Despite a rise in the polls, up to 13 percent, and a majority of people in the U.S. wanting Gary Johnson to debate, Gary Johnson will not be included into the first presidential debate on September 26th, and Bill Weld will not be allowed into the vice presidential debate on October 4th.
Johnson has recently seen the benefit in an upward trend in poll numbers this past week, but his average stayed where it has been for the longest time: 8.4%.
According to the official statement by the debate commission, “With the assistance of Dr. Newport, the Board determined that the polling averages called for in the third criterion are as follows: Hillary Clinton (43%), Donald Trump (40.4%), Gary Johnson (8.4%), and Jill Stein (3.2%). Accordingly, Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, and Donald Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, qualify to participate in the September 26 presidential debate and October 4 vice-presidential debate, respectively. No other candidates satisfied the criteria for inclusion in the September 26 and October 4 debate. The criteria will be reapplied to all candidates in advance of the second and third presidential debates.”
The current poll numbers don’t disqualify Johnson from the second and third debates, and if he sees a rise in poll numbers, could be included in the debates on October 9th and 19th.
Johnson has previously noted that if he was left out of the debates, it would doom his campaign.
Johnson was endorsed by three newspapers, and many celebrities and political pundits of all parties and political affiliations believe that they should let Gary Johnson debate. These results will come at the dismay of all of these people, and the majority of the nation, who believes that third party candidates should be given the shot to have their voices heard, even if they’re not one of the top two candidates.
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