Third-Party Prospects

Ross Perot is back. Three years after his independent presidential campaign, Perot is launching a new political party. The Texas billionaire says he wants to displace one of the two major political parties or hold the balance of power between them. The new Reform Party expects to qualify for the 1996 ballot in all 50 states. But Perot has ruled out supporting candidates for Congress and won't say whether he will run for president himself. Polls indicate that public support for the two major parties has declined, and many voters say they want to have another alternative on the ballot in 1996. But the two-party system is firmly entrenched, and it's unlikely that a third-party or independent candidate will succeed in the 1996 presidential election.