Title

This Year’s Libertarian Ticket has Remarkable Political Experience. Now Will It Matter?

Document Type

News Article

Publication Date

5-2016

Publication Source

The Washington Post

Abstract

This past weekend, the Libertarian Party nominated the most politically experienced minor party presidential ticket in recent history. Its presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, served two terms as New Mexico’s governor, and in 2012 became the first former governor to run on a minor party or independent ticket since 1980. Its vice presidential nominee, Bill Weld, served two terms as governor of Massachusetts, after having been a U.S. attorney and a Justice Department official.

That makes 2016 a perfect test case for finding out how much political credibility matters to voters. If experience is important to voters when considering minor party candidates, the Libertarian ticket should perform exceptionally well in 2016 compared with the party’s past electoral performances.

Comments

This article appeared on the Washington Post blog Monkey Cage. View it online.

Permission documentation is on file.

Publisher

The Washington Post

Place of Publication

Washington, D.C.

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