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Bruce Broussard

(File photo)

America's minor political parties have a major opportunity this election season.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton -- the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, respectively -- are disliked by a remarkably large percentage of voters. And so an electoral system that is structured to lock in major-party dominance has potentially opened up.

One established Oregon community activist has decided the Republicans and Democrats have had their chance, and he is getting behind Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party of Oregon announced this week. Bruce Broussard, a long-time Republican who ran for Portland mayor this year, has joined the minor party.

"Over the years, and especially during this election, it has become clear that we need a strong and effective third party to represent the American people," Broussard said in a statement. "I will continue to work with my Republican and Democrat friends where I can, but I look forward to bringing a fiscal conservative and socially liberal voice to Multnomah County politics."

Broussard is best known for helming the long-running "Oregon Voter Digest" cable-access show. Last week, Broussard interviewed the Libertarian Party's Scott Scrimshaw, who lived in New Mexico when Johnson was the Republican governor of the state. "From a small-businessman's perspective ... I really see great merit in the Johnson/Weld ticket," Scrimshaw said on the program. Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld is Johnson's running mate. Scrimshaw added that Johnson and Weld understand "what unifies us as a nation." You can watch the interview below.

With three months to go to Election Day, Johnson is up to 12 percent in one recent poll. If he gets to 15 percent in the polls come September, he will be allowed to participate in the high-profile televised debates.

Other minor-party presidential candidates -- most notably the Green Party's Jill Stein, who's trying to appeal to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' supporters -- are vying for slices of the electorate in this unusual election season. But the Libertarian Party, as Broussard noted by referring to its low-taxes, limited-regulation economic platform and permissive stands on everything from recreational drugs to gay marriage, can appeal to both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats.

Conventional wisdom says that Libertarian candidates primarily pull in disaffected Republicans, but recent polls suggest that Johnson is holding down Clinton's numbers more than Trump's.

Broussard, a Vietnam War veteran, has headed up the Portland Observer newspaper and been involved with the City Club of Portland and the Oregon chapter of the NAACP. He and his wife run the restaurant Norma's Kitchen.

-- Douglas Perry