His colossal fortune and the control of his own social network could theoretically offer Elon Musk an unprecedented launch ramp in the creation of a new political party in the United States, “The America Party”. But will that be enough to break the democratic-republican duopoly? The path is strewn with pitfalls.
If the concrete bases of the project are not yet laid, Elon Musk’s approach relaunches an old question: why is it so difficult to bring out a third party in the United States, faced with the two formations that have structured American political life for more than a century.
Creating a new political party in the United States, even when you are the richest man in the world is not like launching a start-up. It is not a question of means, but of rules. And these rules are made to protect a system … which is difficult to make room for a third actor.
Institutional obstacles to new political forces
According to A CNN analysis Quoting Alan Abramowitz, professor of political science at Emory University, “the system is sort of designed to make success of all newcomers almost impossible”.
The electoral rules, both federal and local, make access to the ballots particularly complex. Each state imposes its own conditions, often heavy, and the two major parties have every interest in maintaining this institutional lock.
In addition, there is no election proportional to the United States, where the majority system in a turn is privileged. Thus, a party that collects 10% of the votes at the national level will have no sieges. This explains the difficulty of convincing voters and electricity to choose a third force, because many say that it amounts to throwing his bulletin in the trash finally.
Elon Musk cannot finance his party alone
Nevertheless, the real wall is funding. Elon Musk was able to give hundreds of millions to Donald Trump’s campaign, but not directly to the party. He used what are called Super PACS, namely independent structures that can receive unlimited donations to advertise or defend ideas. But these structures cannot directly coordinate a campaign with a candidate or a party.
Because to finance an official political party, the rules are strict. The McCain-Feingold law, adopted in 2002, does not allow an individual to finance a national party alone, contrary to what could be done in a company. “The current limit is just under 450,000 dollars. Thus, Elon Musk would need thousands of co-donators to help him finance his party,” said Lee Goodman, lawyer and former president of the FEC, in CNN.
>> See the subject of 7:30 p.m.:
The eternal return of “neither democrat, nor republican”
Faced with these obstacles, protests often seek to be heard from inside the established parties. This is the case, for example, of Bernie Sanders or Zohran Mamdani, a new Democratic candidate for the town hall of New York, who try to push the Democrats to the left by competing in the primaries of the party.
>> Read also: The victory of the social democratic Zohran Mamdani in New York, a new perspective for the Democratic Party?
However, the idea of ​​a third political force in the United States returns regularly, but without real success. In 1992, Ross Perot had created surprise with 19% of the presidential votes.
Since then, several figures have attempted to follow this path: Andrew Yang with his “Forward Party”, the “No Labels” movement in 2024, or Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ultimately gone from independent to Donald Trump. But all of these initiatives quickly fell into oblivion or failed to impose themselves.
>> Read also on this: In the United States, former Republicans and Democrats form a 3rd party, centrist
Radio subject: Jordan Davis
Adaptation web: Miroslav Mares
