Who is running for president?
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney aren't the only candidates vying for the White House on Election Day.
In addition to the president, the Democratic nominee, and Romney, the Republican nominee, there are a number of third-party contenders on the ballot. Virgil Goode is the Constitution Party's pick running for the White House, while former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is competing as the Libertarian contender. Jill Stein is the Green Party's candidate.
"I hope to rain on the party," Johnson told the AP over the weekend. "And by that I mean the two parties."
The AP reported over the weekend:
Some polls have shown Johnson and former Virginia Rep. Goode, two not-long-ago Republicans, as primed to pull down more votes than the difference between President Barack Obama and Romney in critical states such as Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio and Virginia. Experts caution, however, that the overall tightness of the race tends to work against third-party candidates in the end as voters migrate back to the main nominees.
In every presidential campaign, there is talk about a credible alternative emerging to seriously test the Democratic and Republican nominees. Aside from Texas billionaire Ross Perot's 1992 campaign, the phenomenon has seldom panned out in recent times. A much-hyped bid this year to field a bipartisan ticket this time fizzled when Americans Elect, a group that had secured ballot space around the country, retreated in May.
The aim among the 2012 hopefuls seems more about roiling the two-party system.
Below, a look at 100 years of Election Night winners. Click here to check out our interactive presidential election map.
