Third party candidates have a difficult time winning electoral votes
Candidates need a majority of electoral votes to be elected. Because most states* award all of their electoral votes to the top candidate in that state, candidates do not need to win the national popular vote to win a majority of electoral votes. The result is that winning a few large population states (called swing states), even by a tiny margin, can guarantee election to the presidency. In 1876, 1888, and 2000, the winning candidate did not get the most popular votes nationwide.
Hawaii had 3 electoral votes in 1960, and 4 for the rest of the Presidential elections. Hawaii has tended to vote Democratic, voting for Republicans only in 1972 (Nixon) and 1984 (Reagan). In all, Hawaii has cast 51 electoral votes, 43 for Democratic candidates and 8 for Republican candidates.
by winning the electoral votes
There are two sides to this question. First, the electoral college allows presidential candidates to focus on certain states that they need to swing. We if did not have the electoral college, presidential candidates would have to go to the areas where there party is more dense to get the votes they need, which would make things complicated. The other side to it is that a president might be selected without winning the popular vote. This unraveled before our own eyes in 2000 when even though Gore won the popular vote, Bush won the electoral college and hence won the presidency. Hope this helped you to take a side.
There are two sides to this question. First, the electoral college allows presidential candidates to focus on certain states that they need to swing. We if did not have the electoral college, presidential candidates would have to go to the areas where there party is more dense to get the votes they need, which would make things complicated. The other side to it is that a president might be selected without winning the popular vote. This unraveled before our own eyes in 2000 when even though Gore won the popular vote, Bush won the electoral college and hence won the presidency. Hope this helped you to take a side.
Texas cast its 38 electoral votes for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
2
Except in Maine and Nebraska, all of the electoral votes for a state go to the candidate who receives the most votes, even if it is only by a tiny margin. This means that Presidential candidates will focus most of their campaigning on states with large populations, and therefore more electoral votes. Winning just 6 or 7 key "swing states" will often be enough to guarantee an electoral victory. In the elections of 1876, 1888, and 2000, the winning candidate did not get a plurality of the popular vote, only a majority of the electoral votes. There have been several proposals advanced for direct election of the President by popular vote.
people
people
2
When the only candidates who have a reasonable chance of winning an election are one of two parties, this is generally referred to as a two party system. The US is an example of a two party system in which the only candidates who stand a reasonable chance of winning are Republican or Democratic.