Johnson begins first TV push with debates looming

To make the national debate stage, Johnson must attain 15 percent or higher in national polls. Hillary Clinton is viewed by Donald Trump’s core supporters as a scheming, untrustworthy elitist who acts and believes she is above the law.

ReasonThe editorial board of Virginia’s second-largest newspaper declared in a weekend commentary that they are breaking with a lengthy tradition of endorsing Republican candidates for president and throwing their support toward the Libertarian Party’s Gary Johnson. The two former Republican governors of Democratic states (you can’t get much bluer than Massachusetts) are hoping and praying that dissatisfaction with both Clinton and Trump will provide them with the heft they need to be true election contenders.

“The difference between the two of us and the other candidates running for president is that we’ve been there”, says Johnson in the low-tech, direct-to-camera spot.

“If the Commission on Presidential Debates wants to perform a real service to its country, it will invite Gary Johnson onto the big stage”, wrote the paper’s editorial board. That’s something which I’ll evaluate over the coming weeks and months. Johnson, a former Republican, has benefited from Donald Trump’s departure from GOP orthodoxy and from Bernie Sanders’ strong primary campaign, with some voters who supported Sanders refusing Clinton and looking for options. A lawsuit filed by Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein against the Commission on Presidential Debates was dismissed by a judge last month, leaving the third-party candidates scrambling to boost their support ahead of the first debate on September 26. With a late push on television, the Libertarian ticket is showing that it is leaving nothing to chance.