The main 2 candidates may not be very popular so why don't the voters vote for a 3rd candidate ?
I suppose nobody really knows much about them to answer my own question. Big money and vested interests don't want some veggy chewing unknown to take over, so it is not even on the cards of possibility yet. It takes someone of Trumps outgoing personality to force himself onto the attention of the voters. A pity he has such a poor quality in other fields.
Because the Democrats and Republicans control the voting process. For many years, you had to have 10 percent of the vote to have a 3rd party in the Debates. Then, Gary Johnson,Libertarian; started pulling 8-10 percent so they raised the standard to 15 percent earlier this year. The Federal Election Commission sets the standards. It's a fancy sounding name isn't it? But guess who it is controlled by.....representatives from the Dems and Repubs. So, Gary Johnson did not participate.
If a Libertarian won the presidency he would still not have any party representatives in the House or the Senate to get his policies through. He would be at the mercy of the Dems and Repubs. So, fringe groups don't get special interest money or their endorsements.
Politics is a business. Special interest groups donate to both candidates to hedge their bets. Then, when they are elected, they make phone calls to 'get their money back' in the form of favorable legislation or contracts.
And there is the minor issue of money. I think Hillary has spent about 700MN and she may not win. Jeb Bush spent $120MN and he only made it half way through the primaries. Fringe groups don't get that kind of money or the free air time from their friends at the major tv networks or endorsements and favorable columns from publishers.
A fringe candidate can't raise that kind of money necessary to run for the presidency. And if you could raise it....you would still have those people that would vote the same way because 'My Daddy voted for FDR in 1932 and we have voted Democrat ever since...He saved us in WW2!' or ....My family is a Republican family and I'm proud of it !......Those lines are popular...
And the media is liberally biased. They socialize at the same beaches, nightclubs, restaurants and country clubs as the politicians running for office. It's a big family.
What irritates me is that the major news networks are not saying anything about the election results for Jill Stein ( Socialist / Green Party ) or Gary Johnson (Libertarian ). Johnson is pulling 2,3 percent nationwide and his votes are influencing the numbers that Hillary and Trump are not getting. But you don't hear about that.
Or the fact that they have gotten as much attention as they have because people are upset with the same 'ol, same 'ol thing. Their is not much difference between the Dems and Repubs.....same wine, different bottles.
But on the election results all you see is Clinton, Trump, Clinton, Trump....and not the impact Stein and Johnson have had on the results.
But to be fair, the fringe candidates are not polished and honed like the professional politicians. When you see them speak on tv it looks like they are interviewing a witness to a car accident in your neighborhood. Or...their ideas are so 'out there' they have zero chance of winning.
I voted for Trump because he had a realistic chance of winning and he is basically anti - establishment....at least the political establishment. I am not in love with him but I really, really dislike Hitlery. And Obama too....