Gary Johnson and Jill Stein Aren't Ralph Nader

In 2000, Al Gore lost the election to George W. Bush. Many Democrats vilified Ralph Nader, the candidate for the Green Party, who took around 2.7%  of the popular vote, claiming that because he ran, Al Gore lost. This year, we have Libertarian Gary Johnson and Jill Stein of the Green Party, let's take a look at them both.

First and foremost, we can argue forever about if Ralph Nader cost Al Gore the election, but that's not what we're here for. Many people in the media have claimed that Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are simply Ralph Nader on steroids.

In some sense, that is true. The numbers are still contested, but numbers out there show Jill Stein polling from anywhere from 4%-6% and Gary Johnson from as low as 11% to as high as 14% (nearly enough to debate with Trump and Clinton). The first thing you should notice, is that regardless of their numbers right now, they are both doing INSANELY better than Ralph Nader ever did. Even if we take one of them out of the equation entirely, they're still doing better.

Now, Jill Stein is representing the Green Party, and as has been leading a call to get many disgruntled Bernie supporters to join her fight. Gary Johnson is doing the same, but he's also calling for many Republicans who disagree with Donald Trump's hateful rhetoric.

Together, they're both taking many votes away from Trump and Clinton and showing Americans another option. It's too early, and nearly impossible to see who's taking more votes away from who, but they're both building up a massive following. Together, they have already racked up nearly 20% of the popular support of the American people. At the moment, Gary Johnson seems very likely to be able to debate, and if he does he might be able to rack even more support if put on national television.

Regardless, I can't predict the future, and neither can you. We don't know how far Gary Johnson and Jill Stein will go in this election, but from the look of it, they seriously plan to win it and these numbers are looking really good for both 3rd party candidates. If the numbers go up, we might actually see a close election between three and maybe even four candidates.

Even if they don't win, they'll upset the balance of power in the Republican and Democratic party. Both parties might reach "major party" status this election and soon we might be seeing Green Party members and Libertarians in other major offices.

With Bernie Sanders' political revolution and Donald Trump's divisive rhetoric, Jill Stein and Gary Johnson might have a better chance at winning this than any 3rd party candidates in history ever had. Even if they don't win it, they'll send both Trump and Clinton on a run for their money.