According to a Gallup poll, 57 percent of Americans say a third major party is needed.
That’s abnormal for a presidential election year when the desire for a major third party is typically lower than usual.
In 2012, 46 percent of Americans said a third major party was needed, a virtual tie with the number of Americans who thought the Republican and Democratic parties do an “adequate job of representing the American people.”
In 2008, 47 percent of Americans said a third major party was needed, the same amount as the number of Americans who thought the GOP and Democrats were adequate.
Despite the virtual tie in previous election years, there’s a 20-point gap in 2016, with only 37 percent of Americans saying the GOP and Democrats are doing an adequate job.
Independents are 30 percentage points more likely than Democrats to say a third major party is needed, and 18 percentage points more likely than Republicans. Independents have been more likely than Democrats and Republicans to want a third major party in each of the 11 times Gallup has polled on this question.
Still, the poll shows that independents seem to be uniquely disappointed in the GOP and Democratic nominees in 2016. They are 15 and 10 percentage points more likely to desire a major third party than they were in 2012 and 2008.
Republicans might also be wishing there was a third major party because of Donald Trump. In 2008 and 2012, when John McCain and Mitt Romney were their nominee, only 38 percent and 36 percent of Republicans said a third major party was needed. In 2016, that number has risen to 51 percent, up 6 points from 2015.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
