FRANKLIN COUNTY, Pa. — Does a third party candidate have a greater chance of securing the White House?
That’s the question some people have after President Biden announced he will not seek re-election this November.
Historically, third party candidates have struggled to compete against Republicans and Democrats in the Presidential election.
Ross Perot received 19% of the presidential vote in 1992, the highest of any third-party candidate to date.
Professor Alison Dagnes from Shippensburg University describes it as an uphill battle.
“They have to not only get on the ballots in all 50 states, or as many states as possible, that’s very difficult to do if you’re not affiliated with one of the two major political parties,” Dagnes said.
But third party candidates could see more support following President Biden’s withdrawal from this year’s presidential election.
Dagnes says candidates like Robert F Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat now running as an Independent, are on the top of some peoples list.
“When that happens, and people are dissuaded from either supporting the two candidates who are running or really just dissuaded from politics period,” Dagnes explained.
However, Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee could take some attention away from other candidates.
The journalist research company, Journo Research, reports Harris gained more than 268,000 followers across social media since being endorsed.
QR Code Generator analyzed Kamala Harris’s X and Instagram follower counts, as well as Google Trends data on registering to vote and Democrat campaign donations.
“It is really going to put the onus on RFK JR. and any other third party candidate to make a stronger case for their election as opposed to a negative campaign against the other two candidates,” Dagnes said.
Dagnes says it would take a lot for a third party to garner enough support, especially at this point in the election cycle.
“In order for a third party candidate to rise would be if dissatisfaction on the part of the electoral was still so palpable. and that the voters were so displeased by both candidates that they really were eager for another option,” Dagnes said.
Longtime West Virginia senator Joe Manchin recently switched from the Democratic party to Independent.
There have been talks as to if he would throw his name into the race. He confirmed on Monday in a CBS interview he will not.
Dagnes went on to say how most third party campaigns end due to a lack of funding.
According to the Federal Election Commission, RFK Jr’s campaign raised over 5$ million dollars in June, but remains $3 million dollars in debt.