Gary Johsnon Hoping for Second-Place Finish In D.C.

Ahead of Romney

While Barack Obama and Mitt Romney scurry across swing states, appearing at packed rallies and high-stakes debates, Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson stood in a Dupont Circle bar specializing in board games Thursday evening, vying for the unswingiest of America's electoral votes among a cozy group of small-government true believers.

Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico, holds hope that his message will appeal to District residents put off by both the incumbent president and his GOP challenger. With a fiscally conservative but socially accepting (pro gay marriage, pro marijuana legalization, pro online gambling) message well calibrated for urban sensibilities, Johnson is hoping he can outpoll Romney in a few key D.C. precincts — perhaps even come in second overall.