Abstract
Between 1852 and 1992 the United States held thirty-six presidential elections. The Democrats won fifteen, the Republicans won the other twenty-one. This duopoly has been threatened from time to time, and Perot's 1992 challenge was remarkably successful in winning popular votes. But no third-party or independent candidate has come close to winning the presidency, largely because the electoral rules in the United States create barriers that third parties and independent candidates have been unable to surmount.1 We review U.S. elections since 1832, for these barriers to new political parties were in place even then. The Republicans displaced the Whigs between 1854 and 1860, despite these structural barriers, by changing the issue agenda over slavery.2 Fortunately for the United States, but unfortunately for third par-
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