Throughout my years of following presidential election year politics, I’ve never understood the efficacy of third-party candidates, meaning I have a difficult time believing that any of these people truly believe they have a genuine chance of winning the presidency. If true, it would suggest that the real goal of third-party candidates is to influence an election — in favor of one major-party nominee or the other.
This is precisely where we find ourselves in 2024.
The latest Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll showed former President Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden by seven points in a one-on-one match-up, 48 percent to 41 percent. When independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was added to a hypothetical 2024 ballot, Trump’s lead over Biden rose slightly — to eight points.
According to the poll, it turns out the more independent candidates added to a hypothetical ballot, the…
