BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For nearly 230 years, American politics has been dominated by two major political parties.
While the names and ideologies of those parties have changed, the United States remains an outlier among democracies for its two-party system. Lehigh University political science professor Chris Borick said the structure of American elections helps explain why third parties have struggled to gain a lasting foothold.
The first-past-the-post electoral system and ballot-access requirements create incentives that favor two parties, Borick said on the latest episode of Lehigh Valley Political Pulse.
"There are plenty of impediments to make a third party rise in the U.S. that will keep us in line, most likely, with our tradition of a two-party system," Borick said.
The lack of a viable third party comes despite historically low public standing for both Democrats and Republicans. Borick said that dissatisfaction does not necessarily translate into support for an alternative.
"You hear so often people say, well, yeah, I don't like either of the party, but when it comes down to it, if they're thinking, you know, it's the lesser of both evils, I'm going to go with this party, because if I go with third party, I'm going to waste my vote," Borick said.
Third-party candidates have occasionally broken through. Ross Perot won 19% of the national vote in 1992 but received no electoral votes. Borick said Perot's campaign demonstrated both the potential and limitations of a candidate-centered movement.
"That's the peril, in some ways … of a candidate-centered party," Borick said. "And that really was associated with Ross Perot."
Donald Trump's rise provides another example of how political movements can reshape an existing party without creating a new one. Rather than building a third party, Trump took control of the Republican Party and inherited its existing infrastructure.
"Donald Trump effectively co-opted the Republican Party and just kind of took all the infrastructure that was there," Borick said. "And the benefit of that is that he didn't have to build that system."
Borick said there may be conditions for a future third-party movement, particularly amid growing anti-institutional and anti-elite sentiment. He pointed to artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies as potential catalysts for political realignment.
"It's all anti-institutional stuff. It's anti-oligarchy. It's anti-the dominant parties. It's anti-dominant entities, you know, political and economic," Borick said.
He also pointed to unexpected coalitions forming around issues such as data centers, where voters on opposite ends of the political spectrum can find common ground.
"You've got MAGA folks with really Bernie-type folks coming together," Borick said.
Pennsylvania's ballot-access rules present another significant hurdle. A party must receive at least 2% of the statewide vote and 2% in 10 individual counties in the state's largest-turnout election to qualify for major-party status.
Borick said those thresholds may sound modest but create a significant barrier for emerging parties.
"It's a pretty elaborately structured wall for third parties to get over," Borick said.
The episode also examined the controversy surrounding Andrew Tupone, who recently filed as a Green Party candidate in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District after collecting more than 10,000 signatures.
The Green Party of Pennsylvania and Democrats have challenged his candidacy, alleging he is attempting to mislead voters or influence the race. Tupone has denied the allegations.
Borick said the district's competitiveness makes any third-party candidate potentially significant, while questions about the resources behind Tupone’s campaign deserve scrutiny.
"If the Green Party has questions and it seems his past history and where the resources to get on the ballot may have come from, I think that raises clear questions in a district like the 7th for what's the goal behind the campaign," Borick said.
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