Third Parties

Third parties have appeared throughout American history, often around a single issue the major parties ignored. The Anti-Masonic Party held the first national nominating convention in 1831, the Free Soil Party opposed the spread of slavery in 1848, and the Populists of the 1890s championed farmers and currency reform, winning 22 electoral votes in 1892. The Republican Party itself began as a new party in 1854 and is the only one to have displaced a major party, replacing the collapsing Whigs.

The strongest third-party presidential showing came in 1912, when former President Theodore Roosevelt ran on the Progressive ticket and won 27 percent of the popular vote and 88 electoral votes, finishing ahead of the Republican nominee. George Wallace won 46 electoral votes in 1968, and Ross Perot won 19 percent of the popular vote in 1992 but no electoral votes. Today the Libertarian and Green parties regularly run candidates, a few independents serve in Congress, and many third-party ideas, from the income tax to women's suffrage, were later adopted by the major parties.

Third parties face steep obstacles, including plurality voting rules, winner-take-all electoral votes, state ballot access requirements that vary widely, and a 15 percent polling threshold to join the general election debates. Their candidates are often accused of acting as spoilers who tip close races, as critics argued about Ralph Nader in 2000. In 2024 an independent presidential candidate withdrew in August and endorsed a major party nominee, and in July 2025 a prominent businessman announced plans for a new national party. Supporters say third parties broaden debate and offer voters real choices, while skeptics say the system's structure makes them more likely to split coalitions than win.