Fifty-two percent of registered voters want libertarian candidate Gary Johnson to be included in the presidential TV debates, according to a survey by Morning Consult.
Johnson is very unlikely to get a seat, because his highest polling score has been around 13 percent, and he’s now struggling around 8 percent.
The committee of D.C. insiders which set the rules for the debate has decided to invite only people with at least 15 percent support in the polls.
The presidential debates are scheduled for Sept. 26, Oct. 4 and Oct. 9.
Johnson’s exclusion is probably good for Hillary Clinton, because most of his voters would pick her as their second choice. He favors large-scale immigration and socially liberal policies.
In 1992, the commission allowed third-party candidate Ross Perot into the debates. That November, he got 19 percent of the vote while Gov. Bill Clinton won the presidency with 43 percent of the national vote.
The new survey included 2,002 registered voters.
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