With an upcoming election, many people are considering very carefully whom they will vote for in the fall. Although American presidential elections typically only feature candidates from the two major parties, there have been instances where third party candidates have run for the highest office in the land.
Third party candidates generally are not affiliated with either of the major political parties and are usually displeased in some way with how these parties operate. Read on to learn more about third party candidates throughout history, how they fared in their elections and how this can affect conservatives in Las Vegas.
Former Presidents Who Ran Third Party
It is a little known fact that some of our former presidents have actually run as third party candidates. Republicans in Nevada might be interested to know that prior to the establishment of the GOP former president Millard Fillmore ran as a conservative candidate of the Whig-American Party (one of the conservative groups of the time) and garnered 21.5 percent of the vote—one of the highest percentages ever for a third party candidate.
Other former presidents who sought election as a third party candidate are Martin Van Buren and Theodore Roosevelt. However, third party candidates aren’t relegated to antiquity, and have actually had a major impact on recent presidential elections.
Modern Third Party Candidates
In the modern era, there are two candidates that come to mind when one thinks of third party presidential hopefuls: Ralph Nader and Ross Perot. Perot especially had a massive effect on the 1992 election. After two separate campaigning efforts, Ross Perot managed to seize 18.9% of the vote, which unfortunately denied President George H.W. Bush his second term in office. More so than any other third party candidate in history, Perot showed that it is possible for unaffiliated candidates to have massive impacts on elections, even if they don’t manage to win.
Can a Third Party Candidate Win an Election?
Although third party candidates have had some success in past presidential elections, there is some debate as to whether they could actually win an election. The problem with third parties is that they simply cannot compete with the established history of service that the two major parties possess.
Las Vegas Republicans, for example, can stand on their party’s over 200-year legacy of patriotism and commitment to the Constitution, which is hard for a third party candidate to match. For a third party to actually win the presidency, it would have to receive a tremendous ground swell of voter support that well outstrips the support third party candidates have received in past elections.
Partner with Conservatives in Las Vegas to Support a Winning Party
Third party candidates, while sometimes viewed as an oddity, can actually have a massive impact on presidential elections. As we have seen, third party candidates have a long history in American presidential elections, and have actually earned and impressive portion of the vote. Instead of joining a third party, the better choice is to partner with conservatives in Las Vegas by joining the Republican Men’s Club.
Fighting for conservative values by joining a Nevada Republican Men’s Club and supporting the Nevada Republican party is one of the most important things you can do in this crucial election year. Join today and learn more about the core American values that the Republican Men’s Club stands for.