Maybe Pot Smokers Will Determine Next President
Third-party candidates never get elected President, but they do affect elections. Just think about Ralph Nader's 97,000 votes in Florida in 2000. This year two third-party candidates could affect results, although they balance out. In Virginia, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode may siphon off enough votes from Mitt Romney to throw the state to President Obama. But Goode is not the only minor candidate running for President. In Colorado, Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson is running on a platform that includes legalizing marijuana. It just so happens that a measure to legalize and tax marijuana like alcohol is also on the ballot in Colorado and looks like it might pass. There is good chance that normally stoned pot heads who might otherwise vote for Obama decide to vote for Johnson to emphasize their support for legalization. In such a close election, if Obama loses even 1% of the Colorado vote to Johnson, it could swing the state to Romney and possibly with it, the presidency.
Third-party candidates never get elected President, but they do affect elections. Just think about Ralph Nader's 97,000 votes in Florida in 2000. This year two third-party candidates could affect results, although they balance out. In Virginia, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode may siphon off enough votes from Mitt Romney to throw the state to President Obama. But Goode is not the only minor candidate running for President. In Colorado, Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson is running on a platform that includes legalizing marijuana. It just so happens that a measure to legalize and tax marijuana like alcohol is also on the ballot in Colorado and looks like it might pass. There is good chance that normally stoned pot heads who might otherwise vote for Obama decide to vote for Johnson to emphasize their support for legalization. In such a close election, if Obama loses even 1% of the Colorado vote to Johnson, it could swing the state to Romney and possibly with it, the presidency.