May 8, 2021
Former President Donald Trump has claimed at times that he’ll start a third political party called the Patriot Party. In fact, most Americans 62% in a recent poll say they’d welcome the chance to vote for a third party.
In almost any other democracy, those Americans would get their wish. In the Netherlands, for instance, even a small “third” party called the Party for the Animals composed of animal rights supporters, not dogs and cats won 3.2% of the legislative vote in 2017 and earned five seats, out of 150, in the national legislature.
Yet in the U.S., candidates for the House of Representatives from the Libertarian Party, the most successful of U.S. minor parties, won not a single House seat in 2020, though Libertarians got over a million House votes. Neither did the Working Families Party, with 390,000 votes, or the Legalize Marijuana Now Party, whose U.S. Senate candidate from Minnesota won 185,000 votes.
Here s why American third parties are almost always doomed Image via Flickr / Sage Ross.
Ralph Nader
Former President Donald Trump has claimed at times that he ll start a third political party called the Patriot Party. In fact, most Americans â 62% in a recent poll â say they d welcome the chance to vote for a third party.
In almost any other democracy, those Americans would get their wish. In the Netherlands, for instance, even a small âthird party called the Party for the Animals â composed of animal rights supporters, not dogs and cats â won 3.2% of the legislative vote in 2017 and earned five seats, out of 150, in the national legislature.
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Commentary: Why Trump is more likely to win in the GOP than to take his followers to a new third party
By Marjorie Hershey, Indiana UniversityThe Conversation
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Former President Donald Trump has claimed at times that he’ll start a third political party called the Patriot Party. In fact, most Americans – 62% in a recent poll – say they’d welcome the chance to vote for a third party.
In almost any other democracy, those Americans would get their wish. In the Netherlands, for instance, even a small “third” party called the Party for the Animals – composed of animal rights supporters, not dogs and cats – won 3.2% of the legislative vote in 2017 and earned five seats, out of 150, in the national legislature.
Why Trump is more likely to win in the GOP than to take his followers to a new third party theconversation.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theconversation.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.