Voter dissatisfaction with both political parties is at an all-time high—and voters’ trust in Washington, D.C., is at an all-time low—creating a political climate that is welcoming for an alternative to the Democrats and the Republicans, reports National Public Radio. Pollster Stan Greenberg worked for Bill Clinton in 1992, when third-party candidate Ross Perot roiled the race. If it happened back then, Greenberg says, it can happen again next year. “I can’t imagine that with 85% of the country thinking we’re on the wrong track that there won’t be a third-party candidate,” he says. “There has to be. There’s too much opportunity, too much anger with politics.” The message of the last three elections is clear: Voters are in an anti-incumbent, anti-Washington, and now anti-Wall Street mood. In the last three races where there’s been a prominent third candidate, the incumbent or his party lost. In 1980, Jimmy Carter had John Anderson; in 1992, George H.W. Bush had Ross Perot; and in 2000, Al Gore had Ralph Nader. Republican strategist Ed Rogers wishes the same for President Obama next year. “I wish somebody good and credible from the left would wander into the race and scramble the numbers in a few key states—Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania—for Obama. Some sort of labor purist or eco-fanatic or something,” says Rogers. “Yeah, I’d be for that.” Read the full story here.
Today’s poll question: Would you consider voting for a third-party candidate?
