The vast majority of our nation only consumes media that’s pushed to them. Whether it’s from watching cable, streaming services, pop-up ads, or social media, they’re only getting coverage from the two primary candidates.
The Republican play has been dividing the left for decades, so Democrats are naturally skeptical of a third-party candidate being run as a spoiler. It doesn’t help that Jill Stein has run so many times, and has had some questionable alliances.
I'm personally a person with no party at this point. Democrats don't represent my views, they were just closer, but there's no one who does who runs at a national level
Welcome. I’ve felt like that since 2000. I change my registration to match the challenging party for that election so I at least have a say in the primary. US citizens barely vote in the incumbent’s primary, so your vote may actually matter in the challenger’s primary.
Ross Perot had a shot in 1992 but blew it by promoting conspiracy theories (that may have even been true, who knows) about Republican infiltration at (iirc) his daughters wedding.
And the split in the vote let Bill Clinton beat the incumbent Bush.
The only way a third party takes a seat is when they capture the attention.
Locally, that's easier. Less people to win over, you get to focus on local accomplishments, etc. But national you need to become the national conversation or too many voters wouldn't know who you are.
Also, not all races are contested by both Democrats and Republicans. Sometimes the third party is the only one running for a position, sometimes it's just one third party vs the Republican.
Local races are significantly different.
Ross Perot never had a real shot. The ruling parties would not have permitted it.
Maybe so. But he's a good example of someone getting 'close' nationally.
The only real reason is lack of ranked choice voting. With the current system a choice is made that is either a win or a loss. This creates a binary system of Republicans or Democrats. Ranked choice allows for an automatic fall back. If you vote for a third-party candidate that you really like under ranked choice, this is not a protest vote. If your candidate doesn't win you provided a fall back to a larger party candidate.
Just from personal observation it seems like it's always too little, too late. I never seem to hear or see anything about third parties until right before an election, where they seemingly step out of the bushes and go "Hey, what about me?".
Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com.
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
