Third Party Voting in Presidential Elections: A Study of Perot, Anderson, and Wallace

Abstract

This article investigates the experience of independent presidential candi date H. Ross Perot by drawing on historical explanations for third party success. Studies of third party candidates have isolated a series of contex tual factors that contribute to electoral success. They include low levels of partisanship, dissatisfaction with the major party candidates, issue aliena tion, economic discontent, and distrust toward government. Using NES data, the author tests these models as explanations for Perot's success in 1992 and compares the results to previous third party experiences in 1968 and 1980. The author finds that the existence of a large base of weak parti sans was a major determinant of Perot's electoral breakthrough but that none of the other factors served as a powerful explanation for Perot's suc cess, especially when compared to the experiences of previous third party candidates.

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