Third Parties and Independent Candidates in the 2024 US Presidential Election

The patterns of electoral behavior of major independent candidates and representatives of third parties are examined, and their impact on the presidential election campaign in the United States in 2024 is assessed. It is concluded that despite the demand for the emergence of a third major political force, in the context of antagonistic polarization of American society voters tend to cast their ballots for the leading parties’ candidates to prevent the victory of the opponent, but existing third parties are gradually turning into an instrument of the electoral struggle between Democrats and Republicans, without having real political prospects for transforming the two-party system.