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Polling shows room for Libertarian vote to grow in New Hampshire

I blogged yesterday about the 7% support that Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson enjoys in New Hampshire.  It is important to note that 65% of the voters know nothing about him.  The support he has comes primarily from moderates and those who list themselves as Very Conservative.  His support among liberals is noticeably lower.

New Hampshire:  One place where Gary
Johnson's "Live Free" slogan should
definitely resonate.
Today's Public Policy Polling follow-up in New Hampshire suggests that there is significant room for Johnson to grow that liberal support.  PPP found that two of Johnson's signature issues are rapidly rising in popularity:

-Support for gay marriage in New Hampshire continues to be on the rise. 57% of voters think it should be legal to 35% who think it should be illegal. That represents a six point increase in support for gay marriage compared to last July when we found support at 51/38. Democrats (85% support) and Republicans (just 21% support) are pretty far apart on this issue but as we're finding more and more independents (61% support) are a lot closer to the Democrats than the Republicans on it. 85% of voters support some form of legal recognition for gay couples in the form of either marriage or civil unions, including 69% of Republicans.
-65% of voters support legalizing medical marijuana to 24% opposed. That includes more than 70% of Democrats and independents and even a plurality of GOP voters (46/43).
Given that most people now believe that President Obama's abrupt conversion on marriage equality was a cynical political maneuver (as compared to Governor Johnson's long-held position), and that neither Obama nor Romney has anything planned for marijuana except continuing prosecution and persecution, this would appear to be fertile ground for Libertarians.

If you're in New Hampshire and interested in helping out the Gary Johnson 2012 campaign, visit the New Hampshire for Gary Johnson 2012 Facebook page and get involved.  You can also contact campaign officials direct via the Gary Johnson 2012 website.

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