Nearly half of likely voters 40 years old and younger are open to voting for a third-party candidate, giving a big boost to independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign.
In the latest Rasmussen Reports survey shared with Secrets, 47% of the middle-age to younger voters said that “they’re at least somewhat likely to vote third-party in this year’s presidential election.”
Overall, Rasmussen found a remarkable 28% of all likely voters open to a third party, a sign of dissatisfaction with the two leading candidates, Democratic President Joe Biden and likely GOP nominee former President Donald Trump.
“More Democrats (29%) than Republicans (21%) say it’s at least somewhat likely they’ll vote for a third-party candidate in this year’s presidential election,” Rasmussen said. “Thirty-four percent (34%) of unaffiliated voters are at least somewhat likely to vote for third-party.”
It’s typical for many voters to sound open to independent campaigns before the general election. However, very few ever vote for a third-party candidate.
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In recent elections, the top vote-winning independent was businessman H. Ross Perot, who in 1992 won 18.9%. Four years later, he won 8.4%. In both elections, he was considered a spoiler who helped former President Bill Clinton win. Clinton never took a majority of the popular vote.
Rasmussen added that sizable portions of Democrats and Republicans feel that third-party candidates improve democracy, even though they usually stick to their nominees on Election Day.
