While fewer than four dozen men have actually ever made it to the White House, that hasn’t deterred a bumper crop of little-known third-party and independent candidates who pulled enough signatures to make their bid for the Oval Office. The field includes “Average Joe the House Painter,” college football coach Robby Wells, a gardener named Samuel “Uncle Sam” Powell, retired US army officer “Mad Max” Riekse, numerous businessmen, a truck driver, and a flight attendant — but who’s looking at credentials?
Many of the candidates believe that the odds against them making it to the White House are not insurmountable and that they are serious candidates. When suggesting to Coach Wells in a phone interview that his candidacy stood little chance his response was as hard as a football helmet: “I don’t accept that. If ever there was a time when a third party candidate had a chance to win it’s now.”
What about the primaries held so far in which only the big names showed up in the final results? Wells pointed out that for him the primaries were irrelevant because they were for the Republicans only. He is running for the nomination of North Carolina’s Constitution Party who will first choose its nominee in April.
Wells is used to taking on challenges. He was the first white head coach at Savannah State University a historically black college where his teams posted the school’s best won-loss record in the past decade. When asked how his coaching experience would qualify him for the presidency Wells replied that he has “proven leadership skills very similar to what’s needed in government. A winning attitude doesn’t start at the bottom and work its way up; it starts at the top and works its way down. If I’m elected president you’ll have a winner in office ” he said in the firm confident voice that has inspired his charges to victory on the gridiron.
The Third Way
While the confidence expressed by some of these “third-party candidates” is certain to fade long before Election Day historically presidential candidates with little prospect of winning have played a significant role in the election process since the Lincoln era.
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