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Isn't it kinda weird that third parties only make an effort every 4 years? (i.imgflip.com)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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You'd think midterms would be a great time to get your name out there and run high profile candidates to win House districts led by charlatans...

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Localist parties can probably win as well. I think there are some observations that can be made from UK elections, which also use first-past-the-post.

Local political parties can win. The Scottish National Party did well in Scotland for several years (until their poll numbers collapsed after their former leader quit and got arrested)
It makes more sense for small parties to pour all their resources into contesting a small number of seats than to contest and lose a large number of seats. The UK Green Party spent a lot of effort to get their leader elected to Parliament in the Brighton Pavillion constituency.
Local representation matters. When your party controls several seats on a local council or devolved assembly, they have more chances to gain visibility or even govern. US parties should spend a lot more effort on state legislative races than the presidential one.
Vote-splitting is less of a concern when one ideology is already overwhelmingly dominant in a region. That is a good region to try to win. For example, the DC Statehood Green Party is the second-largest political party in Washington, D.C. because the DC Republican Party is tiny and terrible (polls in the single digits). That's a good place to try to win some seats.