As the United States moves closer to the general election for President in November, the only thing that seems to be similar between the two candidates is the high unfavorable percentage that each candidate has with the general public, leaving the door open for open for a possible third party. In Colorado the situation is playing itself out among Millennial voters (voters who are in the 18-34 age group), where Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is leading in the age group. In one of the most important age groups of the country, Governor Johnson is leading Mr. Trump 29% to 18%, with Hillary Clinton coming in first among the group.

“Gary Johnson’s campaign is the only one gaining steam, the other two are dying day to day”, Steve Kerbel, Gov. Johnson’s Colorado spokesman said recently.  Gov. Johnson is seeing his poll numbers rise as the two main stream candidates have seen their favorability numbers decline rapidly to almost record numbers as each is seen as the “lesser of two evils” and each candidate has been embroiled in controversy over the last couple of months.

However despite all of the positive momentum that Mr. Johnson has created, he still lags far behind in the national polls when included in a three way race with Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump. In the latest poll available, Clinton leads with 41.9%, with Trump trailing at 37.6% and Gov. Johnson with only 8.7% of the vote.

“Gov. Johnson likes to say most people are libertarian they just don’t know it yet” Mr. Kerbel continued in his interview.

The Libertarian Party likes to position itself as the difference between the two mainstream parties as pointed out in its party platform. In the platform it states that it is a party that “promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism overseas, free market capitalism and no welfare”. 

Some of the controversies included for both nominees include the Clinton foundation accepting money from controversial countries such as Saudi Arabia along with other countries whose representatives were then granted meetings with Mrs. Clinton. This example places the label of corruption for some next to Mrs. Clinton and her family for using their place in office to profit from it.

Controversies from Mr. Trump include him mocking a disabled New York Times reporter, and also questioning the race of a Mexican judge and his ability to rule fairly in cases involving Mr. Trump. These two incidents (along with other incidents) have convinced detractors of Mr. Trump that he is not temperamentally fit for the office of the Presidency.

These examples of both sides having problems have placed serious doubt in the minds of voters from both parties, not only of the other candidate, but also from certain sections from their own party. In the Democratic Party Bernie Sanders supporters have been reluctant to get behind Mrs. Clinton as seeing her as being too in bed with Wall Street and not much better on foreign than her Republican opponent.

On the Republican side, there has been opposition from a segment who has labeled themselves “never trump” voters, many of which have been Ted Cruz supporters in the primary and have not been able to put the defeat behind them. Some of the more moderate supporters of Jeb Bush and John Kasich (along with the candidates themselves) have also been reluctant to get behind Mr. Trump.

This divide has placed a strain upon the Republican party as the “never Trump” side has been reluctant to be vocal in its support of the front runner and has gone against a promise made in the first debate to support whatever candidate won the nomination.

In the same poll for the Democratic side, almost half of millennials who voted for Bernie Sanders said that they were open to voting for a 3^rd party candidate and possibly even Donald Trump. In the poll, 48% of Democrat millennials said that they would or could vote for a 3^rd party, while 39% said they were firmly behind Mrs. Clinton and 13% said that they could vote for Donald Trump.

In a nationwide poll conducted of those under 35, Mrs. Clinton is crushing Mr. Trump 56% to 20%.

“ She lies a lot with the emails and stuff” 18 year old Springfield New Jersey high school senior, Frank Tan said, who was a prior Bernie Sanders supporter. “If you don’t think she is going to do a good job then why vote for her?”

On the Republican side some millennials have the same feeling regarding their choice. “At first I supported Ben Carson, and when he dropped out I was supporting Ted Cruz, and I wasn’t left with much when he left”, Serena Potter a 19-year-old college student from Brownsburg Indiana said regarding the choice of having to vote for Trump for President.  When asked who she would vote for, Ms. Potter said, “If there was a gun to my head, I’d say Trump, he is better than Clinton”.

In the end, it is good that young people are paying attention to the political process and voicing their concerns through the polls and voicing their unhappiness with their choices as it shows that they we have an interest in the direction that our political party, and ultimately our country goes in the future.

 Links to sources:

1. Inquistir Link: https://www.inquisitr.com/3411279/gary-johnson-polls-at-15-percent-in-colorado-closes-in-on-virginia/
2. The Hill: https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/292008-poll-libertarian-johnson-beating-trump-with-colorado-millennials
3. Real Clear Politics General Election Poll: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_clinton_vs_johnson_vs_stein-5952.html
4. Washington Post Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/09/could-donald-trump-lose-the-millennial-vote-to-gary-johnson/
5. USA Today Link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/08/14/donald-trump-historic-trouncing-among-younger-voters-hillary-clinton-president-poll/88666746/
6. USA Today Sanders Millennial Poll: https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/287708-poll-nearly-half-of-sanders-millennial-supporters-would