William
William Henry Harrison
The first successful third party candidate in the United States was Abraham Lincoln, who ran as a Republican in the 1860 presidential election and won. His victory marked a significant shift in American politics as it was the first time a third party candidate had won the presidency.
A third party candidate might win presidency because in this system, rather than voting for one and only one candidate, you can vote for as many candidates as you want.
selecting the party's candidate for presidency
Republican party candidate nominated for for presidency
Al Smith was the first Catholic candidate for a regular political party who did not win the election.
That was the Green Party with their candidate Ralph Nader.
Abraham Lincoln
Teddy Roosevelt's election to the Presidency
A third party candidate might win presidency because in this system, rather than voting for one and only one candidate, you can vote for as many candidates as you want.
Victoria Woodhull was the Equal Rights Party's candidate for President in the 1872 election.
The candidate for the Democratic-Republican Party in the election of 1796 was Thomas Jefferson. He ran against John Adams of the Federalist Party and ultimately became the vice-president after Adams won the presidency.