Does America Need A Third Party?

At the United States’ founding, the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans were the first political parties, eventually evolving into the Democratic and Republican parties we know today. While a two-party system has been the standard, third parties have occasionally challenged this status quo but have often failed to gain significant traction. Now, groups like No Labels call for third-party “unity tickets” to be added to 2024 presidential election ballots. Those who support third parties say that the two-party system breeds polarized partisanship and hinders governance, while a third party would create non-partisan solutions and be more representative of a wider range of ideologies. Those in opposition say adding a third party encourages vote-splitting, lowering the threshold of votes necessary for unpopular candidates to win, and that the current system fosters stability, simplifies voting decisions, and encourages broad-based, moderate policies. Against this backdrop, we debate: Does America Need A Third Political Party? Arguing Yes: Andrew Yang, Founder of the Forward Party, Former Presidential Candidate Arguing No: Daniel DiSalvo, Senior Fellow at Manhattan Institute; Political Science Professor at City College of New York–CUNY Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan moderates #opentodebate #debate #thirdparty #politics #Democratic #Republicans #americanpolitics #nolabels #ballots #electionballots #presidentialelectionballots #voters #2024election