Is the time right for a centrist third party?
With talk growing in support of such a move, pollster Jonathan Zogby put it to a test in his latest Zogby Poll.
But what he found wasn’t great for advocates. Zogby, revealing the survey to Secrets, said 48% might support it. That’s better than the 30% who wouldn’t.
However, he said, “The hurdles and backlash to forming such a party would hindrance any sane person from trying.”
Support was strongest among black voters, at 54%, and Hispanic voters, at 58%. The wealthy also like it, at 67%. But only 45% of white voters backed it.
In his analysis, Zogby said it remains a work in progress and up against the strong Democratic and Republican parties.
“The two-party duopoly in America is a dominant system, but maybe as we continue to fall down the rabbit hole of polarization, more people will realize a third choice (another pill) is better than just the red pill or blue pill,” he said.
Third parties do have support in some states, but nationally, they have been duds. Only independent Ross Perot was a formidable challenger in recent presidential contests, and mostly, he gets the blame for former President George H.W. Bush’s reelection loss to former President Bill Clinton in 1992.
