For Immediate Release

Libertarian National Committee Chair, Nicholas Sarwark, released this statement today:

In spite of polls showing that54-76 percentof voters want Libertarian Gov. Gary Johnson included in debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) announced that it will not include Johnson in the September 26 debate, nor will it include Gov. William Weld in the October 4 vice presidential debate.

They announced this today, late on a Friday afternoon, known in the spin world as the best time to release news that one wishes to bury.

In their attempt to bolster the chances of thetwo most hated presidential candidates in American history, the Commission’s decision makes a mockery of their stated mission to “provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners.’

The American people overwhelmingly want to find out more about GaryJohnson, the most qualified candidate for President, and the only candidate, other than the two corrupt old party bullies, who will be on the ballot in all fifty states, plus D.C., giving every single American the opportunity to vote for him.

Not having Gov. Johnson on the stage for the first debate turns it from the Super Bowl of politics into the Pro Bowl of politics; boring and unwatchable.

The CPD is controlled byDemocrats and Republicans.The only thing worse than supporting either of their nomineesis colluding against the American people to support both of them.

The Libertarian Party will be calling on the sponsors of the CPD to withdraw theirsupport for what has become a campaign commercial for bullies on September 26.

The party will also continue to work around the CPD’s September 26 debate, which has become increasingly irrelevant.

A Quinnipiac poll released this week put Johnson’s support among voters at 13%, or about 17 million Americans, more than the 13.7 million who voted for the Republican nominee in the primaries to hand him the nomination, and more than the 16.8 million who voted for the Democratic nominee to secure the Democratic nomination.

1992 presidential candidate Ross Perot was the only third party candidate ever to be permitted on the CPD-sponsored presidential debate stage. At that time, Perot was polling at 8 percent in a Times/Mirror poll,below the 9-10% where Johnson is now polling in CPD’s selected polls.