With such a tight race – third party candidates could impact the presidential race in many swing states including Colorado.
A recent CNN poll shows Libertarian Gary Johnson pulling 4 percent of the vote in Colorado which could have more of an impact on Mitt Romney than President Obama.
“This is such a tight race, you know, that party could really have an effect on siphoning away just even a few hundred or a few thousand votes,” says Colorado Statesman publisher Jody Hope Strogoff.
Strogoff thinks Gary Johnson’s stance on legalizing marijuana will help him in Colorado because of Amendment 64. The statewide ballot question seeks to legalize the recreational use of small amounts of the drug.
“Their thinking is that if they get enough of those people supporting the Libertarian ticket they might have a little bit of an effect here in the state.”
The CNN poll shows the President leading in Colorado by a 50 to 48 percent margin.