6 SC candidates for Congress aren’t Democrat or Republican. Here are your third party candidates

Six of the 37 people who are running for Congress in South Carolina are third party candidates. These candidates, much like RFK Jr., running for president as an Independent, have championed themselves as offering new roads to a better political future in the country, compared to traditional Democrat and Republican candidates.

Interest in third party candidates has risen as elections near. According to a 2023 Gallup survey, 63% of U.S. adults agree with the statement Republican and Democratic parties do “such a poor job” representing the American people that “a third major party is needed.” But how do third party candidates get one the ballot in SC? It differs by party.

There are nine parties that are certified in South Carolina; Alliance, Constitution, Democratic, Forward, Green, Libertarian, Republican, United Citizens and Workers party. A candidate from one of these parties in SC qualifies to be on the November ballot.

Michael Catalano, spokesperson for the SC elections commission, said in general, political parties have the option of nominating candidates by primary or convention. In the past, only Democrats and Republicans take the primary route, because it takes a lot of money and resources to hold a primary. Third parties usually don’t have those same resources, so they choose conventions.

When a voter checks in at the primaries, no state law requires someone to ask whether they have already voted for a third party candidate at a convention. While most third parties have their own laws about restricting their party members from voting in both a convention and primary, there is no state law that prohibits a person from voting for both.

Michael Chandler, who is running for the Constitution party for Congress in District 3, said the Constitution party candidates have to sign a pledge in order to be qualified agreeing to the party rules, which include supporting the Constitution. Other than that, candidates just have to attend the convention, be nominated and voted on to get on the ballot, he said.

A second Constitution party candidate, Mark Hackett, is running for District 3 for Congress.

According to Chandler, the party is having a convention April 13 at Taylor’s library near Greenville.

Jim Rex, South Carolina Chair and National Chair Emeritus of the Alliance Party said the party was formerly known as American Party of South Carolina. Rex, former South Carolina Superintendent of Education, said he was disgusted with what he experienced from both the Republican and Democratic party, so he and others formed the American party which became Alliance.

The nominating convention for the Alliance party will be April 20.

Two Alliance party candidates are running for congress, Mike Bedenbaugh for District 3 and Joseph Oddo for District 6.

Rex said there will be an in-person and Zoom option for the convention on April 20, and expects less than 50 people to attend in person but more online.

In order to run in the Alliance party, a candidate must agree to a term limit of no more than 12 years. Candidates also must place their tax information on their campaign website no less than 90 days from the election. Rex said this is for transparency purposes, which makes the party unique.

In total, five candidates have filed in the state for local, state and federal office under the party in S.C. If they’re nominated successfully, they’ll be on the ballot in November, he said.

Michael Simpson is the only Libertarian party candidate to file for Congress in the state, and is running in District 6.

Dr. Kasie Whitener, State Committee Chair of the South Carolina Libertarian Party, said the party has ballot access and approves its candidates through a convention on May 4 at noon at a Beef O’Bradys in Columbia.

Every candidate who has filed as a Libertarian is invited to come and speak at the convention about why they’re running. Candidates have to sign a pledge, which states they oppose the use of force by any entity to meet political ends.

“It’s a very specific statement about the values of our party,” Whitener said.

A ballot will be given at convention and candidates will either be approved or denied as candidates. At convention, she said there are candidates who do not pass because they do not match the principles of the Libertarian party.

Whitener said candidates are automatically on the ballot once candidates are approved. Whitener said the party has more candidates this year than they have in past election cycles.

Whitener said the Libertarian party does not allow voters to cast their vote in their convention and either of the two primaries. In the past, the convention has been after the primaries, so they made it clear to their members they would not let them vote in both. This year the convention is before primaries, but the rules for their party are still the same.

The United Citizens party did not respond to requests for an interview in time for publication. Greg Dixon, who filed to run for Congress in SC under the United Citizens party for District 6, also did not respond. Earlier this year, Cornel West, filed to run for president under the United Citizens party, and secured a spot on the SC ballot.