3rd Parties: Very Little Effect

Well, despite the anger and vitriol in both parties, or maybe because of it, 3rd parties experienced very little in the way of support. Looks like, nationwide, the Libertarians were the ones to gather the most votes. 379,000, more or less, according to their web site. And that seems to be the tops. Out of approximately 124,000,000 voters, that's a fraction of 1%. In order to qualify for federal matching funds, a party need at least a 5% vote in an election.

In some deference to Libertarians, I doubt they'd accept those funds. But still, I think a party that can obtain that amount at least twice in a row becomes a viable contender.