Poll: Trump and Johnson in dead heat among active-duty military

A new poll finds the presidential race is a dead heat among active-duty troops between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson. 

{mosads}Trump takes 37.6 percent to Johnson’s 36.5 percent, according to the poll from Military Times and Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families. 

Clinton comes in third, with 16.3 percent. Green Party nominee Jill Stein received 1.2 percent, and other third-party and write-in candidates received 3.2 percent. About 5 percent indicated they did not plan to vote. 

The poll, which has a margin of error of 2 percentage points, includes more than 2,200 responses from active-duty troops and backs up other polling of the military that has shown Johnson doing well.

The preference for Johnson among the military is even higher among active-duty officers compared to active-duty enlisted troops. Among the officers surveyed, Johnson garnered 38.6 percent support. Clinton comes in second at 28 percent, and Trump is third with 26 percent. 

Overall, Johnson is favored by members of the Navy and Air Force, whereas Trump is favored by the Army and Marine Corps. Clinton comes in strongest with the Navy and weakest with the Marine Corps. 

The polling began the same day Johnson appeared in a television interview and asked “What’s Aleppo?” in response to a question about the Syrian city at the center of the refugee crisis.

According to one Army captain interviewed by Military Times, Johnson’s popularity has something to do with the lack of good options. 

“These are the worst two [major-party] candidates we could possibly have,” he said. “We deserve better as the American people and should expect better.”