Ross Perot to Citizens United v. FEC: How Third-Party Candidates Build From 2024
This article was written in response to the recent underwhelming performances of the field of third-party candidates, independents, and write-ins in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. As of November 14, an estimated four million uncounted ballots remained in the 2024 presidential election. Out of 151,586,504 total votes, all votes cast for third-party candidates, independents, and write-ins totaled 2,675,029, or 1.6%. These figures are worse than the 2020 presidential election when the total field of non-duopoly candidates and write-ins equaled 2,922,155 votes or 1.84% of the 158,429,631 votes cast. I will provide a brief history of two standout third-party/independent presidential candidates, summarize the implications of the 2010 landmark Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC, and provide a recommendation list of how third-party candidacies should build from this moment forward.
Ross Perot and Ralph Nader: Inspiring Figures in a Challenging Electoral System
Ross Perot was the last third-party candidate to win over 5% of the national popular vote in the 1996 presidential election as a member of the Reform Party when he obtained 8.4% of the national vote. As an independent in 1992, Perot earned 19,742,267 votes or 18.9% of the national popular vote out of 104,426,659 total votes. He won a million or more votes in six states in 1992. In 2000, Ralph Nader got 2,882,897 votes as a Green party presidential candidate out of 105,396,641 total votes, equating to 2.74% of the national popular vote. Nader’s 2000 presidential run had more support than all non-duopoly candidates combined in the 2024 presidential even though the 2000 presidential election had 46,000,000 fewer voters. What made Perot’s two presidential runs so successful compared to other non-duopoly candidates over the years? Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential run was unique for several reasons: as a billionaire, he self-funded his presidential campaign, had high-profile endorsements from figures like Johnny Cash, Jack Nicholson, Steve Martin, and Katharine Hepburn, earned full ballot access and had maximal grassroots campaigning and organizing. Furthermore, Perot had a consistent message on the national debt, bought TV time to inform the public about his platform, and prominently appeared on high-profile programs such as Larry King Live. As a result of his popularity reaching as high as 40% in some polling, The Commission on Presidential Debates invited Ross Perot to all three nationally televised debates alongside President George H.W. Bush and, at the time, Governor Bill Clinton in October 1992.
Ralph Nader, widely known as a consumer advocate before entering politics in 1992, ran a bold platform in his 2000 presidential campaign, focusing on campaign finance reform, labor, living wages, marijuana legalization, affordable housing, environmental protections, and criminal justice reform, to name some of his key issues. Nader built a nationwide support base catapulted by a strong coalition of volunteers on populist positions, including universal health care, higher taxes for corporations, and tuition-free public education. Nader’s strong finish in 2000 resulted in the notoriety of the spoiler candidate myth given to third-party candidates whose presence threatened any election involving the Democrats and Republicans. George W. Bush’s narrow 537 vote margin of victory over former vice-president Al Gore caused the Democratic Party to scapegoat the Nader/LaDuke ticket as the primary reason for losing Florida and the Electoral College. In 2004, the Democratic party stifled Nader’s efforts to build third-party momentum under the Reform Party banner by suing his campaign 25 times in 12 weeks, resulting in full ballot access to 33 states instead of 43 in the 2000 presidential election.
Citizens United v. FEC: A Pivotal Moment in Campaign Finance Reform Law
Citizens United v. FEC (2010) is one of the most instrumental Supreme Court cases involving the overarching free speech and campaign finance reform laws. The case exacerbated the unfair financial advantage the two major political parties enjoyed. The Citizens United v. FEC ruling granted corporations and unions unlimited expenditures to donate directly to Democrats and Republicans and ruled that political speech was protected. In this context, corporations were legally protected as people. Citizens United v. FEC overturned previous Supreme Court cases such as Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce (1990) and McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003) that specifically banned electioneering communications (a broadcast and medium through which explicit political ads are linked to a specific candidate). According to Stephen Marks, political consultant and author of Confessions of a Political Hitman, super PAC ads are encouraged to harm the reputation of political opponents and are legally protected. Citizens United v. FEC remains a very controversial Supreme Court decision because several outside observers believe that dark money groups now have a loophole to contribute directly to political candidates and is a legalized form of bribery in the campaign finance system.
Building a Sustainable Third-Party Movement Beyond 2024
Approximately 89 million eligible voters did not vote in the 2024 presidential election. Now is the time for third-party candidates to play the long game and build into the future by tapping into disaffected, apathetic, unmotivated, and independent-minded voters. I believe that the first step is to measure the pulse of the people via polling to gauge the level of interest in third-party and independent candidates. Building a grassroots volunteer base that conducts door-to-door questionnaires will pinpoint the residents open to supporting independent and third-party candidates. For residents and citizens open to the idea of building a third-party movement, volunteers can create a database of people from a local level. Access to this information early avoids rushing for signature collections and meeting deadlines in statewide and national elections. The information above can be used to garner support for third-party city council and school board members. For outreach outside local jurisdictions without volunteer collaboration in neighboring counties, a mutual aid drive should be created to cover expenses such as stamp postage, facilitating the process for area-wide residents, and incentivizing questionnaire responses in the envelope provided. For example, Tennessee already has a network of people from Libertarian, Green, Constitution, and PSL (Party for Socialism and Liberation) parties. Third parties must collaborate from the local level to court voters as a united front. If a resident prefers the Libertarian Party over another third party, it is a win. If a resident prefers the PSL over another third party, it is a win for the movement. Encouraging this behavior builds trust with the united front and shows that parties and organizations can take egos out of the process. Nicholas Shillingford, host and creator of Socialist News and Views, proposed holding regional conferences to brainstorm collectively, tap into resources, network, and strategize.
Third parties need constant visibility to be taken seriously by the large swaths of undecided voters and residents; therefore, establishing and retaining statewide ballot access is crucial. In Tennessee, 2.5 percent support from the total number of votes from the previous gubernatorial election is needed to become an established minor or third party. The so-called “ground game” has decreased in recent presidential elections compared to the 1992 Perot campaign and 2000 Nader campaign. Third parties and independents must return to the basics and consider some of my points about grassroots organizing. I believe that the popularity of social media has caused complacency in the potential growth of a third-party movement. The social media side of organizing can only be practical with local volunteerism and infrastructure. At this point, it is naïve to think that having some name recognition like Dr. Cornel West or Dr. Jill Stein is enough to build a third-party movement. Connecting to everyday citizens in every corner of the country and maximizing citizen outreach more organically is a problematic but sustainable formula to success that transcends egos, figureheads, or party affiliations.
Dr. Scruggs (Kiko) is a citizen journalist, independent scholar, host, and creator of the YouTube channel Kiko’s Freethinker’s Forum. He has a Ph.D. in Spanish (Latin American and Caribbean Literature) from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
SOURCES:
https://www.fec.gov/legal-resources/court-cases/citizens-united-v-fec/
https://www.debates.org/about-cpd/overview/
https://sos.tn.gov/elections/guides/procedures-for-recognition-as-a-political-party