minor parties
Small political groups
Minor parties are political parties outside the dominant two-party system, also called third parties.
They rarely win major elections but can influence outcomes by drawing votes from major candidates or pushing issues into mainstream debate: The Green Party and Libertarian Party are America's most prominent minor parties.
Minor parties often form around single issues or ideological positions too narrow for broad coalition-building.
- third party candidateNon-major-affiliation electoral contender
- duopolyTwo-seller market structure
- splinter groupsBreakaway subsets of movements
- spoiler effectThird option skews results
- runoff electionsContests after no majority
libertarianism · ballot · write-in candidate · Green Party · proportional representation · campaign finance · coalition governments · balance of power · first-past-the-post · Ralph Nader · Ross Perot · dark horse · parliamentary systems · voter turnout · election night · protest vote · swing voters · platform
- Political PartiesRepublican Party, Democratic Party, Labour Party, Conservative Party, Green Party