Minor Parties Political Parties

Why do third parties compete? Political Parties Minor Parties Why do third parties compete?

Functions of Minor Parties Political Parties

Minor Parties Minor Parties Minor Parties Third Parties Any party other than the two major parties Third Parties They are political parties because they nominate candidates to run for offices 100 Because of election systems, they don’t really have a fair chance at winning They compete anyway, with the knowledge that they are unlikely to win.

Minor Parties Minor Parties Why Participate? They know they can’t win but they participate anyway. They can put focus back on to issues instead of on the candidates 100 They can take stances on controversial issues that the major party candidates avoid

Minor Parties Spoilers Spoiler Role Third parties can cause a major party to lose votes and potentially the election “Spoiler Effect” because the votes for the Third Party are mostly votes that were taken away from the major party that shares their ideology the most. 100 For this reason, major party supporters may have adamant opposition to the third party that is a close ideological match with their party

Here’s an election with more Democratic Votes than Republican votes Minor Parties Spoilers Spoiler Role Here’s an election with more Democratic Votes than Republican votes 100 Democrats Republicans

If the Green Party enters the race, those voters will be liberal. Minor Parties Spoilers If the Green Party enters the race, those voters will be liberal. Spoiler Role Now the Democrats have less votes than Republicans, even though there are more overall liberal voters than conservative ones 100 Green Democrats Republicans

Minor Parties Spoilers Spoiler Role - 2000 George W Bush is the Republican and Al Gore is the Democrat running in 2000. Spoiler Role - 2000 All Gore won more popular votes than George W Bush. George W Bush won the state of Florida by 537 votes. He got all of its 25 Electoral Votes 100 Ralph Nader ran as the candidate for the Green Party. He got 97, 421 votes in Florida that year. If given only 2 options, most Green Party voters should be Gore voters Post election polling indicates 45% would vote Gore, 27% would vote Bush, and 28% would not have voted.

Minor Parties Spoilers Spoiler Role - 2016 Jill Stein was the Green Party candidate in the election between Clinton & Trump Clinton lost Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and 46 total electoral votes 100 Jill Stein Votes Trump Win Margin Technically – the math makes this theory possible Michigan 51, 463 10,704 It’s unlikely that all of these would be Clinton votes Penn. 49,678 46, 765 If we follow the 2000 poll, it’s likely many of them would just not have voted Wisconsin 31,006 22,177

Obstacles for Third Parties Political Parties

Minor Parties Barriers Winner Take All The person with the most votes wins, even if the election is close or there is not a majority of votes (MOST – not 51%) Runners up get nothing in presidential elections, or in congressional elections Third parties are likely to have some support all around the country, but are unlikely to have the MOST support in any one place

Minor Parties Barriers Ballot Access There are different requirements to get on the ballot in each state Republican & Democratic parties have organizations in each state that make sure their “paperwork” is complete Third parties often fail to meet the criteria in all states.

Minor Parties Barriers Ballot Access Green Party was on the ballot in 44 States in 2000 Libertarian Party was on the ballot in 50 States in 2000 Green Party was on the ballot in 27 States in 2004 Libertarian Party was on the ballot in 48 States in 2004 Green Party was on the ballot in 32 States in 2008 Libertarian Party was on the ballot in 45 States in 2008 Green Party was on the ballot in 37 States in 2012 Libertarian Party was on the ballot in 48 States in 2012 Green Party was on the ballot in 45 States in 2016 Libertarian Party was on the ballot in 50 States in 2016

Minor Parties Barriers Presidential Debates Televised Presidential Debates between the two major party nominees have been party of every election since 1976 Republican & Democrats get to debate but third party candidates don’t Rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates say a candidate has to be on enough state ballots to win the electoral college They must also have at least 15% support in pre-debate polling

Minor Parties Barriers Presidential Debates Televised Presidential Debates between the two major party nominees have been party of every election since 1976 Republican & Democrats get to debate but third party candidates don’t Rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates say a candidate has to be on enough state ballots to win the electoral college They must also have at least 15% support in pre-debate polling

Minor Parties Barriers Major Party Strategy In the rare case where a third party is party successful in an election, the major parties steal their strategies in the future After George Wallace won southern states in 1968, Nixon and Republicans adopted the “Southern Strategy” and won the support of southern white votes Both parties addressed the deficit after the popularity of Ross Perot in 1992.

Types of Minor Parties Political Parties

Minor Parties Types of Minor Parties Ideological Parties They have their own ideology Based on a set of core beliefs Socialist Party is an extremely liberal party that advocates for socialism Libertarian Party is an extremely conservative party that advocates for minimal government

Minor Parties Types of Minor Parties Single Issue Parties They have one policy to focus on Single Issue Parties The whole party is based on support for one public policy issue The Prohibition Party still runs candidates who advocate for prohibition of alcohol The US Marijuana Party advocates for the legalization of marijuana Free Soil Party advocated for an end to slavery

Minor Parties Types of Minor Parties Economic Protest Parties They disagree with economic policies of the country They usually criticize both major parties for their spending or policies The Populist Party in late 1800s advocated for farmers’ economic interests The Tea Party can be seen as an example because they criticize the spending of Democrats and even Republicans

Minor Parties Types of Minor Parties Splinter Parties They split off of a major party and campaign on their own They are usually more liberal or more conservative The Green Party split off to be more liberal than Democrats The Tea Party may split off to be more conservative than Republicans

Minor Parties Types of Minor Parties Candidate Centered Parties They form temporarily based on the popularity of an individual They disappear once the candidate’s run is over. Ross Perot ran independently in 1992 and a party formed around him in 1992 and 1996 (Independent, then Reform)

Third Party Campaigns Political Parties

Thurmond won 4 states in the south Third Parties Campaigns To Know Strom Thurmond 1948 Truman was running for re-election on a campaign that advocated more New Deal programs and protections of civil rights for African Americans Republicans nominated a liberal candidate because the public still strongly supported the New Deal Thurmond led a splinter party, the Dixiecrats, who broke with the Democrats to advocate for continuation of racial segregation Thurmond won 4 states in the south

Wallace won 5 states in the South Third Parties Campaigns To Know George Wallace 1968 LBJ passed his Great Society programs & Civil Rights Act before deciding not to run for reelection Richard Nixon ran as Republican using the “Southern Strategy” to appeal to southern whites George Wallace ran a campaign for the American Independent Party based on getting rid of the Civil Rights Act and maintaining segregation Wallace won 5 states in the South

Third Parties Campaigns To Know Ross Perot George HW Bush was running for reelection as the Republican who was seen as much more moderate than Reagan and conservatives in the party Bill Clinton, the Democrat, was running as a “New Democrat” meaning a centrist, Democrats had abandoned their support of social welfare policies Perot focused on the deficit and debt reduction – issues that both parties were ignoring Perot’s stance was about reducing spending – a conservative stance. He won 18% of the popular vote, but won no electoral votes

Third Parties Campaigns To Know Ralph Nader Al Gore ran as the Democrat. George W Bush ran as the Republican Gore won the popular vote, but the state of Florida was the deciding state in the Electoral College. Bush won Florida by 537 votes, but Ralph Nader ran as the Green Party nominee and won nearly 100,000 votes Nader likely did play “a spoiler” to Gore in this election.

Bigly Ideas Beliefs & Behaviors

Effects of Third Parties History Wrap Up Effects of Third Parties Types of Third Parties 2000 Election Third Party Elections Focus on these things: