Eric Giunta
Did third-party presidential candidates spoil Florida for Romney?
By Eric Giunta
Florida's final tally isn't in yet, and Romney has lost the presidential election with or without its coveted electoral votes, but spokespersons for the state's largest third-parties insist they are the reason the Republican nominee did not carry the Sunshine State.
"I hoped that I would get labeled as a 'spoiler' from the standpoint of people actually focusing on what it is I am saying, and that this changes the way whoever wins governs," Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson told Sunshine State News in a sit-down interview in August. The ex-Republican is one of New Mexico's most popular former governors, winning 3.5 percent of that state's vote Tuesday.
Johnson didn't, in fact, spoil the race for either Republican Mitt Romney or Democratic incumbent Barack Obama. In Florida, he seems to have earned some 0.53 percent of the presidential total, not enough to bridge the gap between Obama's 49.87 percent and Romney's 49.27 percent. A similar dynamic played out in Ohio, Virginia, and Colorado, all swing-states Romney lost. Though the jury is technically still out in Florida while absentee ballots continue to be counted, it seems safe to say Johnson did not bridge the two-party gap in any state race.
At least, he didn't do it alone.
"When you add up all of the third-party votes, there actually was enough to tip Florida in either [major] candidate's favor," Adrian Wyllie, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida, tells Sunshine State News. "We're pretty happy with the outcome". . . .
Catch the rest of the story at Sunshine State News!
© Eric Giunta
November 8, 2012
Florida's final tally isn't in yet, and Romney has lost the presidential election with or without its coveted electoral votes, but spokespersons for the state's largest third-parties insist they are the reason the Republican nominee did not carry the Sunshine State.
"I hoped that I would get labeled as a 'spoiler' from the standpoint of people actually focusing on what it is I am saying, and that this changes the way whoever wins governs," Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson told Sunshine State News in a sit-down interview in August. The ex-Republican is one of New Mexico's most popular former governors, winning 3.5 percent of that state's vote Tuesday.
Johnson didn't, in fact, spoil the race for either Republican Mitt Romney or Democratic incumbent Barack Obama. In Florida, he seems to have earned some 0.53 percent of the presidential total, not enough to bridge the gap between Obama's 49.87 percent and Romney's 49.27 percent. A similar dynamic played out in Ohio, Virginia, and Colorado, all swing-states Romney lost. Though the jury is technically still out in Florida while absentee ballots continue to be counted, it seems safe to say Johnson did not bridge the two-party gap in any state race.
At least, he didn't do it alone.
"When you add up all of the third-party votes, there actually was enough to tip Florida in either [major] candidate's favor," Adrian Wyllie, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida, tells Sunshine State News. "We're pretty happy with the outcome". . . .
Catch the rest of the story at Sunshine State News!
© Eric Giunta
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