The Libertarian Party releases this statement from Libertarian National Committee Political Director, Carla Howell:
“It has come to our attention that Fox News is running misleading ads for the first presidential debate scheduled for September 26,
which show just two participants: Democrat Hillary Clinton and
Republican Donald Trump. The Commission on Presidential Debates has not
yet announced whether it will include Libertarian Gov. Gary Johnson in
debates.
“Co-chair for the Commission on Presidential Debates Mike McCurry told POLITICO in August: “We won’t know the number of invitations we extend until mid-September.”
“The
CPD has said that to qualify, candidates must poll at 15% in five polls
selected by the commission, but has indicated they may include Gov.
Johnson if he comes close. Johnson has hovered around 10% in polls.
"Governors
Johnson and Weld are polling higher than any Libertarian Party
presidential ticket in history, more than covering the spread between
the old party candidates and they have racked up endorsements from
scores of prominent politicians and luminaries in various fields.
Editorial boards of major newspapers like the Chicago Tribune and
Richmond Times-Dispatch have publicly called for Johnson to be included
in the debates. The Times-Dispatch, Tim Kaine's hometown newspaper, gave
their official endorsement to Johnson. This is remarkable, especially
considering the light media coverage Johnson has received compared with
the saturation coverage that the media has showered on the Republican
and Democrat.
“An
August Quinnipiac University poll shows 62 percent of likely voters
nationally say Gov. Johnson should be included in the debates this year.
Pretending Gary Johnson is excluded when no decision has been made
misleads viewers and does a grave disservice to voters who are hungry
for an alternative.
"The
Libertarian Party requests that Fox News immediately pull all
misleading ads, and refrain from making any public statements, which
give the impression that only two candidates will be in the debates. We
hope for similarly fair and truthful representations of the debates from
all media outlets covering the election and urge them to step up their
coverage of our two very qualified candidates so every voter can make an
informed choice."
The Libertarian Party is on track to be on the ballot in all fifty states and DC.
###
