I am aware of the first-past-the-post system, but UK and Canada also have the same but their third parties gain national/federal seats.
In the US, it’s always either Democrats or Republicans. There are third parties on state and county level but never succeed on the national level. How come? Is the electoral college somehow impeding third parties?
The vast majority of our nation only consumes media that’s pushed to them. Whether it’s from watching cable, streaming services, pop-up ads, or social media, they’re only getting coverage from the two primary candidates.
The Republican play has been dividing the left for decades, so Democrats are naturally skeptical of a third-party candidate being run as a spoiler. It doesn’t help that Jill Stein has run so many times, and has had some questionable alliances.
I’m personally a person with no party at this point. Democrats don’t represent my views, they were just closer, but there’s no one who does who runs at a national level
Welcome. I’ve felt like that since 2000. I change my registration to match the challenging party for that election so I at least have a say in the primary. US citizens barely vote in the incumbent’s primary, so your vote may actually matter in the challenger’s primary.