Today, I'm not asking you to vote for anyone. I don't care if you support Clinton, Trump, Johnson, Stein or anyone else. I'm here to tell you why this year the Third party candidates will matter and why ignoring them is a grave mistake.
Let's go back to 2000 election, George W. Bush versus Al Gore. For anyone who remembered that election, they remember how big of an impact the 3rd party candidate had that year.
Ralph Nader, the Green Party nominee, didn't stand a chance, but he collected enough votes for the Democrats to blame him for their loss to George W. Bush. This year, the 3rd party candidates may be even more prominent than Nader ever was.
Gary Johnson is currently polling at 13 percent, two points away from being eligible to debate with Trump and Clinton in front of America. Now, I don't know if he can win, but even if he doesn't, he will steer the course of this election and has already begun to. Many Republicans and Independents are leaning towards Johnson as an alternate to Trump and even some liberals are content with him due to his social stances. Jill Stein may not be as high in the polls as Johnson, but she's making her mark and ignoring her won't make her go away either.
As of now, neither Trump nor Clinton have even acknowledged the other candidates, but they very well might have to. Let's be sure we understand this: Gary Johnson is already well on his way to being able to debate with them. Even though he may only be in the low double-digit numbers right now, imagine if they put him on center stage in front of all of America and he actually debates them well?
This year, both Clinton and Trump have very low approval ratings with the majority of Americans. Obviously, they both have their strong supporters, but this low approval rating has left a vast pool of undecided voters who are doubting their vote this year. Putting a 3rd party candidate on center stage on TV in front of all of America may very well boost their popularity by shocking numbers. Now, you can claim again and again that he can't win, but if Gary Johnson even takes more than 20 percent of the vote, well, that will steer the election in a whole different direction.
It's hard to truly tell who Johnson will take more votes away, Trump or Clinton, but he will take them away and is already doing so. And you know what, I'm going to say it, maybe he can win.
As for Jill Stein, before her supporters get mad at me, yes she does matter in this election. So far her numbers are much lower than Johnson, but her team is working hard to add her name on state ballots and increase awareness about the Green Party and their candidate. As Johnson rises in popularity, more people might hear about Stein and she as well might rise in popularity. It could be a Domino effect for the 3rd party candidates this year and they both might end up as major contenders in 2016.
Look, I'm not gonna tell you who you should vote for this year. I'm just telling you, don't be ignorant. You can dislike any candidate as much as you want and talk bad about them as much as you want, but pretending they're not relevant is admitting to your own ignorance. Now, no one can predict the future, but this year, 3rd party candidates will help determine this election, and hey, maybe they'll blow our minds and actually win this thing.
