There have been a few competitive third party Presidents in the past. Teddy Roosevelt, was elected under the Bull Moose party. Ross Perot may have gone far, had he not been such a crack pot. But that is not the blame of the third party concept, the timing and the people involved were just wrong.
The timing has to be right and America has to be fed up with a broken system.
There is no such thing as a “Recipe for failure”. There is only the fear of change or a new direction.
Enough “Marginalized” voters can make a majority. The GOP started in this very way. Before them were the Wigs. The history of this party has never been final.