Donald Trump Vs. Hillary Clinton Presidential Race Would Turn Numerous Voters To Third Party Candidate

It seems almost inevitable that the GOP vs. Democratic race to be the next president is going to be between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Trump has a stranglehold on the Republican side of things, and really, so does Clinton, but many believe that Bernie Sanders still has a chance. If it does end up as a race between the two current leaders though, it could cause many to turn to a third-party candidate.

For some, if they don’t see a third-party candidate, they would much rather not vote at all than cast one for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. One Florida woman spoke with CBS News who said she may end up staying home when it comes time to vote for the next president.

“I would rather not vote than vote for either one of these candidates. And it pains me to say that, because I feel it’s my right as a member of this democratic society to be able to vote. But given those two candidates, I can’t vote for either one of them.”

The woman continued on to say that neither party deserves her vote if those are the candidates they are serving up. She didn’t feel as if her support should go to a future leader that won’t do “what I need them to do for me and my family.”

That appears to be a feeling that is mutual in many places around the country and not just in those who have had the primaries pass already.

Huffington Post is reporting that the Republicans who don’t approve of Trump’s nomination, if that happens, could go toward a third-party candidate. While this may not hurt both candidates in the presidential race, it would certainly hurt Trump.

A third-party candidate nomination wouldn’t necessarily hurt Clinton at all. Actually, it would improve her chances by taking votes away from Trump and leaving her support virtually untouched and unchanged.

The thing is, it could cause a bit of a problem if a third-party candidate is to join the race for president.

Hillary Clinton would win a plurality of the Electoral College votes, but not the majority. She would also win a plurality of the popular vote, but not the majority. If this were to happen, the House of Representatives would then select the president as stated by the Constitution of the United States.

At this point, the current House, which is primarily Republican, would end up selecting the president who would be the third-party candidate who came in either second or third in the popular vote.

As scary as this situation may sound, it very well could happen.

Now, depending on how many would be in support of a third-party candidate, it may not end up happening at all. Politico is reporting that it could very well be too late to choose a third-party candidate that is even remotely viable of getting the job done and getting elected.

Even though many conservative leaders have discussed doing such a thing, it may be next to impossible to have a third-party candidate come in at this late hour and win 270 electoral votes. It’s not even believed that they could come close to winning that many.

There’s just too much work to do and far too much time has passed for anyone to get a third-party candidate in that can really do much of anything. Yes, a third-party candidate of any kind may end up hurting Trump and helping Clinton, but that could still cause a scenario that leads to more trouble than it is worth.

Donald Trump is heading for the nomination in the GOP. Hillary Clinton is heading for the Democratic nomination, but she doesn’t have it sewed up just yet with Bernie Sanders still around. The 2016 presidential election could see a third-party candidate end up in the race, but it really may not do much or any good.

[Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images]