Third-party candidates could affect the outcome in several U.S. Senate races, NBC News reported.
Candidates other than those from the Democratic Party or Republican Party could impact races in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, NBC News said Friday.
The third-party effect is of heightened importance because Republicans are trying to wrest control of the 50-50 Senate from Democrats.
The third-party candidates have little to no chance of winning their respective races, NBC said, but they have more than enough backing to influence results in what are considered to be tight races.
"I think it's going to be significant," Arizona Republican pollster Chuck Coughlin told NBC News of the third-party impact in key senate races.
"After all the ballots are counted, [candidates] are going to say, That guy had 5% of the vote or 4% of the vote, and if I add that 4%, I win, because that’s how close these races are going to be.
"When all the shouting and hollering is done, and all the ballots get counted, people are going to look around and go, God, we’ve got to keep that guy out of the race in the future. We've got to do something to stop that from happening."
In Georgia, Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver could force a Dec. 6 runoff between Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
"I want the voters to know that they do have a third choice in this election," Oliver said in a debate Sunday that included Warnock but not Walker. "I don’t have any interest in partisan bickering. I owe no allegiance to either party. I only owe allegiance to you, the voter."
In Arizona, Libertarian candidate Marc Victor is running against Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly and Republican Blake Masters.
During a debate earlier this month, Victor blasted both of his opponents.
"One of them kisses [President Joe] Biden’s ring, one of them kisses [former President Donald] Trump’s ring. I don’t kiss anybody’s ring," said Victor, a combat veteran.
"Live your life however you choose. Just let other people do the same thing. My name is Marc J. Victor. And if you’re tired of the same old politics, I’m your guy."
In Pennsylvania, an Insider Advantage/Fox 29 Philadelphia poll showed Libertarian Erik Gerhardt at about 2% and "someone else" garnering about 1.5% support in a hotly contested race between Republican Mehmet Oz and Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.
In Nevada, Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Republican Adam Laxalt, three third-party hopefuls, and a line for "none of these candidates" appear on the ballot.
NBC News reported that recent surveys have shown the combined share backing "someone else" and "none of these candidates" to be greater than the margin separating the two major-party candidates.
Pollsters said Libertarian candidates traditionally tend to win over more Republican-leaning voters than those who would back Democrats; other third-party candidates, such as Green Party nominees, have the inverse effect, NBC reported.
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