solved Is it possible for a serious third party to emerge

Is it possible for a serious third party to emerge in the United States, positioned ideologically between the Democrats on the left and the Republicans on the right? Why or why not? Respond to at least 2 other students’ posts.
Chapter 9 Learning Objectives:

Compare plurality and proportional representation
• Describe the institutional, legal, and social forces that limit the number of parties

Remember to incorporate the course readings to form a foundation for your responses. Additionally, you must properly cite the course text (Krutz, 2020, page number). Consult the Discussion Grading Guidelines for additional details.
Please reply by 7/7/2021 so I can send you my peers post.
First peer below
While I believe a third party is possible, the Libertarian Party supports many Republican Party ideals. I am not sure it is realistic currently. Because of the high costs that are needed, it would limit funding for their candidate. Even when voters think of themselves as independent, Gallup polling research shows the majority still lean towards one specific party or another. Sometimes parties need to recognize the shift in social views or find themselves in a party realignment and lose voters. (Krutz, 2019, pgs. 343, 346, and 355)
Other countries such as Britain and Canada have multiple parties and use a “winner-take-all plurality system” just the same as the United States. A two-party system is part of our history. Even at the beginning of our political system, there were only two major parties and they were the Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans (Krutz, 2019, pg. 338)
One way to have more than two parties is by using the proportional representation system. This means that voters would vote for a particular party that they align themselves with, and the party would vote for them. The problem with this is that the party would vote for the candidate and not the individual voter. (Krutz, 2019, pgs. 336 and 337)
Because the electoral votes ultimately decide the winner, a third party would need to win in several states to have a chance of winning at the polls. Another reason for the lack of a third party is thought to be due to our “relative prosperity” and the “unity of our citizens.” Most ethnic groups still are not represented by the government to address their specific concerns. (Krutz, 2019, pg. 339)
Finally, local election laws can keep a candidate running on a third-party ticket out of the race. These laws make it easy for existing parties to get their candidate in the race, but third-party candidates must get thousands of voters to sign a petition to get on the ballot. (Krutz, 2019, pg. 339)
I am afraid that money, politics, and laws will keep the third party from emerging any time soon, but I hope someday it will. 
Second peer below
Hello Classmates.
Chapter 9 Discussion
Is it possible for a serious third party to emerge in the United States, positioned ideologically between the Democrats on the left and the Republicans on the right?
I do not think a severe third party can emerge in the United States, positioned ideologically between the Democrats on the left and the Republicans on the right. They both are powerful parties. The only thing that third parties do is take votes away from the party they’re more closely aligned with. As the book states, I feel that the third party is born out of people being upset about what is going on in the United States.
“Third parties, often born of frustration with the current system, attract supporters from one or both existing parties during an election but fail to attract enough votes to win. After the election is over, supporters experience remorse when their least-favorite candidate wins instead. “(Krutz, 2020, page number 337)”.
Here is another example of how they have tried for a third party, and it did not work back then.
“The other third party, the States’ Rights Democrats, also known as the Dixiecrats, were white, southern Democrats who split from the Democratic Party when Harry Truman, who favored civil rights for African Americans, became the party’s nominee for president. The Dixiecrats opposed all attempts by the federal government to end segregation, extending voting rights, prohibit discrimination in employment, or otherwise promote social equality among races. They remained a significant party that threatened Democratic unity throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Other examples of third parties in the United States include the American Independent Party, the Libertarian Party, United We Stand America, the Reform Party, and the Green Party. None of these alternatives to the two major political parties had much success at the national level.” “(Krutz, 2020, page number 335)”.
“At various points in the past 170 years, elites and voters have sought to create alternatives to the existing party system. Political parties that are formed as alternatives to the Republican and Democratic parties are known as third parties or minor parties. In 1892, a third party known as the Populist Party formed in reaction to what its constituents perceived as the domination of U.S. society by big business and a decline in the power of farmers and rural communities. The Populist Party called for the regulation of railroads, an income tax, and the popular election of U.S. senators, who at this time were chosen by state legislatures and not by ordinary voters.” “(Krutz, 2020, page number 332)”.
“Various third parties, also known as minor parties, have appeared in the United States over the years. Some, like the Socialist Party, still exist in one form or another. Others, like the Anti-Masonic Party, which wanted to protect the United States from the influence of the Masonic fraternal order and garnered just under 8 percent of the popular vote in 1832, are gone.” “(Krutz, 2020, page number 333)”.
If you look at what this is talking about and think about what has happened in the last few elections where there was a third party, you can see the other parties picked up on what was being said and added to their campaign.
“Thus, the third party rival’s principal accomplishment was helping its least-preferred major party win, usually at the short-term expense of the very issue it championed. In the long run, however, many third parties have brought important issues to the attention of the major parties, which then incorporated these issues into their platforms. Understanding why this is the case is an important next step in learning about the issues and strategies of the modern Republican and Democratic parties.” “(Krutz, 2020, page number 335)”.
Why do we have two parties?
“The two-party system came into being because the structure of U.S. elections, with one seat tied to a geographic district, tends to lead to dominance by two major political parties. Even when there are other options on the ballot, most voters understand that minor parties have no real chance of winning even a single office. Hence, they vote for candidates of the two significant parties in order to support a potential winner.” “(Krutz, 2020, page number 335).”
Hope was one is having a great week,
Kathy