A Third-Party Vote is a Vote for Trump

 By Mildred Robertson

America is faced with a major threat during the 2024 Presidential Election. Third-party candidates may throw the country into a quagmire as they muddy political waters.  If these candidates attract enough votes in the general election their candidacies could ensure that neither major party candidate can win in the Electoral College. That would throw the election into the House of Representatives, where the Republican legislators will most assuredly elect former President Donald J. Trump.

Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. seems to be the largest threat because he has gained ballot access in Utah and is poised to qualify in six more states, including three battleground states.  It is highly unlikely that he or any third-party candidate could secure the presidency, but they could have a significant impact on the election outcome by diverting support from candidates Donald Trump (Rep.) and President Biden, (Dem.)

In early March Kennedy Jr.’s campaign announced that it collected enough signatures to put him on the ballot in Nevada. He recently qualified for the Utah ballot and the American Values super PAC supporting his candidacy also claims to have the signatures to secure his spot on the ballots in Arizona, Georgia, and South Carolina.  According to a November Siena College poll of voters in six battleground states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin), slightly more Democrats than Republicans (18% versus 16%) would back Kennedy Jr., indicating he could draw more votes from Biden than Trump.

The other two third-party candidates seeking the presidency are progressive Cornel West and Green Party’s Jill Stein. Stein is blamed for siphoning votes from Hillary Clinton in 2016 in Florida and was on the ballot in Wisconsin and Michigan which led to Hillary’s ultimate defeat in the Electoral College. (Note that Clinton actually won the popular vote by 2.9 million.)

It is presumed that without Kennedy Jr., West, and Stein on the ballot, Biden could beat Trump by four points. However, these third-party candidates change that math. The Quinnipiac poll and the December Reuters/Ipsos survey found Trump’s lead over Biden widens to five when Kennedy Jr. is on the ballot. A January Harvard CAPS-Harris poll found Trump would expand his lead over Biden from six to eight points with Kennedy Jr. on the ballot.

Clearly, these polls are changing daily as more voters tune in to the election and begin to make their decisions about who they will choose to lead this nation. Currently, Biden and Trump are in a statistical dead heat. One of the two will be elected president on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

So as voters plan how they will vote and for whom, it is important to weigh the value of a third-party vote. If a candidate from neither major party appeals to you just know that making a third-party choice is still a choice for one of the two of them. It is unlikely…almost impossible for a third-party candidate to win. But it is almost certain that a third-party vote is a vote for Trump. Look back to 2016. The evidence is clear.

If you are just looking for an alternative with your third-party vote, you won’t get one. You will just get Trump.

Don’t waste your vote.