Third parties, independents fight midterms

Washington (AFP) — Three’s a crowd in United States elections where in next month’s midterms assorted outliers ranging from Libertarians to Greens will try vainly to break the Democratic-Republican grip on the system.

Hundreds of third-party candidates are standing in the 3 November contest for the House of Representatives and Senate.

But to the growing frustration of voters wanting to disrupt the status quo they have no chance of beating the Democrats and Republicans.

“Why am I standing? I ask myself that every morning,” admits Tim Sharman, who is running as an independent for Virginia’s 8th District seat in the House.

“I don’t feel I belong in the Democratic Party, nor in the Republican Party. So I thought, let’s have a go at shaking it up.

“I come with a business background, so I believe in solutions and collaboration across the spectrum.”

Sharman, 62, spent $40,000 on his push to gather the 1,000 verified signatures required to get on the ballot for the midterms.

He relies on friends for logistical support in his one-man campaign under the slogan “Government that works. Politics that doesn’t get in the way.”

“Actually running for office has been fun and engaging,” he said.

“If you met me in a bar a year ago, I’d have opinions, but when you have to think through policy positions, it’s a lot harder because there’s always trade-offs, which has been an interesting exercise.”