Polls show 22% US voters likely to support third party candidate in 2016 presidential election

WASHINGTON (News Desk) - The two-party political system in the United States is finally heading towards the emergence of some major third party as the latest polls suggest that around 22 percent of the US voters are unlikely to back both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and are looking for a third option.

According to the results of the Reuters polls conducted during August 18-22 in all 50 states, about 45 percent of the voters are expected to support Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton while 33 percent would back Republican candidate Donald Trump.

That percentage of the voters looking for a third party candidate is pretty higher as compared to the 2012 presidential polls when Democratic President Barack Obama faced off Republican contestant Mitt Romney.

Although, the respondents were not provided with a specific option to choose someone other than Clinton and Trump, 22 percent said they will not be voting for either of these candidates.

Tom Smith, Director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Society at the University of Chicago, said the people who did not choose any one of the Democratic and Republican nominee in a poll conducted just two months before the elections are just as likely to be looking for a third-party candidate instead.

A similar poll, which involved four candidates (Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Republican candidate Donald Trump, Libertarian contestant Gary Johnson and Jill Stein of the Green Party) among options, showed that Clinton's lead was only 9 points.

Results suggested that 41 percent of respondents supported Clinton, 33 percent backed Trump, 7 percent favoured  Johnson and the remaining 2 percent wanted to see Stein as next US president.

It is also worth mentioning here that almost all of the polls conducted during August confirmed that  Clinton's lead over Trump ranged from 3 to 9 percent.