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Trivia answer
What was the most recent presidential election in which a third party candidate carried a state?
a. 1968
b. 1912
c. 1992
d. 1948
The last third party presidential candidate to carry a state was George Wallace of the American Independent Party in 1968. Wallace, who was up against Vice President Hubert Humphrey (D) and former Vice President Richard Nixon (R), carried five states (Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas) to win 8.6% of the Electoral College vote. In all, there have been eight elections where a third party candidate carried at least one state.[1]
The third party candidate who carried the most states was former President Theodore Roosevelt, running on the Progressive Party ticket in 1912. Roosevelt carried six states (Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, California, Washington, and South Dakota) and won 16.6% of the Electoral College vote. This was also the best Electoral College performance by a third party presidential candidate. The Progressive Party was the only third party which had a presidential candidate carry a state in two separate elections; Robert La Follette carried Wisconsin on the Progressive ticket in 1924.
Other than Wallace and Roosevelt, there were three third party candidates who carried multiple states. James Weaver carried five states on the Populist ticket in 1892, while Strom Thurmond carried four states on the States' Rights Democratic ticket in 1948 and John Bell carried three on the Constitutional Union ticket in 1860.[2]
| States carried by third party presidential candidates, 1789-2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election year | Candidate | Party | State | Electoral College votes (%) |
| 1832 | William Wirt | Anti-Masonic Party | Vermont | 7 (2.4%) |
| 1856 | Millard Fillmore | Whig-American Party | Maryland | 8 (2.7%) |
| 1860 | John Bell | Constitutional Union Party | Virginia | 15 (5.0%) |
| Kentucky | 12 (4.0%) | |||
| Tennessee | 12 (4.0%) | |||
| Total | 39 (12.9%) | |||
| 1892 | James Weaver | Populist Party | Kansas | 10 (2.3%) |
| Colorado | 4 (0.9%) | |||
| Idaho | 3 (0.7%) | |||
| Nevada | 3 (0.7%) | |||
| North Dakota | 1 (0.2%)[3] | |||
| Total | 22 (5.0%)[4] | |||
| 1912 | Theodore Roosevelt | Progressive Party | Pennsylvania | 38 (7.2%) |
| Michigan | 15 (2.8%) | |||
| Minnesota | 12 (2.3%) | |||
| California | 11 (2.1%)[5] | |||
| Washington | 7 (1.3%) | |||
| South Dakota | 5 (0.9%) | |||
| Total | 88 (16.6%) | |||
| 1924 | Robert La Follette | Progressive Party | Wisconsin | 13 (2.4%) |
| 1948 | Strom Thurmond | States' Rights Democratic Party | Alabama | 11 (2.1%) |
| Louisiana | 10 (1.9%) | |||
| Mississippi | 9 (1.7%) | |||
| South Carolina | 8 (1.5%) | |||
| Total | 39 (7.3%)[6] | |||
| 1968 | George Wallace | American Independent Party | Georgia | 12 (2.2%) |
| Alabama | 10 (1.9%) | |||
| Louisiana | 10 (1.9%) | |||
| Mississippi | 7 (1.3%) | |||
| Arkansas | 6 (1.1%) | |||
| Total | 46 (8.6%)[7] | |||
Footnotes
- ↑ A third party candidate is any candidate who did not run on one of the following tickets: Federalist, Democratic-Republican (including National Republican), Whig, Democratic (including Southern Democratic), and Republican.
- ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "Presidential General Election Results," accessed July 1, 2019
- ↑ North Dakota had three total Electoral College votes. One each was apportioned to Weaver, Grover Cleveland (D), and Benjamin Harrison (R).
- ↑ Weaver received one of Oregon's four votes in the Electoral College, although he did not carry the state.
- ↑ California had 13 votes in the Electoral College. Two were apportioned to Woodrow Wilson (D).
- ↑ Thurmond received one of Tennessee's 12 votes in the Electoral College, although he did not carry the state.
- ↑ Wallace received one of North Carolina's 13 votes in the Electoral College, although he did not carry the state.
