LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Libertarian option means they both could lose

This is a presidential campaign like no other. Both the Republicans and the Democrats seem to have gone out of their way to choose the least appealing candidates in their respective parties, confident in the belief that as odious as their candidate is, the electorate will find their opponent marginally worse. What a way to choose a president. The most recent Real Clear Politics average polling numbers show that over 53 percent of voters have an unfavorable opinion of Hillary Clinton, and over 61 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Donald Trump. I wonder what percentage have an unfavorable opinion of both. I know I do. And yet, despite those poor ratings, we are expected to elect one of these two as our next president. Too bad there isn’t a way they could both lose. Media pundits have been bemoaning the lack of an appealing choice for months now. If only another candidate could somehow come forward and offer another choice. Somebody we could vote for, instead of someone to vote against. It’s as if those pundits were unwilling to recognize that there is another choice, and there has been for months. Gary Johnson is the Libertarian candidate for president, and he will be on the ballot in most, if not all 50, states, including Delaware. Libertarians believe in smaller government, lower taxes, and more personal freedom. That means we are fiscally conservative, and socially progressive. Gary is the former two-term governor of New Mexico. His running mate is William Weld, the former two-term governor of Massachusetts. Both were popular Republican governors who got re-elected in predominantly Democratic states, and they’re now running as Libertarians. Between the two of them, they have more governing experience than either of the two major party tickets. The idea of voting for a third party feels strange to most people, but if there was ever an election where it made sense, this is it. Gary is currently running about 10 percent in national polls. Not bad for someone who has nowhere near the name recognition of the two major party candidates. His goal is to get to 15 percent, which will qualify him to participate in the upcoming national debates. That could change everything. He’s gotten a big boost lately from a couple of televised prime time town hall-styled interviews on CNN. If voters get the opportunity to compare all three of these candidates on a single stage at the same time, our dismal prospects for this coming November might improve dramatically. Don’t like Trump or Clinton? Wish they could both lose? Good news. They can.

Jesse T. McVay Dover