Those of you who follow me on social media, know that I’ve been lukewarm on Johnson for a while and was even downright vitriolic of him during the Libertarian Convention. I talk a lot about principles and the importance of voting for those who represent them. Why would I vote for a man who defies many of my own core believes when I am so so opposed to the ‘voting for the lesser evil’ argument? I voted absentee this year and here is my top 10 reasons I voted for Gary Johnson tonight:

1) He belongs to a political party



Not only does Johnson belong to a party, he belongs to the largest political third-party in the country. Now, I’m not a party person exactly. Party allegiance has caused a lot of problems, and I don’t believe in party over principles. What I do believe in, is fixing the current system we have. Getting a third-party candidate to 5% of the popular vote on election night gets that party major party status. This means having a third voice on the main stage in 2020. It means taking down the two-party system. McMullin and Castle are great, but they can’t do that. Castle is part of a party, but it doesn’t have near the pull that the Libertarians do. McMullin is independent, so voting for him really would be the ‘Ross Perot’ factor. It would accomplish next to nothing.

2) I align with him more than any other candidate running

Sure, I only align with him 1% more than McMullin, but facts are facts. I may detest Gary Johnson’s opinions on religious liberties, funding Planned Parenthood, and abortion but voting for someone who is on the same page as you 97% of the time, I say, is doing pretty good. You certainly aren’t selling out your principles- doing that would be voting for either of the two major candidates (both of which didn’t get a passing grade.)

3) I’m an anti-war Army wife

It goes without saying that I don’t want my husband to go to war, but it’s more than that. It’s bigger than me and my family. I don’t want this country to go to war. Period. I’m done with the regime change, the nation building, and the endless killing of innocent people. Our actions in the Middle East have proven to ignite terrorism, not end it. Do I believe that war is sometimes justifiable? Absolutely, but we’ve been in the Middle East long enough. It’s time to end it, and I don’t belief Hillary Clinton or Trump can do that. Hillary might even get us into World War III with Russia! Johnson is one of the only candidates not calling for carpet bombing, no fly zones, or continued intervention. Because of this, I don’t care that he didn’t know where Aleppo is.

4) Ballot access

Gary Johnson is the only third-party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states! This alone makes him the only viable one. Now, should we only support candidates if they have a chance of winning? No. If that’s how I felt I would be supporting Trump or Clinton. I do believe in being pragmatic to an extent, however. If I’m going to break from the two-party threshold, I might as well vote for the candidate I both more align with and who has the most opportunity to start the change I wish to see.

5) Opportunity to throw the election into the house.

Now this one is admittedly a long shot, but if a third-party candidate can claim just one state, they can prevent the major candidates from winning a majority come election night. In the event that this happens, the decision is thrown to the House of Representatives. Gary has a chance of taking not one state, but two! He’s within reach of winning both Utah and his home state of New Mexico. Evan McMullin is trying really hard to claim Utah as well, but unfortunately for him, He is still trailing Trump and Johnson in the scientific polls. There is one poll where Johnson is behind McMullin, but it had a fairly small sample size (500). Like I said, this is a total hail Mary shot at the White House. Even if the election was decided by the house, the probability of them picking a third-party is close to nonexistent in today’s world of partisan politics. Despite this, it would still be neat to make history and prove that a third party vote has weight. It could be just the event to get a movement rolling.

Update: Mcmullin has since surpassed Gary and even Trump in several polls in Utah as of now. He also has a chance of doing well in Idaho. If you are from either of these states and would like to see the election get thrown to the House, I would recommend giving Mcmullin a look.

6) I don’t have to do moral gymnastics to defend him

I believe Hillary is bad for woman. If you are curious as to why, I invite you to read my other post: 5 Reasons Hillary Clinton is Bad For Woman. Donald Trump has proven to be bad for my sex as well. Whether it be the remarks he’s made this election cycle about Megyn Kelly and Carlie Fiorina, or ones he’s made in the past, such as what was said on the most recent leaked tape. The fact is, both of these people are deplorable and should buy a basket and share it. It’s freeing to know that I don’t have to defend these cretins.

Johnson’s not above reproach. He’s had his own gaffs and misdeeds, such as pistol gate, but, as far as I know, he’s never sexually assaulted anyone or enabled anyone who has. No one has died due to his incompetence. If all I have to do is defend his goofy behavior and that he can’t name a foreign leader he admires, I’ll take it.