1. Third Parties:
What role do they play in
American politics?
Ross Perot: 1992, 1996 Ralph Nader: 2000, 2004
2. Warm-Up: The Government
Club T-Shirt
Today, we will be selecting the color for the new
government club T-shirt. The choices, as determined
by early voting, are blue and yellow.
Which would you vote for?
3. Third Party
We have a problem. Red, who was eliminated during
the early voting has made a comeback as the T-shirt
color.
What might the supporters of Blue and Yellow do?
4. Ideas:
Either of the parties can absorb red and
become purple or orange.
Either party can use red for printing or
design.
The parties can ignore red.
5. Third Party
Any political party
organized in at
least a few states,
other than the two
current leading
parties
Jesse Ventura, Independent
Governor of Minnesota, 1999-
2003
6. History of American Third
Parties
Third Parties in the U.S. receive
great attention, but in fact “have not
assumed the importance that all the
academic attention on them
suggests.”
7. History of American Third
Parties
No minor third party as ever come close to
winning the presidency
Only eight third party candidates have won any
electoral votes
Only five, including Theodore Roosevelt in 1912
and Ross Perot in 1992 have won more than 10%
of the popular vote
8. Formation and Role of
Third Parties
Third parties influence elections by
revealing sectional and political divides
and bringing light to new issues.
Third Parties usually form around a
social cause and social activists.
A third party neglected by the two
major parties is able to affect the
electorate more than if their views were
co-opted by one of the major two.
15. Combination Parties
Example: George
Wallace in 1968
(American Independent
Party)
o Dynamic leader with a
Southern base
o Anti-civil rights
o Won 13% popular vote &
46 electoral votes
16. Purpose of Third Parties
“The electoral progress of third parties is in
direct proportion to the failure of the two
major parties to incorporate new ideas.”
Ralph Nader and
the Green Party in
2000
17. Purpose of Third Parties
Though very rare, a third party may replace one of the major parties
1856, the Republican Party replaces the Whig Party
Lincoln-Douglas
Debates, 1858
18. Purpose of Third Parties
Third Parties have influence
Major parties often take
on the ideas of third
parties
In 1992, both the
Republican and
Democratic Parties took
on Perot’s reform
government ideas about
reducing the deficit
George Bush (Republican), Ross Perot
(Reform), & Bill Clinton (Democrat) during
1992 Presidential debate
19. Purpose of Third Parties:
William Jennings Bryan, Democratic
candidate for President, 1896
Once the major parties
incorporate their ideas,
third parties burn out
Populist Party platform
was assimilated into the
Democratic Party in
1896
22. T.R. Vs. Taft, Election of 1912
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/election-cartoons/images/mother-of-presidents.gif
•In 1912,
both Taft and
Roosevelt
were fighting
for the same
voters. What
do you think
was the result
of TR’s
candidacy in
1912?
35. Tea Party Throws GOP
Overboard
http://politicalhumor.about.com
• The reverse is true:
not every third party
is looking to be
picked up by one of
the majors.
