Fried speaks with Sun Journal about Libertarian presidential candidate
Amy Fried, a political science professor at the University of Maine, spoke with the Sun Journal for an article about Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson ahead of his Aug. 26 visit to Lewiston. Political experts, including Fried, expect Johnson will attract votes away from Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. Fried said some Maine Republicans may be swayed to vote Libertarian since popular U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, denounced Trump and said she would support the Libertarian candidate if Bill Weld led the ticket. Fried said people who usually vote Democrat and don’t like Clinton may also go Libertarian. “There’s some Bernie Sanders supporters who have strong Libertarian tendencies. National data show most Sanders supporters supporting Hillary Clinton, but more of them are supporting Johnson than [Green Party candidate] Jill Stein, which is surprising.” Even with the support, national polls show Johnson doesn’t have a chance to be elected president, Fried said. “He’s got to be at 15 percent to be in the debates,” she said. “He’s not there.” The best Johnson could probably do is attract enough votes so neither Clinton nor Trump get a majority, Fried predicted.