The Minor Parties
• What types of minor parties have been active in
American politics?
• Why are minor parties important even though they
seldom elect national candidates?
The Odds Are Against Them
• It is difficult for third parties candidates to raise
enough money to compete with the major parties.
• Only one candidate can win in a given district.
Usually the winner is either Democratic or
Republican.
• Third-party candidates must show they have support
by getting voter signatures to even be placed on the
ballot for national office.
Minor Parties in the United States
Types of Minor Parties
Ideological
Parties
Single-issue
Parties
Economic Protest
Parties
Example:
Libtertarian Party
Example: Free
Soil Party
Example: The
Greenback Party
Splinter Party
Example: “Bull Moose”
Progressive Party
Minor Parties in the United States
Why Minor Parties Are Important
Minor parties play several important roles:
“Spoiler Role”
• Minor party candidates can pull decisive votes away from
one of the major parties’ candidates, especially if the
minor party candidate is from a splinter party.
Critic
• Minor parties, especially single-issue parties, often take
stands on and draw attention to controversial issues that
the major parties would prefer to ignore.
Innovator
• Often, minor parties will draw attention to important
issues and propose innovative solutions to problems. If
these proposals gain popular support, they are often
integrated into the platforms of the two major parties.
Third Parties
• Any party other than the two major
parties can be called a “Third party.”
• No third party has ever gained
control of the White House.
Sometimes, third parties win seats in
Congress or gain office in lower
levels of government.
• When these smaller groups
challenge the two major parties,
they can change the outcome of
elections.
• Their most important role is to
influence policy on one or more
issues.
Ralph Nader, Green
Party Candidate,
2000
Third Parties at the Turn of the Century
• In the late 1800s, the
People’s Party, or
“Populists” became
popular.
• They had the support of farmers and workers
who called for better working conditions.
• They never succeeded in getting a national
candidate into office, many of their ideas on
workers’ rights became laws in the 20th Century.
The Republicans Split
• Former Republican President
Theodore Roosevelt left the
Republican Party and was
nominated by the Progressive
Party.
• It was nicknamed the “Bull Moose
Party” because TR said he was “fit
as a Bull Moose”.
• TR split the 1912 Republican vote,
allowing Democrat Woodrow
Wilson to defeat President William
H. Taft.
Ideological Third Parties
• An ideology is a body of ideas put forth by a
person or group.
• Minor third parties are often formed to support a
specific issue. These rise and fall over time.
• Ideological parties want to change society in
major ways.
• The Socialist and Communist Parties want to
nationalize major industries. The Green Party
calls for companies to respect the environment.
Cult of Personality
• Some third parties form from
the efforts of famous people.
• If they cannot gain support
from one of the major parties,
they form their own.
• H. Ross Perot’s Reform Party
was a force in the 1992 and
1996 elections. This party also
placed pro wrestler Jesse
Ventura in the governor’s
mansion in Minnesota.
• These parties usually fade
after their candidate is
defeated.
Minor Parties in the United States
Year
1832
1856
1860
1860
1892
1912
1912
1924
Party
Anti-Masonic
American
Democratic
(Secessionist)
Constitutional Union
People’s (Populist)
Bull Moose
(Progressive)
Socialist
Progressive
Presidential
Candidate
Percent
Popular
Vote
Electoral
Votes
Received
William Wirt
8%
Milliard Fillmore
22
John C. Breckenridge 18
7
8
72
John Bell
13
James B. Weaver
9
Theodore Roosevelt 27
79
22
88
Eugene V. Debs
6
Robert M. LaFollette 17
0
13
Minor Parties in the United States
Year
1948
1948
1968
1980
1992
1996
Party
States’ Rights
(Dixiecrat)
Progressive
American
Independent
National Unity
Reform
Reform
2000 Green
2000
Reform
Independent
Presidential
Candidate
Percent
Popular
Vote
Strom Thurmond
2%
Electoral
Votes
Received
39
Henry A. Wallace
George C. Wallace
2
14
0
46
John Anderson
Ross Perot
Ross Perot
7
19
8
0
0
0
Ralph Nader
3
Pat Buchanan
Ralph Nader
0
0
0
0
0