Do We Need a Third Party? Most Americans Say Yes. In a hypothetical three-way race, would Bloomberg hurt Democrats or the GOP?

July 12, 2007  -- WASHINGTON — Most Americans, unhappy with both the Republican president and the Democratic-controlled Congress, say it's time for a third political party. Not that they're necessarily ready to vote for one.

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, 58% say the two major parties are doing "such a poor job" that a third party is needed. Just a third say the established parties "do an adequate job of representing the American people."

In a hypothetical three-way race for president, the man who has parried questions about whether he'll run as an independent candidate, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, takes 12% of the vote in a race that also includes Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani. Clinton leads Giuliani, 45%-39%.

Whom does Bloomberg hurt?

He draws from both but seems to nick Giuliani, his predecessor at City Hall, a bit more.

With Bloomberg in the race, Clinton beats Giuliani by 6 points. In a two-way contest in the USA TODAY Poll in June, the New York senator led him by 4 points, 50%-46%.

Bloomberg draws 5% of Democrats, 8% of Republicans, 22% of independents — and 18% of those who want a third party.

The billionaire businessman has appeal down the middle of the electorate. He does better with those who have annual household incomes of $30,000 to $74,999 than among those who earn more or less than that. He does better among moderates than either liberals or conservatives.

Predictably, he does twice as well among city dwellers than those in rural areas. Surprisingly, he also does better among those in the Midwest than those on the East or West coasts. He's stronger among men than women.

And he is relatively well-known: Just 11% have never heard of him. Among those who have, 36% have a favorable view of him; 27% have an unfavorable one.

John Bibby, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and co-author of Two Parties — or More? The American Political System, is skeptical that a third party in general or Bloomberg in particular has any realistic chance of winning the White House in 2008. "American politics is structured against it," he says.

Still, the current political climate is receptive to a third-party appeal, he says, as it was in 1992, when Ross Perot claimed one-fifth of the popular vote. Americans are "distrustful of politicians in general, and when you have not much seemingly being accomplished by either the Congress or the administration, it's kind of a natural reaction," Bibby says.

"People know the system is broken," says Doug Bailey, co-founder of Unity08, a group that proposes to field a third-party ticket in 2008.

Neither side now gets high marks from the public. President Bush's disapproval rating reached a high of 66% in the July Gallup Poll, and the June Poll put Congress' disapproval rating even higher, at 71%.

Bloomberg has dismissed talk of an independent presidential bid that was fueled when he announced last month he was dropping his GOP affiliation. He had been a life-long Democrat until he decided to run for mayor in 2001.

He may be part of a trend: 43% of those surveyed in the new survey identify themselves as independents — significantly more than call themselves Democrats or Republicans. That proportion hasn't been higher in close to a decade.