How third-party and independent candidates could threaten Democrats and Republicans in 2024
Associated PressNEW YORK — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and scion of the storied Democratic dynasty, launched an independent presidential bid on Monday. “You need to tell people that a vote for a candidate without a path to 270 means they’re lighting their ballot on fire,” Messina said. Aware of the risk, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel released a statement on Monday calling Kennedy a “typical elitist liberal.” “Make no mistake – a Democrat in Independent’s clothing is still a Democrat,” she said, highlighting Kennedy’s past support for Hillary Clinton and his support for progressive environmental protections known as the Green New Deal. “It’s dangerous,” McPhillips said of the independent and third-party candidates. “We are out there proudly giving people a choice and fighting for real democracy, not the democracy where the Democratic Party says, ‘Yeah, we’re saving democracy from the Republican Party by squelching any chance of a primary, by shaming voters who want to vote for a third party or an independent,’' said West’s campaign manager, Peter Daou.
History of this topic
![Donald Trump's historic comeback: How third-party candidates shaped the 2024 election](https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/images/story/202411/former-independent-candidate-for-president-robert-f-kennedy--jr-waves-to-the-crowd-as-he-arrives-o-172730735-16x9.jpg?VersionId=HYh_sja5hMMkPDrWOJ8wQiQvjfVXPWa0)
Donald Trump's historic comeback: How third-party candidates shaped the 2024 election
India Today![Democrats are now hoping to siphon votes from Trump by pushing to get anti-abortion third-party candidate on ballot](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/08/30/21/Screenshot-2024-08-30-at-4.58.34%E2%80%AFPM.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
Democrats are now hoping to siphon votes from Trump by pushing to get anti-abortion third-party candidate on ballot
The Independent![Some independent candidates start their own political parties to ease ballot access](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/04/16/gettyimages-2126505415_wide-398f1e8986f8c5af1e495870637a50dfeccd65e9.jpg?s=1400&c=100&f=jpeg)
Some independent candidates start their own political parties to ease ballot access
NPR![Who is running for president? Third party candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could swing the 2024 election results.](https://compote.slate.com/images/c221ee5d-70a8-4b0a-841a-5fcb6eb6127a.jpeg?crop=1560%2C1040%2Cx0%2Cy0&width=1560)
Who is running for president? Third party candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could swing the 2024 election results.
Slate![Third parties could play a lesser role in 2020 campaign](https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/241eda8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1688+0+156/resize/1440x810!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.googleapis.com%2Fafs-prod%2Fmedia%2F434f11a372084ff8937f80e560d04861%2F3000.jpeg)
Third parties could play a lesser role in 2020 campaign
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