Third-party support among Republicans surpasses majority as House GOP struggles with infighting

A majority of Republicans believe that both the GOP and Democratic parties “do such a poor job that a third major party is needed,” according to a Gallup poll.

58% of Republicans agree that a third party is needed in today’s political climate, up from 48% a year ago — a mark that has only been surpassed once, immediately following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

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The poll comes after the House voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from his speakership, while the front-runner for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump, faces numerous criminal charges carrying several lifetime prison sentences.

The Gallup poll found that 63% of Americans, regardless of party affiliation, support the idea that a third party is needed — up from 56% last year — marking an all-time high since Gallup started tracking it in 2003.

75% of independents unsurprisingly agreed that a third party is needed, the same number as last year, with no less than 70% of independents having supported the idea since 2013.

Democrats who participated in the poll showed an uptick in support for a third party this year, with 46% supporting the idea. Last year, just 40% of Democrats supported having a third major party.

The increase in support for a third major party from Democrats goes against the trend that members of a political party have more support for a third party when their opposition party is in power.

According to the polling averages, when a Republican is president, only 38% of the GOP supports having a third party — compared to 49% when a Democrat is in office. On the other hand, 47% of Democrats support having a third party when a Republican is in office, as opposed to 44% when a Democrat is president.

There may be several key players in the 2024 election running under a third party, including Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is expected to announce his candidacy as an independent, and Cornel West, who is running for the Green Party nomination. The centrist “No Labels” party will decide on its intentions after the major party’s nominees have been selected.

While Trump has a commanding early lead in the Republican Primary polls, he has refused to sign an agreement stating that he will not run as an independent or accept a third-party nomination should he lose the Republican nomination.

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The last time a third-party candidate won electoral votes was when American Independent George Wallace took 46 electoral votes and secured 13.5% of the popular vote. In 1996, Reform Party candidate Ross Perot did not win any electoral votes but still managed 8.4% of the popular vote.

The most recent third-party candidate to make a ripple, let alone a wave, was Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson in 2016, who received just under 4.5 million votes or 3.3% of national support.