Does the name Jo Jorgenson ring a bell? On May 23, she won the Libertarian nomination for President, and will be in the Nov. 3 ballot in all 50 states. Four years ago, Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson won nearly 4.5 million votes, four times as many as any Libertarian nominee before. Can they improve on that this time?
Most experts think … probably not. With a hotly controversial Donald Trump on the ballot, few may be inclined to “waste” a vote on someone who has little chance to win, has very little name recognition, and is unlikely to be included in any debates.
But Jorgensen, a Ph.D. lecturer in psychology at Clemson University, may have some things going for her. Intelligent and accomplished, she is a decent speaker and, at 63, more than a decade younger than Joe Biden or Donald Trump.
She has been sharply critical of lockdown policies in the face of the pandemic, which may appeal to some conservatives, but is rigorously pro-choice and against getting involved in foreign wars, which liberals should like. How well will she do?
In a cliché in a nutshell… only time will tell.
— Jack Lessenberry
PS: Follow me on my professional Facebook page, Lessenberryink.com, for more observations, essays and podcasts.