Third Parties, Outsiders, and Renegades: Modern Challenges to the Two-Party System in Presidential Elections [Paperback]

Third Parties, Outsiders, and Renegadesanalyzes 10 third-party, outsider, or renegade presidential candidates and explores each one's impact on the political process. The list of modern outsider candidates who have attracted the publics attention is fairly long, but most of the time the candidates never garner enough support to become elected or they self-destruct somewhere along the way. A few, however, have taken votes away from more mainstream candidates and changed the course of political parties or election outcomes. This book provides readers with an analysis of how their rhetoric, political tactics, and issues have challenged the political status quo and impacted later campaigns. The future viability of outsider candidates is discussed in light of current political polarization and the legacy of Donald J. Trump, the first elected outsider president, and considers how outsider candidates might be able to compete in upcoming elections given the current political divisions within the nation. Scholars and students of communication, political science, and rhetoric will find this book particularly interesting.Melissa M. Smithis a professor of communication and holds the Gibbons Chair of Journalism at Mississippi University for Women.

Melissa Smith has done a remarkable job of reviewing and summarizing the role of outsiders in modern American presidential elections. Her rhetorical history technique looks at how these candidates, who were often on the fringes of establishment politics, gradually pushed for changes that altered how the public viewed political candidates and their issues. She gradually builds this rhetorical history into a comprehensive explanation for the success of Donald Trump and his outsider campaign. At first glance, some readers may be surprised at how such disparate candidates as Shirley Chisolm and Ross Perot contribute to this legacy, but Smith makes the connection well. Its an impressive book that is well written and suppolÓi