AGAINST ALL ODDS, THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES FIGHT ON

By Nathaniel Luce

Publication: THE TENNESSEAN

Independent candidates come to their races with a kind of special grit and humor, aware that the chances of success are low but determined to fight their way through to Election Day and beyond, proudly advocating their views no matter how long the odds of winning. BRUCE BARRY, a Vanderbilt sociology professor who hosted a forum of third-party candidates just before the presidential debate in Nashville, said that in a way, it’s “kind of a lousy year” to be a third-party candidate. Many voters are excited about the two major-party candidates, he said, and “you don’t sense that huge amount of lesser-of-two-evils discontent that we’ve felt in some years,” he said.