein (physician) sued the Commission on Presidential Debates after both “failed to receive invitations to the privately-sponsored presidential debates in 2012”. The Commission offers invitations to candidates who are constitutionally eligible, have secured the necessary ballot access, and are garnering at least 15 percent support in public polling prior to the election. The complaint, filed in the

Johnson Op-Ed Clarifies One Thing: He Doesn’t Care About Religious Liberty

Gary Johnson has a religious liberty problem. One would think, based on the fact Johnson is running as a Libertarian, that the former New Mexico governor would be especially sensitive to the complexities of the debate over religious liberty. After all, freedom of religion is the first freedom enumerated in the Bill of Rights, so it would appear to be an important one. But Johnson just cannot seem to put forward a thoughtful position on the subject. Earlier this spring, during a Libertarian Party debate, the candidate was pressed on whether he felt a Jewish baker ought to be forced

Gary Johnson and Bill Weld Do Not Deserve Pro-Lifers’ Votes

Lately there has been a flurry of interest in the Libertarian ticket of Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, including op-eds suggesting that they are a sensible alternative for pro-life voters disillusioned with both major parties. I couldn’t disagree more. Johnson and Weld are unacceptable for pro-lifers. Period. Johnson has said he supports abortion up until viability, while Weld supports unlimited abortion on-demand, up until the moment of birth. The United States is currently one of only seven nations to allow abortion on-demand after five months — more than halfway through pregnancy and a point at which research shows the unborn child

Gary Johnson Continues Ideological Assault on Religious Liberty

Not even those who claim to love liberty the most are standing by religious freedom today. In a recent interview with the Washington Examiner’s Tim Carney, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson derided federal laws protecting religious freedom, saying that it is the federal government’s job to prevent discrimination. When asked if groups that have moral and religious reservations about participating in same-sex wedding ceremonies could be exempted from anti-discrimination laws, Johnson quickly answered in the negative. “Look. Here’s the issue. You’ve narrowly defined this. But if we allow for discrimination — if we pass a law that allows for discrimination on

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