Can a Third-Party Candidate Be Elected President?

When I hear the hardliners from the left and the right and the way they lie and or are just brainwashed, I realize I can no longer vote for either party. They tell us the other party/candidate will be the downfall of democracy! The others “can’t be trusted, they’ll destroy our country, they’re lying, they’re flip-floppers, they’re greedy, they’re power hungry, they’re the next Hitler…etc.”

Well, at this time, I tend to believe both parties will be the ruin of the USA.

I feel this country is in terrible trouble and could turn cataclysmic. All great dynasties have come to an end. Has America’s greatness fallen apart?

I won’t get into the details about what parties’ / candidates’ stances make me cringe and keep me up at night. I don’t have the space.

Sooooo, let me get to the point. Can the good old US of A bring in a viable party/candidate that can realistically challenge the status quo?

I’ve wondered about this for three decades and am now willing to explore it further. I am ready to jump on this bandwagon and try to play a country-shaking tune, “America Deserves Better.”

America’s process for electing our president involves a series of “winner take all” primaries nationwide. The process makes it very difficult for a candidate from a third party to break through and receive any electoral votes. It has created a two-party system for all practical purposes. Has this system effectively served as a source of moderation, as intended?

I say no. We are becoming increasingly extreme, and it is winner-take-all. The winning party reverses the country’s course, often throwing out things that are working to have their way. The losing party then stands in the way of everything it can to spite its foes!

Well, I believe much of the country feels like I do, as the independents keep proliferating. We want bipartisanship. We want our government in action, not blame-calling and stalemating.

Ah, the upside of a dictatorship is that you can decide at breakfast and have it implemented by the next day. If it wasn’t for all of the murdering of opponents and squashing of human rights, C’est la vie.

“Americans are not very happy with their government and the two major parties right now,” said Dr. Bernard Tamas, associate professor at Valdosta State University.

It’s drawing attention to an often-overlooked force in American politics — third-party candidates.

Tamas is an expert on third-party politics. He said, “The point of third parties in the U.S. is to bring up issues and, effectively, use the threat of spoiling to get the major parties to focus on them.”

But can a third party move past being just a spoiler or get the powers that be to focus on an issue?

“Polls suggest support for a third party continues to grow. A 2023 Gallup poll found that 63% of Americans believe a third party is needed.

Still, structural obstacles make it hard for third-party candidates to gain much traction, particularly in federal elections.”1

“The biggest problem for third parties in America is money,” said Tamas. “In the U.S., to run for even, let’s say, a congressional seat, you need millions of dollars,” said Tamas.

“It’s an even more significant hurdle in a presidential race, where campaign spending is counted in billions.

And then there’s the Electoral College, in which most states award votes based on a winner-take-all system.” 2

“What you would need in the United States is some form of proportional representation,” said Tamas.

It’s a system used in many European democracies where voting districts elect multiple representatives, and congressional seats are awarded according to the percentage of the popular vote that each party wins.

The system gives third parties a voice in government and a better chance at winning presidential elections.

Without this type of significant structural change, Tamas says the power of third-party candidates hinges on their potential for spoiling elections.

“If you’re looking for a third-party candidate to win the White House, you won’t be happy. But that should not be the definition of success,” said Tamas.

“In a sense, their job is to be a spoiler with a purpose. And that purpose is to get them to respond to whatever issues they’re not dealing with,” said Tamas.

Now, as recent election results get tighter and tighter, third-party candidates may take center stage in November with just a few votes.

Personally, I’ve never seen a more significant moment in American politics to have kicked off a substantive third-party candidate. So, it won’t happen this year, but we can start preparing for 2028. The “No Labels Party” or another centrist upstart could become prominent with an ideal populist candidate.

But of course, it all ends up being about money. How can an upstart political party compete? For one, a populist movement. If a savior shows up, people will follow, and the money will come. An attractive populist candidate would garner massive media coverage. This would significantly reduce campaign financing and bring in more campaign financing.

Another huge change that could make a third party very viable if campaigns were shortened.

American presidential elections are much longer than in other countries, and many nations have laws that strictly limit campaign length.

How do we get the parties to approve shortened campaigns? You can’t. They’d never approve it, just like effective campaign reform or campaign funding.

The best way to make changes is to give power to the people. If the people start insisting on more referendums, we can begin to change government. Referendums can be a rallying cry for the new political party preparing to emerge.

If one of the referendums is to shorten campaign times like most of the free world, that would bring down the cost of campaigns and allow “free will” candidates to run that aren’t in the pockets of super-pack funders.

“Imagine, there’s no political corruption. It’s easy if you try. There are no racketeers below us. Above us, only stars. Imagine all of the politicians governing for the people…” 3

Most pundits say a practical, viable third party can never emerge. They’re also highly aligned with one party or the other, and none of them want change.

But America needs to change. Our constitution and way of life allow us to do so and prod us to do so. If we don’t, the unthinkable can happen, and we can crumble like other dynasties.

Will the next George Washington please step up?

Pipe dreams, no.  “You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.”4

As extremism continues to manifest in the US, it’s up to the cool-headed to bring us back to the center, to bipartisanship and civility.

“I hope someday you’ll join us

And the US will be as one.” 5

Imagine!

If we could find a compassionate, generous leader like the father of our country, we could correct our course.

Here are some quotes from our 1st President:

“Where are our Men of abilities? Why do they not come forth to save their Country?”

“The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.”

“What is most important of this grand experiment, the United States? It is not the first but its second president’s election. The peaceful transition of power will separate this country from every other country worldwide.”

“Honesty is always the best policy.”

“Be Americans. Let there be no sectionalism, North, South, East or West. You are all dependent on one another and should be one in a union. In a word, be a nation. Be Americans and be true to yourselves.”

“I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery.”

“When there is no vision, there is no hope.”

“However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterward the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

“The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.”

“The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.”

“Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder.”

“The power under the Constitution will always be in the people.”

“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”

“Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

“It’s only natural for unbridled partisanship, unrestrained by allegiance to a greater cause, to lead to chaos.”

“The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.”

“Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.”

  1. REUBEN JONES AND ZOE SLEMMONS – 2024
  2. REUBEN JONES AND ZOE SLEMMONS – 2024
  3. John Lennon – 1971
  4. John Lennon – 1971
  5. John Lennon – 1971

Photo Credit “Ballot” by Joshua Woroniecki

Photo Credit “G.W. at Desk” from The Library of Congress

Photo Credit “G.W.” statue from Wonderlane

Photo Credit “Voting protestors” from Unseen Histories