List of third-party and independent performances in United States presidential elections

Above 5% (1788–present)

This list includes the third-party candidates that captured at least one state and/or more than 5% of the popular vote.

Gallery

• 
  Governor
  John Floyd
  of Virginia
• 
  Former Attorney General
  William Wirt
  of Maryland
• 
  Former President
  Martin Van Buren
  of New York
• 
  Former President
  Millard Fillmore
  of New York
• 
  Vice President
  John C. Breckinridge
  of Kentucky
• 
  Former Senator
  John Bell
  of Tennessee
• 
  Former Representative
  Horace Greeley
  of New York
• 
  Former rep.
  James B. Weaver
  of Iowa
• 
  Former President
  Theodore Roosevelt
  of New York
• 
  Former State Representative
  Eugene V. Debs
  of Indiana
• 
  Senator
  Robert M. La Follette
  of Wisconsin
• 
  Governor
  Strom Thurmond
  of South Carolina
• 
  Former Governor
  George Wallace
  of Alabama
• 
  Representative
  John Anderson
  of Illinois
• 
  Businessman
  Ross Perot
  of Texas

Above 1% (1788–present)

This list includes the third-party candidates that captured less than 5% but more than 1% of the popular vote and no electoral votes.

Gallery

• 
  Fmr. ambassador
  James Monroe
  of Virginia
• 
  Fmr. ambassador
  Rufus King
  of New York
• 
  Governor
  DeWitt Clinton
  of New York
• 
  Fmr. st. rep.
  James G. Birney
  of Michigan
• 
  Senator
  John P. Hale
  of New Hampshire
• 
  Representative
  James B. Weaver
  of Iowa
• 
  Fmr. governor
  Benjamin Butler
  of Massachusetts
• 
  Fmr. governor
  John St. John
  of Kansas
• 
  Brigadier General
  Clinton B. Fisk
  of New York
• 
  Fmr. st. rep.
  Alson Streeter
  of Illinois
• 
  Fmr. rep
  John Bidwell
  of California
• 
  Editor of The Lever
  John G. Woolley
  of Illinois
• 
  Former st. rep.
  Eugene V. Debs
  of Indiana
• 
  Preacher
  Silas C. Swallow
  of Pennsylvania
• 
  Lawyer
  Eugene W. Chafin
  of Illinois
• 
  Writer and editor
  Allan L. Benson
  of Michigan
• 
  Fmr. governor
  Frank Hanly
  of Indiana
• 
  Minister
  Norman Thomas
  of New York
• 
  Representative
  William Lemke
  of North Dakota
• 
  Fmr. VP
  Henry A. Wallace
  of Iowa
• 
  Representative
  John G. Schmitz
  of California
• 
  Lawyer
  Ed Clark
  of California
• 
  Political activist
  Ralph Nader
  of Washington, D.C.
• 
  Fmr. governor
  Gary Johnson
  of New Mexico
• 
  Physician
  Jill Stein of
  Massachusetts
• 
  Academic
  Jo Jorgensen
  of South Carolina

Third-party and independent candidates (1832–present)

This list includes the statewide performance of third-party candidates not included in the lists above who accrued 5% or more of a state's popular vote.

Many third-party candidates have run under different affiliations in different states. They do this for many reasons, including laws restricting ballot access, cross-endorsements by other established parties, etc.^{[citation needed]} In the list below, the party column shows which of a given candidate's affiliation(s) appeared on the ballot in which corresponding state(s).

1832–1860

1864–1900

1904–1940

1944–1980

1984–present

Cross-endorsement major candidates (1896–present)

This list includes the statewide performance of each major party candidate who ran on the ballot line of a political party other than their own, either through electoral fusion or for other reasons. This list does not include cases where a third party shares the same ballot line as a major party. The vote totals and percentages listed are those each candidate received under a particular third-party label.

Electoral fusion was once widespread in the United States.^[25] As of 2022, electoral fusion as conventionally understood by historians and political scientists is fully legal in only two states: Connecticut and New York. It is partially legal in three others; Pennsylvania and Maryland permit fusion in certain elections (including judicial elections), and California allows fusion in presidential elections only.^{[26][page needed]}