America Party? A look at how third parties have fared through US history

A day after President Trump signed his historic budget bill, Elon Musk announced his plan to start a new political party – the America Party. 

Musk, a former Trump ally who soured on the president over his opposition to Trump’s "big, beautiful" budget bill, won’t be the first businessman to try and revamp the two-party system that defines American politics. It’s not yet clear how Musk’s America Party will compare to some of history’s more memorable movements — like the Know-Nothing Party, the Bull Moose Party, the Dixiecrats.

Here’s a look back at other third parties and how they’ve fared in U.S. history. 

Elon Musk’s America Party

Big picture view:

Musk’s plans remain murky, but some of his public comments suggest he’s eying a limited goal, focusing on a handful of House races to gain influence without trying to win a majority.

READ MORE: Trump reveals 'surprising' moment friendship with Musk began to unravel

What they're saying:

"One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts," Musk wrote on X. "Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.

Anti-Masonic Party

Timeline:

The Anti-Masons were the first recognized third party. It was formed in 1828 in opposition to the Freemasons, a secret society. The disappearance of William Morgan, a former Mason who had threatened to expose secrets, fueled widespread paranoia about the shadowy group, which many believed was covertly controlling the government.

Dig deeper:

The Anti-Masons evolved into a broadly anti-elite party. They were the first party to hold a convention to nominate a presidential candidate and to adopt a party platform, pioneering enduring staples of American democracy.

They held seats in the House for a decade, peaking at 25 after the 1832 election. That year, Anti-Mason presidential nominee William Wirt won Vermont, becoming the first third-party candidate to get electoral college votes, though his seven electoral votes did not affect Andrew Jackson’s decisive victory over Henry Clay.

The Anti-Masons were largely absorbed into the Whig Party.

Free Soil Party

Timeline:

Following the Mexican-American war, anti-slavery factions joined with "Barnburner Democrats," "conscience Whigs" and the remnants of the short-lived abolitionist Liberty Party to form the Free Soil Party. Free Soilers won a handful of House seats between 1848 and 1854.

Despite its short life, the Free Soil Party laid the groundwork for the Republican Party.

Dig deeper:

As the U.S. expanded westward, the Free Soil Party advocated banning slavery in the new territories but not abolishing it in the places it already existed. The party described its principles with the slogan "free soil, free speech, free labor and free men." Free Soilers pitched opposition to slavery on economic rather than moral grounds, arguing that expanding slavery would take jobs from Northern whites.

Former President Martin Van Buren, who had served one term as a Democrat a decade earlier, was the Free Soil presidential nominee in 1848 but didn’t win any electoral votes.

The party dissolved after the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 thrust slavery further into the political fray, upending the political coalitions. 

‘Know-Nothings’

Dig deeper:

The secretive anti-immigration party got its nickname from members: If asked about the party, members would say they "know nothing." 

The "Know-Nothings" opposed immigration, especially of Catholics. 

Know-Nothing nominee Millard Fillmore, a former Whig Party president, won Maryland and its eight electoral votes in the 1856 election.

Though they won only a handful of House seats, the Know-Nothings showed there was a deep interest in anti-immigration policies and the political salience of ethnic and religious divisions.

Populists

Timeline:

The Populists, formally known as the People’s Party, emerged in the late 19th century in response to agricultural distress. In the 1896 presidential election, the Populists cross-nominated Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan, remembered for his "Cross of Gold" speech calling for free silver. The movement was largely absorbed into the Democratic Party after that.

Dig deeper:

Populists wanted to nationalize railroads, enact a graduated income tax and directly elect senators. They supported the free coinage of silver in opposition to the gold standard's fixed monetary supply.

The party was a force in only two presidential elections, but many of its reforms — including a graduated income tax and the direct election of senators — were adopted during the later progressive era.

Progressive Party (Bull Moose Party)

Timeline:

The Bull Moose Party formed to back Teddy Roosevelt's 1912 campaign to return to the White House, which he ceded after losing the Republican nomination to William Howard Taft in 1908.

Roosevelt came in second in the electoral college, finishing ahead of Taft, by then the incumbent. Roosevelt's 88 electoral votes were the most ever won by a third-party presidential candidate. By splitting the Republican vote with Taft, he allowed Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win.

Dig deeper:

The Bull Moose platform included women's suffrage, an eight-hour workday and a crackdown on big business. Roosevelt's strong showing showed the popularity of such reforms, and many were later embraced by both major parties.

Dixiecrats

Timeline:

The Dixiecrats, formally known as the segregationist States’ Rights Democratic Party, was formed in the 1940s by Southern Democrats who were opposed to civil rights. The party lasted for just one presidential election, nominating South Carolina Gov. Strom Thurmond, who won four Southern states in 1948.

Dig deeper:

The success of the Dixiecrats broke decades of Democratic dominance in the South and made clear that civil rights was a potent wedge issue, an insight that Richard Nixon would later exploit in his "southern strategy" to win over white voters in the South.

Reform Party

Timeline:

Billionaire Ross Perot largely self-funded his two presidential campaigns in 1992 and 1996, running under the Reform Party that focused on fiscal conservatism. 

By the numbers:

Perot won 19% of the popular vote in 1992, enough to help tilt the election to Bill Clinton. Perot's campaigns put a spotlight on the federal budget deficit and the growing national debt, a major force in 1990s policymaking.

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