Main content
Course: US government and civics?>?Unit 6
Lesson 5: Third-party politicsThird-party politics
Problem
Highest vote shares for independent and third-party US Senate candidates in a regular November election while opposed by both a Democrat and a Republican
Year | Candidate | Third Party | State | Vote (%) | Result | Margin |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1940 | La Follette Jr. (i) | Progressive | WI | 45.3% | W | +3.9% |
1940 | Lemke | Independent | ND | 35.1% | L | -3.0% |
1970 | Byrd Jr. (i) | Independent | VA | 53.5% | W | +22.3% |
1970 | Buckley | Conservative | NY | 38.8% | W | +2.0% |
2006 | Lieberman (i) | Independent | CT | 49.7% | W | +10.0% |
2010 | Murkowski (i) | Write-in | AK | 39.5% | W | +4.0% |
2012 | King | Independent | ME | 52.9% | W | +22.1% |
Note: "(i)" denotes an incumbent
Based on the table above, which of the following variables made the most difference in winning an election for a third-party or independent candidate in these 7 elections?