Thursday, July 20, 2023
PMT: The third-party quandary
I just came across a truly scary statistic: The Quinnipiac poll that shows that 47% of Americans would consider voting for a third-party candidate in the 2024 presidential election.
What's scary about that isn't so much that it is true (it might be, but polling this early is famously inaccurate), but that people-- and, especially, potential candidates-- will think that it is true. If any number might push Joe Manchin and his "No Labels" cronies into the mix, it will be that number.
And once that happens, all bets are off. So many people dislike both Trump and Biden that a half-decent moderate candidate who isn't a conspiracy theorist or convicted sex offender will draw votes. And once that happens, the math gets murky. Or not-- most pundits think a good third-party candidate will pull votes from Biden, not Trump.
My question is... in this environment, is America ready for Grar the Giant Panda?
