Survey: Growing Number Of Respondents Say They Would Vote For Third-Party Candidate

A sizeable number of Wisconsin voters say they’d be willing to vote for a third-party presidential candidate if their first choice doesn’t get their party’s nomination, according to the latest Wisconsin Survey.

Fifty-five percent of respondents said they will support their party candidate this fall. Still, 14 percent said they would consider a third-party option.

Charley Jacobs, a political scientist at St. Norbert College, said that 14 percent has to be “unsettling” for both political parties. There is speculation Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders and/or Republican contender Donald Trump would run on a third party’s ticket.

“It could siphon 15 percent of the vote away from the major candidates. It becomes very troubling for those candidates to try to win the kind of Electoral College votes they need to capture the presidency. I’m not trying to be a doomsday-er here, but it could be a very interesting November,” Jacobs said.

Fifty-one percent of respondents said Republicans should nominate someone else even if Trump has the most delegates at the convention.

The survey polled more than 616 registered voters in Wisconsin over mobile and landline phones from April 12 to April 15. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percent.

The survey was conducted by Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television and the Strategic Research Institute at St. Norbert College.

Stay tuned to Wisconsin Public Radio and WPR.org for continuing coverage.

Credits: Jennifer Hadley/Wisconsin Public Television (infographic illustrations).