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He still doesnt get much attention from the mainstream media, but Libertarian presidential candidate Gary E. Johnson could be the key to who wins the White House on Tuesday especially if he takes votes away from Barack Obama or Mitt Romney in Ohio or Colorado.

One recent CNN poll has Mr. Johnson, a former New Mexico governor, with 5 percent of the vote in Ohio.

Who that ultimately helps or hurts in the crucial swing state remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: Mr. Johnson, who describes himself as more liberal than Obama on civil liberties and more conservative than Romney on dollars and cents, believes hell be a factor.

Whichever candidate I make lose, that would be terrific because that would open a debate and a discussion over the two parties, he told reporters recently. What really is the difference between the two? Its not much. Its really not much at all.

Tuesdays results, good or bad, also pose questions about the future of the self-branded minimum government, maximum freedom Libertarian Party.

Mr. Johnson officially joined only last year he was a Republican when he governed New Mexico for two terms from 1995 to 2003. But to hear him tell it, the party that began as a small group of activists in Colorado in 1971 is now closer to the cusp of serious national significance than ever before.

The evolution of the Libertarian Party is hopefully going to be one of being an annoyance of this election a spoiler to then going on to being a player in the future, he told The Washington Times.

The Libertarians are hoping for the kind of impact that third-party candidate Ralph Nader had in 2000, when he and the Green Party siphoned enough votes to cost Al Gore the state of Florida leading, ultimately, to the Democrat losing the election to George W. Bush.

Mr. Johnson is on the ballot in 48 states. While CNNs poll stopped short of measuring whose votes he might take in Ohio, the Libertarian is pretty sure hell take votes from both candidates, and he predicted he could affect the races outcome in five battleground states.

The rest is here:

Libertarian Johnson expects to impact Obama-Romney results in Ohio, Colorado