A recent Gallup poll has found that a majority of Americans support the idea of a third major party, including those voters who identify as independents and with the Democratic Party. However, support has dipped slightly since last year.
Gallup conducted its survey between September 3 and 15, speaking with a random sample of 1,007 adults across all 50 states and the District of Columbia through both landline and cellphone interviews. The margin of error is ±4 percentage points. Additional information on the poll and its methodology is available here.
Respondents were asked whether they believe the Republican and Democratic parties adequately represent the American people, or if such groups do such a poor job that a third major party is needed. A total of 584 respondents, or 58%, said a new third party is needed, compared to 373 respondents, or 37%, who felt the Republican and Democratic parties do an adequate job. The remaining five percent were unsure or refused to answer.
Unsurprisingly, individuals already identifying as independents were the most likely to support a new party, with 69% saying they would support one being established. Democrats were the second-largest group to express support with 53%, followed by Republicans with 48%.
When compared to Gallup’s 2023 poll asking the same question, independent support for a new party has dropped slightly, from 75% last year to 69% this year. Meanwhile, Democratic and Republican views have essentially flipped since last year, where 58% of Republicans had supported a third party compared to only 46% of Democrats.
Looking at support purely along ideological lines, all ideological groups largely favor a third party over the current two-party system. This includes 63% of moderates, 58% of liberals, and 54% of conservatives.
Gallup also examined support across gender, education, race, age, and household income. A majority of respondents in each demographic category supports a major third party, except for those adults aged 55 or older (49% in favor) and those earning less than $50,000 annually (48% in favor). However, even in these specific groups, more respondents prefer a new party over the status quo, with 46% and 44%, respectively, believing the current system is adequate.
In fact, no single demographic group surveyed had a majority of respondents that believes the status quo is sufficient. The group closest to doing so was those Americans identifying with the Republican Party, with 47% stating they believe the current two-party system is adequate.
This is your scheduled reminder that Trump and his MAGAts are no less RINOs than the Republican establishment never-Trumpers and the GOP warhawks beholden to the military-industrial complex.
For the closest thing to actual Republicans left in the GOP, look primarily to Rand Paul (libertarian) and Ben Carson (sort of conservative); perhaps to Josh Hawley (conservative), Thomas Massie (sort of libertarian) and Ron DeSantis (populist); and maybe even to the likes of Tom Cotton (sort of conservative), Matt Gaetz (sort of populist), Dan Bongino (populist), John Kennedy (neo-conservative), Paul Gosar (sort of populist), Jim Jordan (not sure where to classify him – realist? common sensical?), etc.
Trump has been very successful in destroying the Republican party by causing what few Republicans remained to either i) let themselves be (ab)used by his RINO walk not matching his Republican talk (several above), ii) become corrupted by his RINO opposition (e.g. Chip Roy), or iii) give up on and leave the GOP all together.
Ans further, as someone has mentioned, RINO’s have more money than votes. The RINO Party could do very well by starting off as a fund raising conduit, and thereby make virtual fusion nominations for preferred major parties candidates.
Anyway, as I have mentioned in other places, the Libertarians may have established a precedent by collecting excess contributions for major party candidates. Third parties could start off as fund raising conduits, and thereby graduate to making virtual fusion nominations.
A third party doesn’t actually have to win to have an impact. The Green and Libertarian Parties have already had an impact, and may even impact 2024.
IMO, either of those parties could have a greater impact, and actually elect a few people if they were just a bit more strategic in their thinking, and recruiting electable candidates in targeted districts.
What if they called it the pyrite party?
In other news they also want tons of government goodies for everyone, safety from criminals and foreign threats , no taxes, no debt, total fairness and equality while they beat everyone else to the top of a heap which is simultaneously flat and steep, Santa Claus giving everyone handouts, and every other self contradictory thing anyone could want.
They want government to deliver anything and everything at no cost with no waste or graft or injustice and no losers but they want to be winners. They want to have their cake and eat it too, all day every day. They want it all and they want it now.
These same folks want to drown themselves and their kids in personal and corporate debt in their own lives. They want quick easy money. Why should they be any more realistic about government and politics? Something they understand way, way more dimly. You might be surprised how many people think “tax refunds” are a handout or benefit or don’t understand how inflation flows from “stimulus” etc etc etc
Gallup found that Americans of all multiple opposing and mutually exclusive ideological directions wish there was a third party that was exactly like whatever direction they like best which would be a major party but don’t want to do any work at all to make it happen or vote for it or donate any time or money or do anything except call people who actually do spoilers, vote wasters, etc etc. Gallup finds this every year or two for decades . Any actual third party is a far cry from this theoretical utopian party. Utopian in the sense that it literally can not come to be
Yup… they want a Third Party really badly until they don’t. Election Day changes everything. Rinse and repeat.
You are dreaming. Believe whatever you want. At this point they’d just be taking votes from Democrats, but it still won’t happen. Check back in your preferred time frame and let’s see who is correct.
The RINO Party doesn’t have to be a large party to have an impact. They could hold the balance of power in suburban districts and swing states, where they could actually win strategic seats in Congress, and Governors. Many of them have come from such places.
Even if the institutional barriers to starting new parties or making them gain traction and become major disappeared – rhinos are just way more prevalent in dying legacy media spin rooms, wall street board rooms, deep state Intel shadows , and among the lobbyist class than on main street and “flyover country” – if dollars could vote they might make a major party.
They have lots of cowardly politician and donor supporters who must realize how unpopular their views are and thus have no interest in personally leading any charge.
That’s what fake news wants us to believe but RINOs are failing spectacularly at creating even a minor party, much less major – unity 08, Americans elect, egg mcmuffin , no labels.
Being more focused on policy direction than party labels myself I’d throw in bloomberg 2020, who is after all sometimes a Republican (just like Trump has been a Democrat, Independent Reform, etc). There’s nothing in the media mirage of a middle of the road except yellow stripes and dead armadilloes.
If anything, there’s more of a working class “including middle class small business owners and managers” exodus from the Democrats, particularly young but all ages , increasingly non White, and more male than female but plenty of women too . They might be making a new home in the GOP or getting equally fed up with them soon . It may have started among rural and small town whites but is now more and more multiracial and urban as well as rural.
I think more and more folks are independent and don’t really care about parties, much less a new one , much less climbing over barriers to make it major. The devil is in details indeed – there just aren’t enough rhinos to make a major party.
The devil is in the details. What would a third party stand for?
If there is going to be a third party soon, it would likely come from Republicans who have become disillusioned with the direction of that party; the so-called RINO’s. They seem to be the most cohesive group that is out of sync with either major party.
This is a long standing answer. The problem comes in when you try to nail down an ideology or policy direction, tactics, strategy, leadership, actual candidates, funding, ballot access, and everything else involved. People wish a third major party already existed but they have no agreement as to which way it would pull , agreement on how it should get there without being a spoiler (real or imagined), or anything else .But there’s always these poll results year after year.