September 24, 2016
There's a vice presidential candidate coming to Temple University's campus next week and no, it's not Indiana Gov. Mike Pence or Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.
Not acquainted? Meet Bill Weld – he's the former governor of Massachusetts and Libertarian Party nominee for president Gary Johnson's running mate.
The rally will happen at Temple's Mitten Hall on Broad Street near Norris Street on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. Doors open at 2 p.m. RSVPs to the free event aren't required, but encouraged.
The event – Weld's first rally in the battleground state – hopes to inform its audience on "why Gary Johnson and Bill Weld are rapidly gaining support as the sane choices for president and vice president," according to the description.
The description's not wrong, either. A July poll from the Pew Research Center showed that voters younger than 30 were very engaged with the election, but disenchanted with the presidential candidates. The third-party candidate is also more favored by the age group than Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
While 47 percent of voters under 30 said they'd vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, only 21 said they'll vote for Trump while 22 said they plan on voting for Johnson.
Similarly, a mid-September poll by Muhlenberg College showed that 14 percent of surveyors said they'd vote for the Johnson. Only 5 percent said they would vote for Green Pary nominee Jill Stein.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who lost the Democratic nomination during Philadelphia's 2016 DNC, gained much attention from Millennial voters. After his campaign became unsuccessful, many of his fans denounced support for Clinton, giving momentum to third party candidates.
In September, Sanders urged his supporters who may be disappointed to not only vote, but vote for Clinton.
"When you talk to your friends and they say, 'I'm not going to vote, everybody's horrible,' ask them how much they're going to leave school in debt," Sanders said during a university rally in Ohio. "Ask them about that."
Clinton's trying. The first woman to be on the presidential ticket for a major party tried to win the hearts of America's younger voters at the same place that Weld's visiting last week.
During her visit to Temple, she said, "even if you are totally opposed to Donald Trump, you may still have some questions about me. I get that," according to the Associated Press.
First Lady Michelle Obama is also stopping in Philadelphia to campaign on behalf of Clinton on the Wednesday.
Johnson also ran as a third party candidate in the 2012 election along with running mate James Gray, a former superior court judge. He received just .99 percent of the vote.
