May 24, 2016

Gary Johnson in double digits in another national poll

Andy Lyman

Another national poll that included Gary Johnson has him in double digits when faced up against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

keeper (4)Morning Consult had Clinton at 38 percent and Trump at 35 percent, while Johnson pulled in 10 percent, and 17 percent still were undecided.

From the pollster:

The 10 percent support for Johnson is about twice as high as most tracking polls from 2012, when he also ran for president against Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Johnson is the former two-term governor of New Mexico. A recent poll conducted by Public Policy Polling for NM Political Report showed Johnson at 14 percent in New Mexico.

Fifteen percent nationally is a key number to watch for Johnson and other third-party candidates; only candidates with 15 percent in select national polls qualify to be onstage for nationally-televised debates put on by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Johnson is part of a lawsuit challenging the CPB’s criteria for allowing candidates onstage for the debate.

In the national poll, Johnson’s largest level of support comes from independents, 18 percent of whom say they would vote for him. Johnson actually does nearly as well as Clinton (19 percent) among independents; Trump leads with 37 percent.

In the major parties, 7 percent of Democrats say they would vote for Johnson and 6 percent of Republicans say they would vote for Johnson.

Meanwhile, Clinton leads among Democrats 70 percent to Trump’s ten percent. Trump leads among Republicans 73 percent to Clinton’s 9 percent.

Johnson also does well among the youngest voters; 18 percent of 18 to 29 year olds say they would vote for Johnson. Meanwhile, just 3 percent of those age 65 or older say they would vote for Johnson.

Johnson also does well among Hispanic voters; 17 percent of Hispanic voters say they would vote for Johnson.

Meanwhile, 46 percent of Hispanics say they would vote for Clinton, while 21 percent say they would vote for Trump.

The margin of error on Hispanic voters is likely very large, as only 179 of the respondents were Hispanic.

Johnson is seeking the Libertarian Party nomination. The Libertarian Party hosts their convention in Florida this week and NM Political Report will be on hand to track Johnson throughout the weekend.

The poll questioned 2,001 registered voters between May 19 and 23. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points. The margin of error will be larger on smaller demographic groups, such as political parties and age groups.

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