Libertarian voters, advocating everything from less government to legalized pot, seem the perfect wildcard in any November election, peeling off Democratic or Republican votes.
However, their stronger allegiance to the Republican Party and frequent opposition to establishment candidates continue to create more problems for GOP nominees in general elections. And this year may be no different, as libertarian candidates threaten to drain votes from Republicans in key races.
The most high-impact race this year will likely be in New Hampshire, where Libertarian candidate Gardner Goldsmith is complicating Senate Republican candidate Scott Brown’s bid to defeat incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and help his party take control of the upper chamber.
Brown trails Shaheen by 10 percentage points (39-49) with Goldsmith taking 2 points and 9 percent of voters still undecided, according to the most recent Suffolk University/ Boston Herald poll.
While Goldsmith’s 2 percentage points might appear too small to decide the race, political observers argue New Hampshire voters have a history of supporting independent candidates, which means that Goldsmith could take a big chuck of the undecided vote and block Brown’s potential path to victory.
In addition, even if Brown wins all 9 percent of the undecided vote, Goldsmith still holds the deciding 2 percent, says David Paleologos, director of the university’s Political Research Center. He also points out that 2 percent of registered Republican voters in the June 20 poll favored Goldsmith, compared to zero for Democrats.
Republicans need to win a net six seats this fall to take control of the Senate.
In North Carolina, Libertarian candidate Sean Haugh is also complicating Republicans’ plans to defeat Sen. Kay Hagan, considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent senators in 2014.Read the rest of the story HERE.
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1 comment:
Libertarians who pose as GOP are not only dishonest in who they are, but they are total asshats.
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