This is a list of major third party tickets for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States.
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the President of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The Vice President is also an officer in the legislative branch, as President of the Senate. In this capacity, the Vice President presides over Senate deliberations, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. The Vice President also presides over joint sessions of Congress.
The candidates are listed here based on three criteria:
The Constitution Party, previously known as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party, is a national political party in the United States. The idea that the principles and intents of the U.S. Constitution remain relevant in human relations was the origin of the 1991 founding. Founding members included 2016 presidential candidate Darrell Castle and former acting Office of Economic Opportunity Director Howard Phillips. The party platform is based on originalist interpretations of the Constitution and shaped by principles it finds set forth in the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Constitution and the Bible.
The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a green federation of political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory, grassroots democracy; gender equality; LGBT rights; anti-war and anti-racism. On the political spectrum, the party is generally seen as left-wing.
Note: In elections held before 1804 and the passage of the Twelfth Amendment, the President was the person who won the most electoral votes, while the Vice President was the second-place finisher. This list lists any candidate who received electoral votes but was not in first or second place.
The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the President and Vice President. It replaced the procedure provided in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, by which the Electoral College originally functioned. The amendment was proposed by the Congress on December 9, 1803, and was ratified by the requisite three-fourths of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. The new rules took effect for the 1804 presidential election and have governed all subsequent presidential elections.
There were, as yet, no third party tickets, as the party system had yet to emerge at this early date. The original system in which each elector voted for two people for the presidency was unanimous for George Washington and a scattering for people whom the electors wished to elect Vice President.
George Washington was an American political leader, military general, statesman, and Founding Father who also served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. He led Patriot forces to victory in the nation's War of Independence, and he presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 which established the new federal government. He has been called the "Father of His Country" for his manifold leadership in the formative days of the new nation.
As the beginnings of partisanship began in the United States in the second election, there was unanimous agreement among Anti-Federalists (Republicans, as those who would eventually become Democrats were then called) that President Washington should receive a second term, but that Vice President John Adams was obnoxious and disliked and should be opposed. Thus, many supported New York Governor George Clinton as an opposition vice presidential candidate.
John Adams was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain, and also served as the first vice president of the United States. Adams was a dedicated diarist and regularly corresponded with many important figures in early American history including his wife and adviser, Abigail, and his letters and other papers are an important source of historical information about the era.
George Clinton was an American soldier and statesman, considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A prominent Democratic-Republican, Clinton served as the fourth vice president of the United States from 1805 until his death in 1812. He also served as governor of New York from 1777 to 1795 and from 1801 to 1804. Along with John C. Calhoun, he is one of two vice presidents to hold office under two presidents.
As there were as yet no "faithless" electors, several voted for others to oppose a second term for the VP.
The first contested election for the presidency had several electors scattered their second votes in order to prevent a tie in the electoral college and throw the election into the House of Representatives.
This was the first and only time that the Vice President would fulfill the original constitution's original mandate as leader of the opposition.
In order to prevent a tie and send the election into the House of Representatives, both parties agreed that one of their electors would vote for a third candidate. However, the elector what was supposed to do this on the Democratic-Republican side had forgotten to do so, forcing a contingent election.
All candidates were Democratic-Republican.
No formal Federalist nomination for vice president had been made, and it is not clear whether any of the several Federalists who received electoral votes for Vice President, ran as a candidate for the office.
All candidates were Democratic-Republican. President Monroe was reelected unopposed. While urban legend states that a faithless elector voted to deny him the honor of a unanimous election, previously given only to George Washington, several electors who objected to Vice President Daniel Tompkins voted for others instead.
Vice Presidential Nominee | Vote totals (EV) | |
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Richard Stockton State: New Jersey Born: April 17, 1764, Princeton, New Jersey Died: March 7, 1828, Princeton, New Jersey Alma mater: Princeton University Career: United States Senate (1796–99) | 8 | |
Daniel Rodney State: Delaware Born: September 10, 1764, Lewes, Delaware Died: September 2, 1846, Lewes, Delaware Alma mater: None Career: Governor of Delaware (1814–17) | 1 | |
Robert Goodloe Harper State: Maryland Born: January 1765, Fredericksburg, Virginia Died: January 14, 1825, Baltimore, Maryland Alma mater: Princeton University Career: United States Senate (1816); United States House of Representatives (1795–1801); South Carolina House of Representatives (1790–95) | 1 | |
Richard Rush State: Pennsylvania Born: August 29, 1780, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Died: July 30, 1859, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Alma mater: Princeton University Career: United States Minister to the United Kingdom (1817–25); United States Attorney General (1814–17) | 1 |
This election took place while the Democratic-Republican party was in the active process of splitting up, leaving three candidates as the unofficial nominees, while a fourth, William Crawford, who was nominated by the official congressional caucus, was felled by a stroke and received few votes.
Thus there were no third party candidates.
Presidential Nominee | 1832 | Vice Presidential Nominee | Popular vote total | Electoral vote total | Party | |
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John Floyd State: Virginia Born: April 24, 1783, Floyd's Station, Virginia Died: August 17, 1837, Sweet Springs, Virginia Alma mater: None Career: United States House of Representatives (1817–29), Governor of Virginia (1830–34), Virginia House of Delegates (1814–15) | Henry Lee State: Massachusetts Born: February 4, 1782 Died: February 6, 1867 Alma mater: None Career: None | 0 | 11 (3.8%) [3] | Nullifier Party | ||
William Wirt State: Virginia Born: November 8, 1772, Bladensburg, Maryland Died: February 18, 1834, Washington, D.C. Alma mater: None Career: United States Attorney General (1817–29) | Amos Ellmaker State: Pennsylvania Born: February 2, 1787, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Died: November 28, 1851, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Alma mater: Princeton University Career: Pennsylvania General Assembly (1813–14) | 99,817 (7.78%) | 7 (2.4%) | Anti-Masonic Party |
Note: All candidates were Whigs.
Presidential Nominee | 1844 | Vice Presidential Nominee | Popular vote total | Electoral vote total | Party | |
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James G. Birney State: Michigan Born: February 4, 1792, Danville, Kentucky Died: November 24, 1857, Perth Amboy, New Jersey Alma mater: Princeton University Career: Kentucky House of Representatives (1816–18) | Thomas Morris State: Ohio Born: January 3, 1776, Berks County, Pennsylvania Died: December 7, 1844, Bethel, Ohio Alma mater: None Career: United States Senate (1833–39) | 62,054 (2.3%) | 0 | Liberty Party |
Presidential Nominee | 1848 | Vice Presidential Nominee | Popular vote total | Electoral vote total | Party | |
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Martin Van Buren Born: December 5, 1782, Kinderhook, New York Died: July 24, 1862, Kinderhook, New York State: New York Alma mater: None Career: President of the United States (1837–41), Vice President of the United States (1833–37), United States Minister to the United Kingdom (1831–32), United States Secretary of State (1829–31), United States Senate (1821–28), Governor of New York (1829), Attorney General of New York (1815–19) | Charles Francis Adams, Sr. Born: August 18, 1807, Boston, Massachusetts Died: November 21, 1886, Boston, Massachusetts State: Massachusetts Alma mater: Harvard University Career: Massachusetts State Senate (1844–45), Massachusetts House of Representatives (1841) | 291,475 (10.13%) | 0 | Free Soil Party |
Presidential Nominee | 1852 | Vice Presidential Nominee | Popular vote total | Electoral vote total | Party | |
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John P. Hale Born: March 31, 1806, Rochester, New Hampshire Died: November 19, 1873, Dover, New Hampshire State: New Hampshire Alma mater: Bowdoin College Career: United States Senate (1847–53) | George Washington Julian Born: May 5, 1817, Centerville, Indiana Died: July 7, 1899, Irvington, Indiana State: Indiana Alma mater: None Career: United States House of Representatives (1849–51) | 155,799 (4.93%) | 0 | Free Soil Party |
Note: 1856 was the first year that the Republican party nominated a candidate for President of the United States, beginning the current two-party structure of Republicans and Democrats that has been dominant in presidential politics since.
Fillmore was the second of three former presidents to run as a third party candidate for re-election.
Presidential Nominee | 1856 | Vice Presidential Nominee | Popular vote total | Electoral vote total | Party | |
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Millard Fillmore Born: January 7, 1800, Summerhill, New York Died: March 8, 1874, Buffalo, New York State: New York Alma mater: None Career: President of the United States (1850–53), Vice President of the United States (1849–50), United States House of Representatives (1833–35, 1837–43), Comptroller of New York (1848–49) | Andrew Jackson Donelson Born: August 25, 1799, Nashville, Tennessee Died: June 26, 1871, Memphis, Tennessee State: Tennessee Alma mater: United States Military Academy Career: United States Ambassador to Texas (1844–45) | 872,703 (21.54%) | 8 (2.7%) | American Party |
Presidential Nominee | 1860 | Vice Presidential Nominee | Popular vote total | Electoral vote total | Party | |
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John Bell Born: February 18, 1796, Nashville, Tennessee Died: September 10, 1869, Dickson County, Tennessee State: Tennessee Alma mater: Cumberland College Career: United States Senate (1847–59), United States Secretary of War (1841), United States House of Representatives (1827–41) | Edward Everett Born: April 11, 1794, Dorchester, Massachusetts Died: January 15, 1865, Boston, Massachusetts State: Massachusetts Alma mater: Harvard College Career: United States Senate (1853–54), United States Secretary of State (1852–53), United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1841–45), Governor of Massachusetts (1836–40), United States House of Representatives (1825–35) | 589,581 (13%) | 39 (11.8%) | Constitutional Union |
The United States presidential election of 1792 was the second quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Friday, November 2 to Wednesday, December 5, 1792. Incumbent President George Washington was elected to a second term by a unanimous vote in the electoral college, while John Adams was re-elected as vice president. Washington was essentially unopposed, but Adams faced a competitive re-election against Governor George Clinton of New York.
The United States presidential election of 1796 was the third quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Friday, November 4 to Wednesday, December 7, 1796. It was the first contested American presidential election, the first presidential election in which political parties played a dominant role, and the only presidential election in which a president and vice president were elected from opposing tickets. Incumbent Vice President John Adams of the Federalist Party defeated former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic-Republican Party.
The United States presidential election of 1812, the seventh quadrennial American presidential election, was held from Friday, October 30, 1812 to Wednesday, December 2, 1812. Taking place in the shadow of the War of 1812, incumbent Democratic-Republican President James Madison defeated DeWitt Clinton, who drew support from dissident Democratic-Republicans in the North as well as Federalists. It was the first presidential election to be held during a major war involving the United States.
The United States presidential election of 1820 was the ninth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Wednesday, November 1, to Wednesday, December 6, 1820. Taking place at the height of the Era of Good Feelings, the election saw incumbent Democratic-Republican President James Monroe win re-election without a major opponent. It was the third and last United States presidential election in which a presidential candidate ran effectively unopposed. It was also the last election of a president from the Revolutionary generation.
In United States presidential elections, an unpledged elector is a person nominated to stand as an elector but who has not pledged to support any particular presidential or vice presidential candidate, and is free to vote for any candidate when elected a member of the Electoral College. Presidential elections are indirect, with voters in each state choosing electors on Election Day in November, and these electors choosing the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States in December. Electors today are elected in every state by popular vote, and in practice have since the 19th century almost always agreed in advance to vote for a particular candidate — that is, they are said to have been pledged to that candidate. In the 20th century, however, several elections were contested by unpledged electors, who made no pledge to any candidate before the election. These anomalies largely arose over fissures within the Democratic Party over the issues of civil rights and segregation. No serious general election campaign has been mounted to elect unpledged electors in any state since 1964.
In United States presidential elections, a faithless elector is a member of the United States Electoral College who does not vote for the presidential or vice presidential candidate for whom they had pledged to vote. That is, they break faith with the candidate they were pledged to and vote for another candidate, or fail to vote. A pledged elector is only considered a faithless elector by breaking their pledge; unpledged electors have no pledge to break.
The election of president and vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the 50 U.S. states or in Washington, D.C. cast ballots not directly for those offices, but instead for members of the U.S. Electoral College, known as electors. These electors then in turn cast direct votes, known as electoral votes, for president, and for vice president. The candidate who receives an absolute majority of electoral votes is then elected to that office. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes for President, the House of Representatives chooses the winner; if no one receives an absolute majority of the votes for Vice President, then the Senate chooses the winner.
The 1996 United States presidential election in New Mexico took place on November 5, 1996. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1996 United States presidential election. New Mexico voters chose five electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1996 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 5, 1996. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Michigan voters chose 18 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1996 United States presidential election in Texas took place on November 5, 1996. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Texas voters chose thirty-two electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1996 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 5, 1996. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Mississippi voters chose seven electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1996 United States presidential election in Nebraska took place on November 5, 1996. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Nebraska voters chose 5 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The United States elections of 1788–89 were the first federal elections in the United States since the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788. In the elections, the George Washington was elected as the first president and the members of the 1st United States Congress were selected.
In the United States, a contingent election is the procedure used in presidential elections in the case where no candidate wins an absolute majority of votes in the Electoral College, the constitutional mechanism for electing the President and the Vice President of the United States. A contingent election for the president is decided by a vote of the United States House of Representatives, and the contingent election for the vice president is decided by a vote of the United States Senate. The contingent election procedure, along with the other parts of the presidential election process, was first established in Article Two, Section 1, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution, and then modified by the 12th Amendment in 1804.
In the 2016 United States presidential election, ten members of the U.S. Electoral College voted for a candidate different from whom they were pledged to vote. This movement, dubbed the "Hamilton Electors", was co-founded by Micheal Baca and Bret Chiafalo. The movement attempted to find 37 Republican electors willing to vote for a more moderate Republican in an effort to put country above party. Three of these votes were invalidated by their respective states, reverting to the pledged candidate. As a result, the Democratic Party nominee, Hillary Clinton, lost five of her pledged electors while the Republican Party nominee and then president-elect, Donald Trump, lost two. Three of the faithless electors voted for Colin Powell while John Kasich, Ron Paul, Bernie Sanders, and Faith Spotted Eagle each received one vote.