The Presidential Debate Commission ruled today that Gary Johnson and Jill Stein will not be allowed to participate in the first nationally televised Presidential debate. After failing to pull on average 15% in the five polls that the commission used, Johnson loses his fight for now.
From CNN
Washington (CNN)Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein will not participate in the first presidential debate, and their running mates will not be in the vice presidential debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced Friday.
The decision means Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump will be the only two candidates on the stage on September 26, and Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, their respective running mates, will be the only participants on October 4.
The candidates needed to make a 15% polling threshold across several major national polls in order to qualify for the debates. The commission determined that the polling averages for the candidates had Clinton at 43%, Trump at 40.4%, Johnson at 8.4% and Stein at 3.2%.
The fight is not over. Johnson can still qualify for the other two debates that will be held this election season, but the Governor needs to pull his average up from the 8.4% that he is currently sitting.
The polling has been heavily skewed in favor of the two major parties, and it is an uphill battle for Johnson and the Libertarians to gain access to the debate. With the money Johnson is spending on advertisements the possibility is there for him to raise his numbers. Only time will tell now.
Sad news, in a way, but it might also be useful to have Trump and Hillary face off for the first time while Johnson is on the side, “out there” somewhere. The stark choice is clearer that way.
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