THIRD PARTIES often focus on issues the main parties ignore. Third-party candidates can split the major party with which they are most similar, leading to the other major party's victory.
The POPULIST PARTY was established in the 1890s. It was made up of poor farmers from the south who were generally against banks, railroads and the upper class. William Jennings Bryan most popular candidate.
The PROGRESSIVE PARTY formed in 1912 as a result of a split in the Republican Party; also known as the “Bull Moose Party” and Theodore Roosevelt most popular candidate. The party fought for workers’ rights and an end to corrupt business and political alliances.