US presidential election: The ‘minor’ candidates challenging Biden, Trump

The US presidential election slated for November this year has been dubbed one of the most consequential and closely watched in the history of one of the world's oldest democracies.

But the frontrunners from the Democrat and Republican parties have left many Americans feeling uninspired and weary of potentially having to witness a rematch of the 2020 race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, both Democrat and Republican voters, as well as independent voters, share the sentiment, with at least 52 percent of Americans saying they are “not satisfied with the two-party system and want a third choice”.

Several third-party and independent candidates have announced that they will vie for a 2024 presidential bid.

But, unlike previous election cycles, some predict these minor candidates may bring an edge to the primary season this year, possibly even jeopardising Democratic and Republican nominees, despite rarely obtaining over one percent of the popular vote in presidential elections.

It doesn’t help that most Americans want candidates other than Biden and Trump, who are both facing headwinds, for the role of president, polling data shows.

The issue also lies less with whether or not a third party or independent would-be presidential contender wins the race, rather it is the possibility of them splitting support from candidates in the two main parties.

Many Democrats, for example, believe Trump’s victory in 2016 was partly due to Green Party nominee Jill Stein winning a portion of the votes that they say would have likely gone to Hillary Clinton.

While it is uncertain how many of this year’s main party outliers will make it onto the ballot in most states and remain in the race until November, the candidates are said to add a major wild card factor to the election.

So then, who are these third-party and independent candidates?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, is an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist. He announced his bid for the White House as an independent candidate in October 2023 after initially running for the Democratic nomination.

Even though Kennedy comes from one of the most notable political families with a Democratic legacy in the US, he has garnered significant conservative support from his position on vaccines.

During the height of the Covid pandemic, he promoted misinformation about vaccines, in line with a history of spreading debunked claims linking childhood vaccines and autism.

Having polled as high as 20 percent in a hypothetical three-way matchup – higher than any minor candidate in a generation – experts say his presidential bid may help syphon votes from both Biden and Trump.

"Our concern about all third parties is that Donald Trump’s support is limited — he’s well below 50% — but very stable," Reuters reported co-founder of political strategy firm Third Way Matt Bennett as saying. "Voters who would reluctantly pick Biden in a head-to-head with Trump might jump at the chance to vote for a Kennedy, even if they don’t know much about him."

On January 3, Kennedy announced qualifying for the 2024 presidential ballot in Utah after obtaining the 1,000-signature requirement needed to run.

Cornel West

A former professor at Princeton and Harvard, West is a prominent scholar, philosopher, and academic who is running a campaign revolving on "policy pillars for a movement rooted in truth, justice, and love."

Previously a candidate with the Green Party and People’s Party, he is now seeking an independent nomination.

“People are hungry for change. They want good policies over partisan politics. We need to break the grip of the duopoly and give power to the people,” West posted on X. “I'm running as an Independent candidate for President of the United States to end the iron grip of the ruling class and ensure true democracy!”

The 2024 presidential hopeful’s policy pillars include economic and environmental, as well as racial justice. West is also one of the louder voices in the US demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and has spoken in solidarity with Palestinians at rallies around the country.

"We got to do something," West said at a rally in Dearborn, Michigan. "That's why I'm here to tell the world and especially straight to Gaza, where they're dealing with a genocidal assault. We believe that a Palestinian baby has the same value as any baby in the world."

Many in the US have pledged to abandon Biden in the 2024 presidential election. A New York Times/Siena College poll found that 57 percent of Americans disapprove of the way the US president is handling Israel’s military assault on Gaza with an even deeper divide among young voters.

Arab and Muslim Americans, whom Biden is struggling to court, are also facing a voter’s dilemma.

Jill Stein

Stein is a physician who is in the race for president as a Green Party candidate. This is her third time seeking the party’s nomination after running as a Green Party candidate in 2012 and 2016, during the last of which Stein won 1.4 million votes.

She was assisting West’s Green Party presidential campaign but announced her candidacy on November 9 after he decided to run as an independent.

Running on a message that “the political system is broken,” Stein’s bid for the White House includes campaigning for a Green New Deal, as well as an “economic bill of rights” comprising guaranteed rights to employment, health care, housing, and more.

She has also pressured for a ceasefire and called out Biden and US leaders for "aiding and abetting" Tel Aviv’s "war crimes" in Gaza.

"The war crimes being perpetrated by Netanyahu against Palestinians…are in a league of their own and have reached genocidal proportions with Palestinians denied food, water and electricity while being relentlessly bombed as they are forced to flee from their homes, running for their lives," Stein said in a video on her social media.

"We call for an investigation of the Netanyahu regime's war crimes as well as the role of Biden and US leaders in aiding and abetting them," she added.

No Labels party

Besides the three significant candidates who have declared their bids, a relatively new political party called No Labels is seeking a centrist nominee.

It has secured ballot access in a dozen states, including Arizona, and organisers say they are on track to reach all 50 states by November 5.

The Associated Press reported the bipartisan group, founded by former Democratic fundraiser Nancy Jacobson and former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, will run a bipartisan “unity ticket” for president “if the two parties select unreasonably divisive presidential nominees.”

"No Labels doesn't want to do anything in this campaign that will make the Trump reelection more possible," Lieberman said. "We're not happy with the Trump-Biden choice, but I think Trump really is a threat to the country, and I think Biden is not."