Third Parties in the U.S. Political Process

Despite the existence of numerous political parties in the U.S., only two parties, the Democrats and Republicans, have dominated the political landscape since the mid-1800s.

Active third parties in the United States include:
- Green Party
- Reform Party
- Libertarian Party (the oldest)
- Constitution Party (formerly the American Taxpayers Party)
- Natural Law Party
All of these parties have fielded presidential candidates in recent elections.
Ralph Nader:
- Independent candidate in 2004.
- Two-time presidential nominee of the Green Party.
- In 2000, as the Green Party candidate, he received over 2 million votes.
- Democrats blamed Nader for Al Gore’s defeat in 2000, accusing him of siphoning off votes.
Green Party Platform: Focuses on the environment.
Libertarian Party: Advocates for a reduced role of government, with the government serving primarily to protect citizens.
- No Libertarian candidate has become president, but some members hold elected offices at the state and local levels.
Constitution Party: Advocates for a strict interpretation of the Constitution and greater power for states and localities.
- Howard Phillips, a popular candidate, ran in 1992 but received less than 1% of the vote.

Reform Party: The most successful third party in a single election.
- In 1992, nominated Ross Perot, a Texas billionaire, as its candidate for president.
- Perot advocated reducing the federal budget deficit, which became a major issue in subsequent presidential campaigns.
- Perot received 19% of the vote.
- Historian Michael Beschloss noted that Perot was the first candidate to highlight the deficit as a significant problem, influencing Bill Clinton's policy.
Despite their minor presence in Congress, third parties have significantly influenced U.S. policy and political debate.
- Currently, there is only one independent U.S. senator and one member of the House of Representatives.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Socialists:
- Popularized the women’s suffrage movement.
- Advocated for child labor laws in 1904.
- Along with the Populist Party, introduced the idea of a 40-hour work week, leading to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
Sean Wilentz (Director of American studies program at Princeton University):
- Third parties act as a "gadfly."
- They address issues neglected or excluded from national debate by the major parties, such as slavery.
- Third parties raise issues that no one wants to address, changing the political debate and policy, but they often disappear as a political force.

No third-party candidate has been elected president since Abraham Lincoln in 1860 (Republican Party beat the Whigs and Democrats on an anti-slavery platform).
Voters often perceive a vote for a third-party candidate as "wasted" because they are unlikely to win.
Third parties often organize around a single personality or issue, which can limit their popularity.
Winner-Take-All System: The presidential candidate with the highest percentage of votes in most states receives all of the state’s electoral votes.
- John F. Bibby (University of Wisconsin professor):
  - There is no reward for second place.
  - The incentive is to form broad-based parties with a chance to win in the Electoral College.
  - Cited Ross Perot in 1992, who had widespread appeal but not enough to win a state completely.
Third party candidates face disadvantages due to:
- Federal campaign finance laws
- Rules dictating who can enter presidential debates
- Lack of media attention
- Significant paperwork requirements to become a viable candidate
- Ralph Nader had to collect 1.5 million signatures to appear on the ballot in 2004.
Campaign finance rules require a party to receive a certain percentage of votes from the previous election to get government funding.
- Third-party candidates often have to fund their own campaigns and find other means of exposure to raise money.

Political analyst and comedian Bill Maher criticized the limited choices in the U.S. presidential elections.
Some argue that the two-party system promotes stability by avoiding a more divided government.
Sean Wilentz:
- The U.S. Constitution was written before parties existed, and the framers distrusted parties.
- The system encourages coalitions, which tend to be two in number.
- Democrats and Republicans represent contrasting ideas about politics and policy.
- Republicans are generally conservative, while Democrats are generally liberal.
John F. Bibby:
- Most Americans are relatively moderate and comfortable within a system where one party is slightly to the right and the other slightly to the left.

Unique opportunity for independent and third-party candidates to gain popularity due to unpopular major-party candidates (Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton).
Nearly 20% of poll respondents were not supporting either major-party candidate.
Some polls suggested that the 2016 Libertarian nominee, Gary Johnson, might win a significant share of the vote.
Johnson could participate in presidential debates if he reached at least 15% in five national public opinion polls and met other criteria set by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
The biggest threat to major-party candidates is in battleground states, where Democrats and Republicans have small margins.
A third party could change the state’s winner by gaining enough votes (that would have otherwise gone to a major party).
In the 2012 election, Florida was the closest state, with the Democrats' margin of victory less than 1 percentage point.
A third party could determine the outcome by claiming only a small share of the vote.

History lacks examples of third-party candidates succeeding.
The most likely scenario for a third party influencing the election is by upsetting a close race, most likely in Florida.
In the 2012 election, Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney in Florida by just over 74,000 votes.
- Gary Johnson won nearly 45,000 votes in the state.
In the 2000 election, Ralph Nader (Green Party) may have influenced the Florida outcome.
- George Bush's winning margin over Al Gore was smaller than the number of votes Nader received.
- Bush won the popular vote in Florida, gaining the state's 25 electoral votes, which were crucial to reaching the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.
The idea of voting for third parties is more appealing than the act itself.
- In 2012, 40% of people polled said they would consider voting for a third-party candidate, but only 1.8% actually voted that way.

At a national level, the Libertarians and Greens have not had much success.
The Libertarian Party has been on the ballot each presidential election since 1972, and the Green Party since 1996.
- At best, the Libertarians won 1.1% of the national popular vote (1980), and the Greens won 2.7% (2000).
At a state level, the Libertarians have gained higher levels of support out west.
- They reached 11.7% in Alaska during the 1980 general election.
- Colorado and New Mexico (battleground states) are states to watch.