Liberty Maven

Rasmussen has released a poll for a general election that includes both Ron Paul and Michael Bloomberg running as independents. The results are rather interesting.

When the two candidates are mentioned as independent options in match-ups between Mitt Romney and the two Democratic frontrunners, Paul and Bloomberg attract roughly the same level of support. When John McCain is mentioned as the Republican candidate in a match-up with Barack Obama, Ron Paul earns 11% of the vote while Bloomberg attracts 5%.

At this time, the net impact of such third party efforts appears to benefit the Democrats.

Getting 11% of the vote is a significant amount. It also demonstrates why I’ve been saying all along that the front running Republicans should be a bit nicer to Ron Paul. He can truly hurt them if he chooses to run 3rd party. This Rasmussen poll just proves it. I never imagined a Libertarian candidate would get 11% of the vote in my lifetime. The odds are currently stacked heavily against a Ron Paul third party candidacy. Personally, and I know I’m not alone, I would love it.

Read the more detailed poll results at Rasmussen Reports.