Could a Third Party Candidate Win?

Third-party candidates sometimes win elections. ... Although third- party candidates rarely actually win elections, they can have an effect on them. If they do well, then they are often accused of having a spoiler effect. Sometimes, they have won votes in the electoral college, as in the 1832 Presidential election.

Has a third party ever won an electoral vote?

In the 59 presidential elections since 1788, third party or independent candidates have won at least 5.0% of the vote or garnered electoral votes 12 times (21%); this does not count George Washington, who was elected as an independent in 1788–1789 and 1792, but who largely supported Federalist policies and was ...

Was there ever a third party president?

Millard Fillmore, a member of the Whig party, was the 13th President of the United States (1850-1853) and the last President not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. ... Born in the Finger Lakes country of New York in 1800, Fillmore as a youth endured the privations of frontier life.