Since the present two-party system was established, how many minor-party candidates have been elected to the presidency?
Explanation
Answer: A - No minor-party candidate has ever been elected president. George Washington was elected before the parties were established, so he doesn’t count. The closest anyone has come in recent decades was Ross Perot, who ran as an independent in 1992. Perot had the advantage, however, of being a billionaire who funded his own campaign and running against two candidates who did not particularly excite their respective parties. Teddy Roosevelt ran for president with the Progressive, or Bull Moose, party-which split off from the Republican Party-in 1912. While Roosevelt did receive more votes than the Republican incumbent, William Howard Taft, he lost the election to Woodrow Wilson.
