Former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr announced today his intentions to represent the Libertarian Party in a run for the presidency. He will first have to win the nomination at the party convention, being held next weekend. His competition is former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, who was previously a candidate for the Democratic nomination.

Assuming Barr wins the nomination, how much could this harm John McCain's campaign? The campaign for Barack Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, feels their candidate can put states in play that Democrats haven't been able to score in recent elections. States like Virginia, North Carolina and Colorado have voted for a Democrat a grand total of two times in the last 10 presidential elections (Virginia hasn't gone Democratic since 1964, when all but six states voted for Lyndon Johnson).

Barr's entrance to the race could clearly take away crucial conservative votes that McCain needs to keep these potential swing states in the Republican fold. According to the Washington Times, several Republicans have asked Barr not to run, but told him they understood his reasoning for doing so.

Most Republicans who asked him not to run "also said they understand why I'd run and why John McCain is not conservative and will not seriously tackle the growth in government power and spending," he said. "Some said they would vote for me if I ran, but for the sake of the Republican Party, they would prefer I didn't."

More from the Times article:

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told The Times yesterday that "Bob Barr will make it marginally easier for Barack Obama to become president. That outcome threatens every libertarian value Barr professes to champion."

Russ Verney, an adviser to the 1992 Ross Perot presidential campaign and his 1996 campaign manager, has been working with the Mr. Barr's exploratory committee "to help put together the infrastructure for his presidential run," Libertarian Party spokesman Andrew Davis said.

Conservatives tend to disagree with McCain on a number of issues. Could a former leader of President Clinton's impeachment be attractive enough of a candidate to lure them from the Republican Party's nominee? If so, it could spell doom for McCain in states Democrats haven't won for decades.