United States
In the United States are often known as third parties. Minor parties in the U.S. include the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, Constitution Party, and others that have less in influence than the major parties, which since the American Civil War (1861–1865) have been the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Since 1860, six presidential candidates other than Republicans and Democrats have received over 10% of the popular vote, although one of them was a former president, Theodore Roosevelt.
| Third-Party Presidential Candidates, 1832-1996 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Third-party candidates who received more than the historical average of 5.6 percent of the popular vote are listed below, three of which were former presidents (follow links for more information on their time as president). | |||||
| Year | Candidate | Popular Vote % | Electoral Votes | Outcome in Next Election | |
| 1996 | Reform | H. Ross Perot | 8.4 | 0 | Did not run; endorsed Republican candidate George W. Bush |
| 1992 | Independent | H. Ross Perot | 18.9 | 0 | Ran as Reform Party candidate |
| 1980 | Independent | John B. Anderson | 6.6 | 0 | Did not run |
| 1968 | American Independent | George C. Wallace | 13.5 | 46 | Won 1.4 percent of the popular vote |
| 1924 | Progressive | Robert M. La Follette | 16.6 | 13 | Returned to Republican Party |
| 1912 | Progressive ("Bull Moose") | Theodore Roosevelt | 27.4 | 88 | Returned to Republican Party |
| 1912 | Socialist | Eugene V. Debs | 6 | 0 | Won 3.2 percent of the popular vote |
| 1892 | Populist | James B. Weaver | 8.5 | 22 | Endorsed Democratic candidate |
| 1860 | Constitutional Union | John Bell | 12.6 | 39 | Party dissolved |
| 1860 | Southern Democrats | John C. Breckinridge | 18.1 | 72 | Party dissolved |
| 1856 | American ("Know-Nothing") | Millard Fillmore | 21.5 | 8 | Party dissolved |
| 1848 | Free Soil | Martin Van Buren | 10.1 | 0 | Won 4.9 percent of the vote |
| 1832 | Anti-Masonic | William Wirt | 7.7 | 7 | Endorsed Whig candidate |
| Percentages in bold are those over 10% in elections since 1860. | |||||
Read more about this topic: Minor Party
Famous quotes related to united states:
“The city of Washington is in some respects self-contained, and it is easy there to forget what the rest of the United States is thinking about. I count it a fortunate circumstance that almost all the windows of the White House and its offices open upon unoccupied spaces that stretch to the banks of the Potomac ... and that as I sit there I can constantly forget Washington and remember the United States.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“The veto is a President’s Constitutional right, given to him by the drafters of the Constitution because they wanted it as a check against irresponsible Congressional action. The veto forces Congress to take another look at legislation that has been passed. I think this is a responsible tool for a president of the United States, and I have sought to use it responsibly.”
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“In one notable instance, where the United States Army and a hundred years of persuasion failed, a highway has succeeded. The Seminole Indians surrendered to the Tamiami Trail. From the Everglades the remnants of this race emerged, soon after the trail was built, to set up their palm-thatched villages along the road and to hoist tribal flags as a lure to passing motorists.”
—For the State of Florida, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Prior to the meeting, there was a prayer. In general, in the United States there was always praying.”
—Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)