In some of the listed cases a faction or factions of a state's major party ran against each other, often making it difficult to ascertain which was the mainline candidate and which was the bolter; in such cases, those candidates which are not listed on a standard major party line are still listed, but are not considered traditional third party victories as often these candidates sat in Congress as affiliated party members (barring cases like Joe Lieberman who, upon winning re-election in 2006 as a third-party candidate, sat as an Independent Democrat).
Listed below are Senate elections in which a third party or independent candidate won at least 5.0% of the vote. Winners are shown in bold and marked "elected" or "re-elected".
Indirect elections (before 1918)
Prior to the passage of the 17th Amendment, most states did not hold direct elections to the Senate, with senators instead being elected by the state legislatures. The results listed below are cases in which a third-party candidate won at least 5.0% of the legislative vote.
American electoral politics have been dominated by successive pairs of major political parties since shortly after the founding of the republic of the United States. Since the 1850s, the two largest political parties have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party—which together have won every United States presidential election since 1852 and controlled the United States Congress since at least 1856. Despite keeping the same names, the two parties have evolved in terms of ideologies, positions, and support bases over their long lifespans, in response to social, cultural, and economic developments—the Democratic Party being the left-of-center party since the time of the New Deal, and the Republican Party now being the right-of-center party.
The American Independent Party (AIP) is an American political party that was established in 1967. The American Independent Party is best known for its nomination of Democratic then-former Governor George Wallace of Alabama, who carried five states in the 1968 presidential election running against Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey on a populist, hard-line anti-Communist, pro-"law and order" platform, appealing to working-class white voters. Wallace was best known for his staunch segregationist stances. In 1976, the party split into the modern American Independent Party and the American Party. From 1992 until 2008, the party was the California affiliate of the national Constitution Party. Its exit from the Constitution Party led to a leadership dispute during the 2008 election.
Third party, or minor party, is a term used in the United States' two-party system for political parties other than the Republican and Democratic parties.
Ballot access are rules and procedures regulating the right to candidacy, the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots in elections in the United States.
In the politics of the United States, elections are held for government officials at the federal, state, and local levels. At the federal level, the nation's head of state, the president, is elected indirectly by the people of each state, through an Electoral College. Today, these electors almost always vote with the popular vote of their state. All members of the federal legislature, the Congress, are directly elected by the people of each state. There are many elected offices at state level, each state having at least an elective governor and legislature. There are also elected offices at the local level, in counties, cities, towns, townships, boroughs, and villages; as well as for special districts and school districts which may transcend county and municipal boundaries.
The Independence Party was a political party in the U.S. state of New York. The party was founded in 1991 by Gordon Black, Tom Golisano, and Laureen Oliver and acquired ballot status in 1994. They lost their ballot status in 2020 under a change in the New York state election law that required at least 130,000 votes on the party line every two years. Although often associated with Ross Perot, as the party came to prominence in the wake of Perot's 1992 presidential campaign, it was created prior to Perot's run. In 2020, it affiliated with the Alliance Party, but disaffiliated in 2021. It used to have one elected member of the New York State Assembly, Fred Thiele, until Thiele switched his party affiliation to the Democratic Party in 2022. On December 9, 2022, New York governor Kathy Hochul signed S1851A, banning the use of the words "Independent" and "Independence" from use in political party names in New York state.
The Kansas Republican Party is the state affiliate political party in Kansas of the United States Republican Party. The Kansas Republican Party was organized in May 1859.
An independent, non-partisan politician, or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
The Progressive Party was a political party created as a vehicle for Robert M. La Follette, Sr. to run for president in the 1924 election. It did not run candidates for other offices, and it disappeared after the election. The party advocated progressive positions such as government ownership of railroads and electric utilities, cheap credit for farmers, the outlawing of child labor, stronger laws to help labor unions, more protection of civil liberties, an end to American imperialism in Latin America, and a referendum before any president could lead the nation into war.
The Independent Greens of Virginia was the state affiliate of the Independence Party of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It became a state party around 2003 when a faction of the Arlington local chapter of the Green Party of Virginia (GPVA) split from the main party. As of 2011, it bills itself as a "fiscally conservative, socially responsible green party", with an emphasis on rail transportation and "more candidates". In support of wider ballot participation, it endorses many independent candidates who are not affiliated with the party.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Arkansas. The current party chair is Grant Tennille. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton was born in Arkansas, and served as state governor from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1992.
The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is a centrist political party in the U.S. state of Oregon with more than 140,000 registrants since its inception in January 2007. The IPO is Oregon's third-largest political party and the first political party other than the Democratic Party and Republican Party to be recognized by the state of Oregon as a major political party.
Elections in Vermont are authorized under Chapter II of the Vermont State Constitution, articles 43–49, which establishes elections for the state level officers, cabinet, and legislature. Articles 50–53 establish the election of county-level officers.
The 2012 United States elections took place on November 6, 2012. Democratic President Barack Obama won reelection to a second term and the Democrats gained seats in both chambers of Congress, retaining control of the Senate even though the Republican Party retained control of the House of Representatives. As of 2024, this is the most recent election cycle in which neither the presidency nor a chamber of Congress changed partisan control, and the last time that the party that won the presidency simultaneously gained seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Libertarian Party of Virginia (LPVA) is the Virginia affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The party was originally founded in 1974 and was dissolved by the State Central Committee on September 11, 2022. Subsequently, the Virginia Libertarians quickly recreated the Libertarian Party of Virginia and received the recognition of the Libertarian National Committee. Some of the disaffected former Libertarians went on to create a new party, the Liberty Party – a party affiliated with the Association of Liberty State Parties.
The 1883 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in January 1883. Incumbent Republican Senator George Frisbie Hoar was re-elected to a second term in office despite a serious challenge from Democrats and members of his own party.
The 2024 United States presidential election in California was held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. California voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. California has 54 electoral votes in the Electoral College, the most in the country.
The 2022 Vermont Senate election took place on November 8, 2022, as part of the biennial United States elections. The election coincided with elections for other offices including the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, and State House. Vermont voters elected all 30 state senators from 16 districts, with each district electing between one and three senators. State senators serve two-year terms in the Vermont Senate. Primary elections were held on August 9, 2022. This election would be the first to use new districts adopted by the Vermont General Assembly to allocate for population changes across the state after the 2020 census.
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