During Election 2018, there were
123 third-party or independent candidates who received more votes than the margin separating the top two finishers in their election.
Such candidates played a role in one U.S. Senate race, three U.S. House races, and two governor’s races.
In West Virginia's Senate race, Libertarian Rusty Hollen received 24,411 votes. Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin defeated Republican challenger Patrick Morrisey by 19,393 votes.
In Kansas and Connecticut, the Democrats won races for governor by fewer votes than third-party candidates received.
The list of significant third-party candidates included 47 Libertarian Party candidates, 41 independent or unaffiliated candidates, 11 Green Party candidates, eight Vermont Progressive Party candidates, and three Working Families Party candidates.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.
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