Spoiler alert? Difference between Trump, Biden in key swing states is Libertarian votes

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Election results revealed a striking data point: votes cast for third-party Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen in key swing states exceeded the margin between votes for President Trump and President-elect Joe Biden. 

Some are calling Jorgensen’s third-party run a “spoiler” for President Trump. Jorgensen’s campaign could not be reached for comment on the accusation. 

In Arizona, Biden is projected to win by a margin of 0.44 percent, while Jorgensen so far has cinched 1.5 percent of the vote. The margin between Trump and Biden was 14,746 votes-- a fraction of Jorgensen’s 50,293 votes. 

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In Pennsylvania, Trump so far has lost by 0.67 percent, just over 45,000 votes. Jorgensen has won 77,655 votes, or 1.15 percent. 

In Wisconsin, Trump lost by 0.62 percent, a difference of 20,539 votes. Jorgensen won 38,271 votes, 1.16 percent. 

In Georgia, Biden holds such a razor-thin lead with the state recounting its votes. Biden currently leads by about 0.25 percent, or just over 12,000 votes. Jorgensen has nearly 62,000 votes in the state, or 1.24 percent. 

Fox News has called the election for Biden, but the Trump campaign is disputing the outcome in swing states, alleging vote counting violations and potential voter fraud. 

As of Tuesday, Jorgensen, a psychology professor at Clemson University, had garnered over 1.76 million votes, far exceeding other third-party hopefuls. 

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“In this election, Libertarian voters could have swung the Electoral College by at least 22 votes by supporting Trump in battleground states Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada. By throwing away their votes, they’ve likely become spoilers for the Trump reelection effort,” political strategist Ryan Cassin, CEO of Beast Digital, told Fox News last week. 

It’s not certain that Libertarian votes would have overwhelmingly gone to Trump, but even if they had gone to Biden, Trump had a large enough lead in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio to defeat Biden in those states.

When asked for comment on "spoiler" sentiment surrounding Jorgensen's run, her campaign spokesperson pointed Fox News to her pre-election release: "How’s voting for the ‘lesser of two evils’ been working for you?"

“The only way you’ll ever see real change is to vote for real change," Jorgensen said in the statement. “I am the candidate for real change. I offer proposals that will result in millions of sustainable, private-sector jobs. Health care that is actually affordable. Ending our pointless, counterproductive wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Effective criminal justice reform. Financial responsibility in Washington D.C., and no more debt! 

In 2016, both Libertarian and Green Party candidates received more votes than the difference between Hillary Clinton and President Trump. This time around, Democrats successfully sued to keep the Green Party presidential candidate off the ballot in Pennsylvania, winning in the state's Supreme Court in September. 

In 2000, the Green Party was accused of spoiling Democrats’ chances of taking the White House, when former President George Bush narrowly won over former Vice President Al Gore. Gore liked to say that a vote for Ralph Nader, the Green Party candidate, was a vote for Bush.

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“Gore will beat Gore, if he can’t defeat the bumbling governor from Texas with his horrific record,” Nader responded on ABC’s Good Morning America.