“There are two ways of winning,” said John Hagelin, the Natural Law Party's presidential candidate, “winning offices and winning in the way third parties almost always win, which is in the marketplace of ideas.” Third party candidates usually don't have much of a chance of winning the American elections, but they do have an important impact. In these elections a Republican and a Democrat usually go head to head with little face-to-face battle with a third party candidate. Although a third party candidate does not have much of a chance of winning an election, it is powerful that they have the chance to influence the election, and it is seen that third party candidates really do have an impact on the American political process. As seen in the 2000 presidential election, an third party candidate shifted votes and contributed to president George W. Bush's win. Third party candidates are a positive impact on the American political process because their contribution stands for American values, they can push important issues, and because they can effect the outcome of an election.
Third party candidates are a positive impact on todays society. This is seen today because third party candidates can put stress on key voter issues that the main political parties will have to address, and can wash out political candidates that are not able to make a distinct stamp on the nation.
According to Joe Atkinson in fall 2000, "Bob Roth, who served as Hagelin's campaign manager, cited Perot's unsuccessful campaign in 1992 as the most recent example of a third-party candidate re-shaping the country's political mindset. “Perot brought out the issues of a balanced budget and campaign finance reform,” Roth said, “which no one was even talking about at the time.”" Balancing the budget is now a very important issue that the candidates have to take strong positions on right away. This is partially because of the issues that we face today with the threat of a large debt, but also because third party candidates can take somewhat mild stances, and that forces the Republicans and Democrats to take strong opinions.
Third party candidates can shift votes and change the outcome of the presidential election. This impact could be seen as both positive and negative, but I think it is positive because it further allows the American people to pick their own government. Third party candidates remind me of the American dream that anyone can change their life. The Republicans and Democrats are two huge parties, but the people should not have to pick one or the other. As seen on Boundless.com, "Although it is unlikely that a third party candidate will ever garner a plurality of the vote, they can influence the election by taking votes away from a major party candidate. This was at issue during the 2000 election when Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader took votes away from Democrat Al Gore, a situation that some felt contributed to the victory of Republican George W. Bush." It is hard to determine whether this was a good impact on America because we don't know how Al Gore would have been as a president, but I still feel like this was a positive influence because it picked the candidate that stood out the most. George W. Bush was force to make a strong stance on where he stood, and make sure he was not anything like Ralph Nader, who his votes could go to. “The two major parties have become xerox copies of each other on the issues I care about,” Buchanan said, citing big government and international issues, such as foreign intervention and immigration, as his biggest concerns." The third party candidates can shift this so that the political parties have to change so that they are not so alike. According to Jill Kokemuller from Demand Media, "the presence of a third-party candidate usually draws votes away from one of the main two parties because of similar platforms. This gives the advantage to the other party, which may not have won if there was no third-party candidate to split the opposing vote." This forces the candidates to come up with new ideas and plans so that they can be better than their competitor, but also look good in response to the third party candidate's pressing.
Third party candidates are a positive influence on the American political process because they force large voter issues, and because they can sway the presidency. They don't have much of a chance of actually winning the election, but they can foreshadow hot-button issues that are key to the battle between the Republican candidate and the Democrat candidate. Third party candidates are important to be there for what America values. It values letting people have their own opinions, and allows them to be able to express it. Who knows, maybe third party candidates will have more of a chance in the future.
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