Greatest Third-Party Runs Ever

Theodore Roosevelt (1912, Progressive/Bull Moose)

Furious at successor William Howard Taft, TR stormed back into politics, split the Republican Party in two, and actually out-polled the sitting GOP president — the only third-party run ever to finish second. His 'New Nationalism' agenda and the 'Bull Moose' nickname (after he sur

Election Year: 1912Party Banner: Progressive (Bull Moose)Popular Vote: 27.4 %Electoral Votes: 88States Won: 6Historical Impact: 10/10Widely Called a Spoiler: ✓

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Millard Fillmore (1856, American/Know Nothing)

A former president running as a nativist third-party candidate sounds implausible, but Fillmore pulled over a fifth of the vote in a fractured field that also foreshadowed the Civil War realignment. He carried only Maryland but proved a defeated ex-president could still command a

Election Year: 1856Party Banner: American (Know Nothing)Popular Vote: 21.5 %Electoral Votes: 8States Won: 1Historical Impact: 6/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

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Ross Perot (1992, Independent)

The billboard-chart-toting Texas billionaire dropped out, re-entered, and still pulled the highest third-party popular vote share since Roosevelt, fueled by deficit-hawk populism and folksy infomercials. He won zero electoral votes but is permanently blamed (fairly or not) for ti

Election Year: 1992Party Banner: IndependentPopular Vote: 18.9 %Electoral Votes: 0States Won: 0Historical Impact: 8/10Widely Called a Spoiler: ✓

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Robert La Follette (1924, Progressive)

The Wisconsin senator ran on a coalition of farmers, labor unions, and socialists disillusioned with both major parties, winning his home state outright. It remains one of the strongest showings by an explicitly left-progressive third party in U.S. history.

Election Year: 1924Party Banner: ProgressivePopular Vote: 16.6 %Electoral Votes: 13States Won: 1Historical Impact: 7/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

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George Wallace (1968, American Independent)

The segregationist Alabama governor swept five Deep South states and came close to denying both major candidates an electoral majority, which would have thrown the election to the House. His 46 electoral votes remain the most won by a third-party candidate since 1912.

Election Year: 1968Party Banner: American IndependentPopular Vote: 13.5 %Electoral Votes: 46States Won: 5Historical Impact: 8/10Widely Called a Spoiler: ✓

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James B. Weaver (1892, Populist)

Running on the fiery Omaha Platform of free silver and railroad regulation, Weaver's Populist Party actually carried four Western states outright — a rare feat for an outsider ticket. It signaled the agrarian revolt that would reshape the Democratic Party within a decade.

Election Year: 1892Party Banner: PopulistPopular Vote: 8.5 %Electoral Votes: 22States Won: 4Historical Impact: 7/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

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Strom Thurmond (1948, States' Rights Dixiecrat)

Southern Democrats walked out of their own convention over civil rights and nominated Thurmond, who then carried four Deep South states in the general election. Truman won anyway in a stunning upset, but the Dixiecrat revolt previewed the South's eventual shift to the GOP.

Election Year: 1948Party Banner: States' Rights DixiecratPopular Vote: 2.4 %Electoral Votes: 39States Won: 4Historical Impact: 6/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

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Ross Perot (1996, Reform Party)

Perot's second act was tamer than his first but still built the new Reform Party into a fixture, qualifying it for federal matching funds and setting up its later, stranger chapters. His debate-stage charts and 'giant sucking sound' warnings about NAFTA had already entered the po

Election Year: 1996Party Banner: Reform PartyPopular Vote: 8.4 %Electoral Votes: 0States Won: 0Historical Impact: 5/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

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Ralph Nader (2000, Green Party)

The consumer-advocate icon's 'no difference between the parties' campaign pulled just enough votes in Florida to become the most argued-over spoiler in modern history, with Bush's 537-vote margin forever linked to Nader's tally there. Supporters call it principled dissent; critic

Election Year: 2000Party Banner: Green PartyPopular Vote: 2.7 %Electoral Votes: 0States Won: 0Historical Impact: 7/10Widely Called a Spoiler: ✓

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Eugene Debs (1912, Socialist)

Running in the same crowded field as Roosevelt and Wilson, the labor organizer and five-time candidate posted the Socialist Party's best-ever showing, proving there was a real working-class constituency outside the two-party system. It remains the high-water mark for American soc

Election Year: 1912Party Banner: SocialistPopular Vote: 6 %Electoral Votes: 0States Won: 0Historical Impact: 6/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

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John Anderson (1980, Independent)

The moderate Republican congressman bolted his party to offer a centrist alternative to Reagan and Carter, drawing college-educated voters uneasy with both. He never threatened to win, but his campaign became a template for future independent 'protest' bids like Perot's.

Election Year: 1980Party Banner: IndependentPopular Vote: 6.6 %Electoral Votes: 0States Won: 0Historical Impact: 5/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

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Henry Wallace (1948, Progressive)

FDR's former vice president ran to the left of Truman on civil rights and détente with the Soviets, but Cold War anxieties and accusations of communist sympathies crushed his coalition to a sliver of the vote. Still, his platform anticipated civil-rights and foreign-policy debate

Election Year: 1948Party Banner: ProgressivePopular Vote: 2.4 %Electoral Votes: 0States Won: 0Historical Impact: 4/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

added by IJR

Eugene Debs (1920, Socialist)

Debs ran his final campaign from a federal prison cell, jailed for opposing World War I, and still pulled over 900,000 votes as 'Convict No. 9653.' It's one of the most quietly remarkable feats in third-party history — a candidate who couldn't legally vote for himself.

Election Year: 1920Party Banner: SocialistPopular Vote: 3.4 %Electoral Votes: 0States Won: 0Historical Impact: 5/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

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Gary Johnson (2016, Libertarian)

The former New Mexico governor rode dissatisfaction with both major nominees to the Libertarian Party's best-ever national showing, even briefly polling in double digits. A viral 'What is Aleppo?' gaffe became the defining moment that capped his momentum.

Election Year: 2016Party Banner: LibertarianPopular Vote: 3.3 %Electoral Votes: 0States Won: 0Historical Impact: 5/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

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Jill Stein (2016, Green Party)

Stein's modest national total became an outsized flashpoint when her vote counts in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania exceeded Trump's razor-thin margins over Clinton. She's since become shorthand in political arguments for the 'spoiler' debate, fair or not.

Election Year: 2016Party Banner: Green PartyPopular Vote: 1.1 %Electoral Votes: 0States Won: 0Historical Impact: 4/10Widely Called a Spoiler: ✓

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Evan McMullin (2016, Independent)

A little-known former CIA officer launched a late #NeverTrump bid that went nowhere nationally but stunningly came close to winning Utah outright, a state Republicans usually carry by 20-plus points. It became a case study in how a single conservative-leaning state can turn into

Election Year: 2016Party Banner: IndependentPopular Vote: 0.5 %Electoral Votes: 0States Won: 0Historical Impact: 3/10Widely Called a Spoiler: —

added by IJR