1. Minor Parties
Political Parties

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

3. Functions of Minor Parties
Political Parties

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Minor Parties Spoilers Spoiler Role - 2000
George W Bush is the Republican and Al Gore is the Democrat running in 2000.
Spoiler Role
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.

10. 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

11. Obstacles for Third Parties
Political Parties

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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.

18. Types of Minor Parties
Political Parties

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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)

24. Third Party Campaigns
Political Parties

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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.

29. Bigly Ideas
Beliefs & Behaviors

30. Effects of Third Parties
History
Wrap Up
Effects of Third Parties
Types of Third Parties
2000 Election
Third Party Elections
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