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BY RICHARD A. LEE
THE HALL INSTITUTE
COMMENTARY
By raising more than $340,000 for his independent campaign for governor, Chris Daggett has qualified for public matching funds, as well as the right to participate in two official debates this fall.
Just what else will result from having met the $340,000 threshold is not so clear.
Does it give Daggett a realistic opportunity to compete with the two major party candidates? Will his candidacy take votes away from Republican candidate Chris Christie? Can it somehow hurt Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine's chances for re-election? Or will it simply be a wash with relatively equal numbers of Democratic and Republican voters opting for an independent candidate?
We won't know the answers to these questions until after Election Day in November, but in the interim, there will be plenty of speculation. For my part, I decided to take a look at three research studies on independent and third-party candidates and see how the findings may — or may not — apply to this year's race for governor in New Jersey.There is a progression in the three studies. The first takes a broad look at challenges to our two-party system; the second focuses on minor party candidates in gubernatorial elections, and the third examines the successful campaign of a third-party candidate for governor — Jesse Ventura, who was elected governor of Minnesota in 1998. Here is what I found:
Challenges to the American Two-Party System: Evidence from the 1968, 1980, 1992, and 1996 Presidential Elections by Paul R. Abramson, John H. Aldrich, Philip Paolino and David W Rohde (2000)
In this study, the authors found that independent candidates benefit when voters' connections with the major political parties are weakened. Moreover, dissatisfaction with the major party candidates — as opposed to their parties — played a greater role in voters' support for independent candidates. According to the study: "The people supporting an independent candidate are not those harboring a long-developed disaffection from the major parties, but rather are those who can be moved to express anti-party views because, and probably only because, they are disaffected from the parties' candidates in a particular election."
In New Jersey's race for governor, both major party candidates have been blaming the opposing party for today's dire economic conditions. At the same time, there have been many direct attacks upon both Corzine and Christie. Based on this study's findings, independent candidates such as Daggett would benefit more if the major party candidates target each other, rather than their political parties.
Picking Their Spots: Minor Party Candidates in Gubernatorial Elections by Steve B. Lem and Conor M. Dowling (2006)
Lem and Dowling examined gubernatorial elections in all states between 1982 and 2000. Their research was designed to determine why minor party candidates run for office when the chances of winning are slim. The authors also suggested that independents can benefit from "ideological gaps" left by the major party candidates. Such gaps create opportunities "to offer something different than the Democrats and Republicans," they wrote.
Providing voters an alternative to the major party candidates has been a big part of Daggett's message. By exploiting gaps in the Corzine and Christie campaigns, he and the other non-major candidates in the race could increase their appeal to New Jersey voters if this year's election is consistent with Lem and Dowling's findings.
The Origins and Impact of Votes for Third-Party Candidates: A Case Study of the 1998 Minnesota Gubernatorial Election by Dean Lacy and Quin Monson (2002)
Of the three studies, this is the most interesting in that it explores the circumstances surrounding an independent gubernatorial candidate who won an election. However, many of the factors accounting for Jesse Ventura's 1998 victory in Minnesota were unique to that campaign.
While Ventura entered the race with high-name recognition due to his career as a professional wrestler, he also benefited from a well-timed newspaper report, a rare state election law, creative use of public funds, the absence of an incumbent on the ticket, and a tight campaign between the two major party candidates, both of whom had emerged from hotly contested and potentially divisive primary elections.
