In a very close race the only Republican outsider who can hurt the Repubs candidate is Ron Paul. Most Libertarians have no place to go but into the Repubs Party. The Dems have become too Socialist for them. Since several elections have been close, a few votes one way or another could decide the out come.
Some effort needs to be directed to Ron Paul not to become Ross Perot#2. He has turned up bigger than most thought possible. He has raised 2.5 million- pretty good compared to the other 2nd tier group.
A small blip almost won the election for Al Gore- 537 votes. If Nader was not in the race then Gore would be President.
Democrats blamed third party candidate Ralph Nader for taking the election away from Gore. Nader received some 97,000 votes in Florida. According to the Washington Post, exit polls there showed that “47 percent of Nader voters would have gone for Gore if it had been a two-man race, and only 21 percent for Bush,” which would have given Gore a margin of some 24,000 votes over Bush. Some Democrats claim that had Nader not run, Gore would have won both New Hampshire and Florida and won the election with 296 electoral votes.
Of the 2nd tier candidates Ron Paul has raised more money then any of the others. 2.5 million cash on hand.
Remember the media will back and support Hillary. So they will play up Paul knowing that it will pull votes from the Repubs,
As of now Paul has not decided to run as a third party candidate but with his ego he could decide to show the world how important his views are. That is why I think a little prevention could go a long way. He is so much against our military involvements that since all of the current Repub candidates are for the Iraq War, he may see it as his duty to run as a third party (Libertarian) candidate (which is what he really is). The Dems may help fund him as he could be the stick (Nader) in the wheel spokes that derails the GOP’s bid for the White House.
I am not against Ron Paul just his views of how we protect our national interests. All politicians are ego driven no matter what they pretend. One has to have a big ego to put up with all the crap they go though. The higher the office the higher the ego.
In most states, one cannot run “third party” if he has been a candidate in a major party primary.