From CBS News on June 15:
“Could the Libertarian Party emerge as a real force in the presidential election this fall?
“The latest CBS News poll of the 2016 general election finds Hillary Clinton maintaining steady lead over Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup, 43 to 37 percent. If Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson is added to the mix, however, he draws support from 11 percent of respondents nationwide. And the three-way race slightly increases Clinton’s lead over Trump—39 to 32 percent.
“The sizable contingent backing Johnson, a popular former Republican governor of New Mexico, also appears in other recent polls. A Bloomberg poll this week found Johnson drawing nine percent support in a three-way race, with Clinton at 49 and Trump at 37 percent. And a Fox News poll released last week found Johnson at 12 percent, Clinton at 39 and Trump at 36.
“It’s not clear whether Johnson would help Trump or Clinton more—the CBS poll, as mentioned before, found Clinton’s lead slightly widening when Johnson is added to the mix. But Bloomberg found the opposite—that Clinton’s lead is actually bigger when Johnson is removed from the equation—while Clinton’s lead in the Fox poll was the same with or without Johnson.
“Few believe that Johnson himself will become a viable contender for the presidency. But given the relative dissatisfaction with the major party nominees—Trump and Clinton have the worst and second-worst favorability numbers of any major nominees in modern history, respectively—Johnson may be able to nab enough voters to affect the outcome of the election.”
