Politics

Gary Johnson Shoots for 50-State Ballots Presence

And the Romney campaign is doing its best to prevent just that

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With Mitt Romney now the official Republican presidential nominee, Libertarian Party nominee Gary E. Johnson is trying to win over liberty lovers who backed Rep. Ron Paul during the GOP's primary process, raising questions of whether either man could play the spoiler for Mr. Romney in a general election.

Mr. Johnson is fighting to get on the ballot in all 50 states, vowing to be the only third-party candidate to do so. While such candidates typically can attract just 1 percent or 2 percent of the vote, that could end up being the margin of victory in swing states such as Iowa, Colorado and North Carolina, where neither President Obama nor Mr. Romney has been able to develop a sustained, insurmountable lead.