What if Americans had 4 narrowed down, vetted, and appealing choices for President, for example Obama, Hillary, Mitt, Fred, each positioned for approximately 25% market share. Who would win then? The marketing dynamics would allow a non-center candidate to win half the time. I’d rather have a 25% chance of having a conservative win than a 0% chance. Of course the price is that 25% of the time an uncloseted communist would win.
Now you are changing the hypothetical question into, "What if the "not 100% satisfied" in BOTH parties choose the Brand X Party route?"
Who would win then?
The answer to that question is that the candidate that would win, by a wide percentage margin, would be the candidate that persuades the other candidate on his side of the center line to join forces as his/her VP to defeat those who are much farther away from them in ideology.
\\ The marketing dynamics would allow a non-center candidate to win half the time. I’d rather have a 25% chance of having a conservative win than a 0% chance. Of course the price is that 25% of the time an uncloseted communist would win.
Now, all you have to do is to convince either Hillary or Obama to go the Third Party route and your hypothetical would have a 25% chance of succeeding.
Since, in this election year, the Democrats have absolutely no intention of committing electoral suicide, then your chance of having a far Left President is 100% since the vote totals (+/- 2%)would be:
Hillary/Obama: 50%
Mitt/VP choice: 25%
Fred/VP choice: 25%
In 1066, if the Anglo-Saxon King of England Harold and his brother, Tostig, had been cooperating against the common foe, William the Conqueror, instead of wasting their resources fighting each other for the crown of England right up to three weeks before the Battle of Hastings, England might have had Anglo-Saxon Kings to this very day.