Support for third party rises to 63 percent: Gallup

Support for a third major party in U.S. politics has ticked up to 63 percent in the latest Gallup poll. 

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans in the new poll say a third major party is “needed” because the Republican and Democrat parties do “such a poor job” of representing the people. The figure is a 7-point jump from September, when 56 percent said a third party was needed. 

It’s also the highest since Gallup first asked the question in 2003, though similarly high shares said the same in 2017 (61 percent) and 2021 (62 percent), the latter coming just after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the Capitol.

The idea of a third major party appears more popular among Republicans than Democrats, with 58 percent of GOP respondents saying it’s needed. That’s up 13 points from last year. 

The Gallup poll notes that Republicans’ perception of whether a third party is needed “tends to vary based on whether a Republican or Democratic president is in office,” favoring the idea more when a Democrat is in the White House. Democrats’ and independents’ stances have been similar under both administrations. 

Democrats’ support for a third party went up 6 points since last year, from 40 to 46 percent. Support among independents has been relatively stable over the last few years and sits at 75 percent. 

The poll comes amid frustration on both sides of the aisle with the two major parties’ leadership, as President Biden runs for reelection and former President Trump leads the GOP primary field.

Poor approval numbers for Biden have heightened some concerns about how a third-party candidate could impact the 2024 race.

Conducted Sept. 1-23, the Gallup poll surveyed 1,016 adults and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.