Posted on 09/13/2013 5:38:57 AM PDT by markomalley
Spoiler candidate alert: Libertarian Robert Sarvis is a third-party candidate in the 2013 Virginia governor’s race. Although polling reveals that it is unlikely for him to win, will he split votes away from Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli in the process?
Election day is less than 60 days away, and Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe are in crunch time. However, neither candidate option fully satisfies voters. According to a recent poll of likely voters, only 34% of likely voters hold McAuliffe in a “favorable” opinion, and only 35% hold Cuccinelli in this regard.
Reflecting the mood of the Virginia race, Barton Hinkle likened the choice to “choosing between Sauron and SpongeBob Squarepants.”
For Virginia voters torn by this dilemma, Robert Sarvis may be an exciting prospect. Born and raised in the Northern Virginia area, he possesses a background prime for Virginia politics. Impressively, he received his undergraduate degree from Harvard, went on to receive a degree in mathematics from the University of Cambridge, a J.D. from N.Y.U School of Law, and a Master’s in economics from George Mason University.
Sarvis champions the campaign slogan, “Virginia: Open-minded, and Open for Business.” According to his campaign website, he espouses ideals of personal and economic freedoms. Having a mixed race heritage, he promises to bring diversity to the position.
However, despite his impressive background, it is unlikely that Sarvis offers Virginians a plausible alternative winner.
Notably, his greatest obstacle is that as a third party candidate, he does not command the same media spotlight or campaign spending dollars as McAuliffe or Cuccinelli. For example, he was not invited to a recent Virginia gubernatorial candidate debate.
But, will Sarvis be to blame if Cuccinelli loses the election?
At this time, Cuccinelli seems likely to lose whether Sarvis runs or not. For evidence, compare polling data that pairs only Cuccinelli and McAuliffe against each other, to data that includes all three candidates. When only Cuccinelli and McAuliffe are paired, McAuliffe is in the lead at 48%-42%. Meanwhile, data that includes all three candidates depicts McAuliffe at 45.2%, Cuccinelli at 37.3%, and Sarvis is a distant third at 9.5%.
Judging by this criteria, it appears that McAuliffe is the front-runner, with or without Sarvis, for the time being. However, as the momentum of his campaign picks up, this may change in the future.
Virginia is stuck on stupid
The Libertarian is not the spoiler. This retread loser the GOP-e stuck the voters with is the spoiler. When the choice is between a big government statist leaning left or a big government statist claiming to not lean left, in spite of evidence to the contrary, people look elsewhere.
As of 2012 I no longer blame third party candidates for republican losses; the republicans are to blame for fielding xerox candidates nearly indistinguishable from democrats. Cuccinelli isn’t a bad man but “not bad” is no longer a sufficient qualification for a vote.
the ads in Va., from both sides basically say “our guy is less of a crook than their guy”
3rd party candidates are tools of the enemy.
/johnny
Then why don't we field some? Some "Occuoation" party candidates. One reason is the 'rats have absolte control and displine from a political side. You wander off the reservation, and it's a firestorm. The fringes of the conservative side though, have a "my way or the highway" attitude. If the Paulistas want respect, then they can start winning elections. I am sick of their big mouths and 5% of the vote. I wish most of them would just join the Democrats and do their havoc there.
Feel entitled to that vote for the GOP-E, do you?
/johnny
The Libertarian is propped up by Liberal donors, to siphon votes from Cucinelli and let the Dem win that way. FRAUD will be rampant in THIS one.....
Anyone who disagrees with you should just remember all the damage Ross Perot did in 1992. If it were not for him, Bill Clinton would have lost, and today Hillary would be just another crooked two-bit Arkansas lawyer.
The solution is simple. If no candidate for a major office gets a majority of the vote, have a run off.
Thank you Libertarians last time you and other third party conservatives cost us 8 houe seats a US Senate seat and 1 governorship. Thanks to you there might be enough rinos there to pass amnesty and who knows what else.
Third party candidates elect Democrats. Libertarians need to be outlawed.
As long as the GOP-E runs liberals, some people aren't going to vote for the liberal(R). Period. You need to get over it.
/johnny
/johnny
How about outlawing open primaries? Oh... the GOP-E doesn't want to do that. I wonder why?
/johnny
I’m no fan of Ken C., but this guy appears to be a capital ‘L’ Libertarian wingnut re: open borders.
From his web site:
“He seeks to expand personal freedom by...embracing immigrants with open arms.”
Everyone needs to vote for the liberterian to show those RINO republicans like Cuchinelli a thing or three. That splitting the republican’t vote will probably ensure that MacAuliffe wins is irrelevant.
/johnny
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