A Libertarian US President? Gary Johnson Will Be On Ballot In 47 States

The Libertarian Party's candidate reported this week that its candidate for president, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, will be on the ballot in 47 states this November. There are court challenges pending in the three remaining states -- Michigan, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.

Although Johnson isn't making much headway in the polls -- a CNN poll released this week found only 3 percent of likely voters said they would vote for Johnson -- Public Policy Polling reports he's polling at 7 percent in both Colorado and Nevada, two key swing states where he could be a spoiler for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Johnson, who first ran as a candidate for the Republican Party, dropped out of the Republican race and accepted the Libertarian Party nomination in May. But Johnson, who supports marijuana legalization and gay marriage, has the ability to take Democratic votes away from President Barack Obama, while still maintaining his appeal for some tea partyers and Paul supporters who would otherwise likely vote Republican.

A majority of Johnson's base appears to be located in the Rocky Mountain West. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, about 22 percent of contributions to his campaign surpassing $200 come from Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Nevada.

Sixteen percent of the approximately $1.4 million raised by his campaign has come from California, followed by New Mexico (12 percent), the state he once governed, Texas (11 percent) and Colorado (6 percent.)