Why do third party candidates and independents not win elections?

[AgnosticBoy]

The biggest group of voters by party or group are independents. Republicans and Democrats tend to have low approval ratings when they are running the government. Given these two factors, I'm left asking why do independents and third party candidates not win elections?

I suspect the election system is rigged against them in that the rules are rigged to make it hard for independents to run for president. But I'll offer this up for discussion to see what others think of this issue.


Why do third party candidates and independents not win elections?

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Why do third party candidates and independents not win elections?

As of May 1, 2024, while Trump and Biden are already out campaigning, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy is still working to just get his name on voter ballots.

He also collected the necessary signatures for ballot access in Idaho, Nevada, Nebraska, Iowa, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Petitioning is also underway in over 30 other states, per the campaign. Petitioning is also underway in over 30 other states, per the campaign.

- Axios

So he still is off the ballot in 30 states? And isn't Kennedy a former Democrat with some connections and some money not to mention the name Kennedy behind him?

On top of that, he's facing legal challenges from the dominant parties, mainly from Democrat groups it seems...

Democratic-aligned groups have filed challenges to Kennedy's ballot access, including in Hawaii.

- Axios

or this article from the AP:

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Democrats are challenging efforts to place Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and three other candidates on the state’s presidential ballots, part of a nationwide effort to block candidates who could siphon votes from incumbent President Joe Biden.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Why do third party candidates and independents not win elections?

Here's an inside look that explains why:

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan said their campaign is considering dropping out and supporting former President Trump to avoid a Kamala Harris presidency.

The entrepreneur and attorney admitted there are two paths for the RFK campaign to go down, one being to stay in the race and create more legitimacy for independent presidential candidates, or to suspend its run and endorse Trump, which could give him the lift he needs to beat Harris in November.

However, she accused the DNC of sabotage.


"They have banned us, shadow-banned us, kept us off stages, manipulated polls, used lawfare against us, sued us in every possible state, they’ve even planted insiders into our campaign to disrupt it and to create actual legal issues for us," she said.

Source: Fox News

And I believe the Republicans would do the same if they thought RFK's campaign would hurt Trump's chances of winning more than Kamala's chances.