Since third party candidates do not have a legitimate chance of winning national election given the structure of the current system, most third parties do not tend to try to pursue moderate voters and instead stay close to their ideological roots. All have over , registered voters. However, even as these parties are the largest of the third parties, they represent only a fraction of American voters and are more ideologically oriented than Democrats or Republicans.
The Libertarian Party supports laissez-faire policies, small government, and is characterized by being socially liberal and fiscally conservative. The Green Party is a progressive party that emphasizes eco-socialism.
The Constitution Party is a socially and fiscally conservative party backed by the religious right. Beyond the Libertarian, Green, and Constitution Parties, third parties in American politics tend even farther towards the fringe, emphasizing ideology and avoiding speaking to a broad base. An example of a small right-wing third party would be the America First Party. The AFP is characterized as paleoconservative because they are socially and fiscally conservative. The AFP seeks to enact a smaller government by eliminating federal programs, such as the Department of Education.
The AFP further seeks to cut taxes and allow for more robust integration of church and state. An example of an extreme left wing party is the Peace and Freedom Party.
Today, the PFP advocates to protect the environment. It seeks to advance personal liberties and universal, high quality and free access to education and health care. The PFP seeks to enact a more socialist economy. Some third parties are organized entirely around one issue, rather than seeking to enact a broad, fringe ideology. For example, the United States Marijuana Party seeks to end the war on drugs and legalize marijuana. Though it is unlikely that anyone from the United States Marijuana Party will ever be elected to national office, they seek to raise attention to the issues that they find important and put these issues on the national stage.
Third-party candidates exert influence by focusing the election on particular issues and taking votes away from major candidates. Third parties face many obstacles in American politics. They are usually not even allowed on ballots for due to lack of popular support and signatures to warrant a place under local laws.
The problem feeds upon itself as the marginality of third parties means that they are not well known enough to attract national attention, and therefore unable to raise the funds that could promote their politics and make them well known. Numerically, third parties have won very few elected positions.
Since , there have been 31 U. However, third parties do play an important role in national politics. Third parties usually organize and mobilize around a single issue or position, putting pressure on candidates from major political parties to address these issues.
Although it is unlikely that a third party candidate will ever garner a plurality of the vote, they can influence the election by taking votes away from a major party candidate. This was at issue during the election when Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader took votes away from Democrat Al Gore, a situation that some felt contributed to the victory of Republican George W. Privacy Policy.
Skip to main content. Interest Groups. Search for:. Minor Political Parties. The Role of Third Parties American politics operate as a two-party system, and third party candidates do not play a major role in elections. Learning Objectives Describe how and why third parties form, their key successes, and hurdles to still further success.
Third parties have sometimes launched large campaigns and have won public offices, but have not obtained significant or consistent representation in the federal government. Barriers to third party success include a winner-take-all election format, ballot access laws, debate rules, and the vast resources of the two major parties.
Key Terms two-party system : A two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, nearly all elected officials are members of one of the two major parties.
Competitors such as Royal Crown face an extremely difficult challenge. The Democrats and the Republicans function in much the same way. Example: The Greenback Party focused on the monetary system, and the Prohibition Party sought to ban the consumption of alcohol. The Populist Party, meanwhile, grew out of the Populist movement, and the Republican Party developed primarily out of the abolitionist movement.
If the leader leaves the party, however, the party often collapses, which is what happened to the Reform Party in the mids. In , the party split in two over the candidacy of former Republican Pat Buchanan.
Neither Buchanan nor his Reform Party rival gained many votes, and the party has largely disappeared from the national stage. Despite their lack of success in the polls, third parties can affect American politics in a number of ways:. Example: The Populist Party introduced ideas that influenced some economic policies of the New Deal, whereas the Anti-Masonic Party was the first party to use a convention to nominate its candidates, in the mid-nineteenth century.
Bush talked much about the budget deficit until independent candidate Ross Perot emphasized it in his campaign. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Summary Third Parties.
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