Third-party and independent candidates with the most votes
Who is the most successful third-party presidential candidate?
By raw votes, Ross Perot: 19,743,821 in 1992 (18.9% of the national popular vote), running as an independent. By electoral votes and vote share, Theodore Roosevelt is the strongest third-party showing: 88 electoral votes and 27.4% running on the Progressive “Bull Moose” ticket in 1912, the only third-party candidate to outpoll a major party (he beat the sitting president, William Howard Taft, into third place).
The most votes ever won by a third-party or independent presidential candidate are Ross Perot’s 19.7 million in 1992 (18.9%). By vote share, Theodore Roosevelt’s 27.4% in 1912 remains the best showing.
| # | Candidate | Election | Party | Popular votes | Share | Electoral |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ross Perot | 1992 | I | 19,743,821 | 18.9% | 0 |
| 2 | George Wallace | 1968 | A | 9,901,118 | 13.5% | 46 |
| 3 | Ross Perot | 1996 | Rf | 8,085,294 | 8.4% | 0 |
| 4 | John B. Anderson | 1980 | I | 5,719,850 | 6.6% | 0 |
| 5 | Robert La Follette | 1924 | P | 4,831,706 | 16.6% | 13 |
| 6 | Gary Johnson | 2016 | L | 4,489,341 | 3.3% | 0 |
| 7 | Theodore Roosevelt | 1912 | P | 4,119,207 | 27.4% | 88 |
| 8 | Ralph Nader | 2000 | G | 2,882,955 | 2.7% | 0 |
| 9 | Horace Greeley | 1872 | LR | 2,835,315 | 43.8% | 0 |
| 10 | Jo Jorgensen | 2020 | L | 1,865,535 | 1.2% | 0 |
| 11 | Jill Stein | 2016 | G | 1,457,218 | 1.1% | 0 |
| 12 | Gary Johnson | 2012 | L | 1,275,971 | 1.0% | 0 |
| 13 | Strom Thurmond | 1948 | S | 1,175,930 | 2.4% | 39 |
| 14 | James B. Weaver | 1892 | P | 1,041,028 | 8.5% | 22 |
| 15 | Eugene V. Debs | 1912 | S | 901,551 | 6.0% | 0 |
| 16 | Millard Fillmore | 1856 | A | 873,053 | 21.5% | 8 |
| 17 | Jill Stein | 2024 | G | 862,049 | 0.6% | 0 |
| 18 | John C. Breckinridge | 1860 | SD | 848,019 | 18.1% | 72 |
| 19 | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | 2024 | I | 756,393 | 0.5% | 0 |
| 20 | Ralph Nader | 2008 | I | 739,034 | 0.6% | 0 |
| 21 | Evan McMullin | 2016 | I | 731,991 | 0.5% | 0 |
| 22 | Chase Oliver | 2024 | L | 650,126 | 0.4% | 0 |
| 23 | John Bell | 1860 | C | 590,901 | 12.6% | 39 |
| 24 | Bob Barr | 2008 | L | 523,715 | 0.4% | 0 |
| 25 | Jill Stein | 2012 | G | 469,627 | 0.4% | 0 |
How this ranking is measured
Presidential candidates who ran outside the two major parties of their era, ranked by raw popular votes, led by Ross Perot’s 19.7 million in 1992. Vote share and any electoral votes are shown alongside (Theodore Roosevelt’s 27.4% and 88 electoral votes in 1912 are the third-party share and electoral records). The two major parties of each period (Democratic, Republican, and their predecessors: Democratic-Republican, Federalist, Whig, National Republican) are excluded.