What Kind Of Damage Could Bob Barr Inflict On McCain?

By Kleinheider Posted on May 22, 2008 at 5:54 pm

Daniel McCarthy argues that depending on how and where the Libertarian campaigns he could well be John McCain’s very own Ralph Nader:

Millman points out that Barr could put Georgia, an otherwise safe Republican state, into play. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution backs up the point: Barr is already at 8 percent in Georgia, just on the strength of his home-state reputation. If he were actually to campaign there, and to target McCain rather than Obama, he could make the state competitive. I don’t think the rest of the South will go for Barr (unless he runs as some kind of hard-right Jacksonian libertarian after getting the LP nomination), but Barr could have an effect in the semi-libertarian West, particular on Nevada and New Mexico. If Republicans in those states are as libertarian-minded as they’re cracked up to be, Barr could inflict some real damage on McCain.

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