Invisible Candidate Johnson Now Leading Some "Serious" Candidates

The bad news for Gary Johnson is that, according to the latest national poll of Republicans, he's only pulling two percent.

However, according to the new CNN/ORC poll, Johnson is beating both ex-Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Sen. Rick Santorum. And he's tied with pizza magnate Herman Cain. In a race in which Sarah Palin and Rudy Giulian are excluded, Johnson remains at 2 percent -- still beating Huntsman and Santorum, but falling one point behind Cain.

However, both Huntsman and Santorum are invited to next week's debate in California, sponsored by NBC and Politico. Johnson is not.

"This poll, conducted by credible organizations and more current than those used by NBC and Politico to choose who will be allowed on the stage in California next week, shows that it is ludicrous to exclude Gary Johnson, while inviting other candidates whose support appears to be no greater than his," said Johnson campaign campaign manager Ron Nielson in a news release. "Drawing arbitrary lines between polling results, when all of those results are within margins of error, and using those lines to determine who gets to take his or her message to the voters on a national stage if fundamentally wrong at this stage of the process."

The poll is based on interviews with 467 Republicans on Aug. 24-25. The margin of error is 4.5 percent.