Libertarian Party presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen has won more votes than President Donald Trump would need to close the gap with Joe Biden in four swing states — Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — if current results hold.
According to the latest numbers Tuesday morning:
- In Arizona, Biden has 1,648,642 votes (49.43%) and Trump has 1,633,896 votes (48.99%), a difference of 14,746 votes (0.44%). Jorgensen has 50,293 votes (1.51%).
- In Georgia, Biden has 2,469,358 (49.50%) and Trump has 2,457,066 votes (49.25%), a difference of 12,292 votes (0.25%). Jorgensen has 61,999 votes (1.24%).
- In Pennsylvania, Biden has 3,365,338 (49.69%), and Trump has 3,320,235 (49.02%), a difference of 45,103 (0.67%). Jorgensen has 77,654 (1.15%).
- In Wisconsin, Biden has 1,630,569 (49.45%), and Trump has 1,610,030 (48.43%), a difference of 20,539 (0.62%). Jorgensen has 38,271 (1.16%).
If Jorgensen’s votes went to Trump, instead of allowing Biden to win these states, the president would win re-election, with 289 Electoral College votes.
The Trump campaign is challenging the current results in these and other states, and recounts are likely in several of them.
Though Jorgensen might also be said to be “taking” votes from Biden, Trump has a large enough lead in the battleground states of Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio to defeat Biden there even if Jorgensen’s votes were added to Biden’s.
Both Democrats and Republicans often warn voters that third-party votes risk swinging the result of an election away from a major-party candidate they might prefer.
In 2016, both the Libertarian Party and Green Party candidates won more votes in Pennsylvania than the gap between Trump and Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton.
In Pennsylvania, the Democrats successfully sued to keep the Green Party presidential candidate off the ballot, winning at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in September.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His newest e-book is The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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