In an election year that has turned conventional political wisdom on its head, the Libertarian Party could see an unexpected boost at the polls. According to the results of a recent Dan Jones survey released by UtahPolicy.com, Libertarian candidate and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is currently polling at 16 percent in Utah.
The survey asked nearly a thousand likely Utah voters who they would support if the presidential election were held today. Johnson has seen an increase of six percent since the survey question was asked back in June. Nearly a third of Utah independents also answered that they would support Johnson, giving him the lead among unaffiliated voters.
In an online campaign advertisement, Johnson, along with his running mate former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, presented the Libertarian ticket as a viable alternative for frustrated voters.
But the question remains whether this polling trend will carry into November. The party has only once finished with higher than one percent of nationwide votes and in 1972 a faithless elector in Virginia handed the Libertarian Party its sole Electoral College vote to date.
Republican Donald Trump currently leads Democrat Hillary Clinton 37 percent to 25 percent among Utah voters.
