AP Photo/The New Mexican, Clyde Mueller

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson announces his bid for the Libertarian Party nomination for president of the United States, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in the rotunda of the New Mexico State Capitol in Santa Fe, N.M. Johnson, a long-shot candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, said Wednesday he was leaving the GOP in favor of running as aLibertarian.

By Karoun Demirjian (contact)

Friday, Oct. 5, 2012 | 2 a.m.

Washington

When the election is this near and polls are this close, it often seems like any soft breeze could tip the scales in favor of one presidential candidate or the other.

Such as a good jobs report. Or a bad debate performance.

Or a third party candidate.

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Partys pick for 2012, hasnt gained as much recognition as his third-party predecessors.

He hasnt been invited to participate in the debates, as Ross Perot was in 1992. He hasnt yet captured as many headlines as did the 2000 cycles Ralph Nader, whose 90,000 votes in Florida tipped the scales out of former vice president Al Gores favor enough that George W. Bush was eventually awarded the states electoral votes and became president.

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