Alternate Ross Perot(s)?

As we all know, Ross Perot was a wealthy Texan, with no previous political experience, who mounted an independent campaign for President in 1992... and did very well. So well, in fact, he got nearly 20% of the vote. Of course he didn't win, but he made the election a lot more interesting.

So, my question is, is there anyone else in the latter part of the 20th century who is independently wealthy enough and politically-inclined enough (or, under the right circumstances, can be pushed in that direction) to run third party for the Presidency? One with an outside chance to win, or at least match Perot's numbers? I do know that the substantially wealthy David Koch ran as the running mate on the Libertarian ticket in 1980, polling a million votes. Perhaps if Reagan wasn't the Republican nominee...

More broadly, what were some years for potentially successful third party or independent presidential campaigns, that just didn't happen? And who are the men/women who could have pulled that off?
 
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Jasen777

Donor
Maybe Warren Buffet? Sam Walton?

Actually the one person I could see maybe winning as an Independent would be Eisenhower (if you're willing to go back to 1952), but he has no reason not to accept one of the parties' nomination.

Or Colin Powell in '96 :p
 
Actually the one person I could see maybe winning as an Independent would be Eisenhower (if you're willing to go back to 1952), but he has no reason not to accept one of the parties' nomination.

Maybe Taft edges him out for the GOP nomination (it was really close)...
 

Thande

Donor
Donald Trump is an obvious one. He's a joke here and now for his shenanigans last year, but he could have pulled a Perot a few years earlier if things had gone differently.

If Steve Jobs had lived...he certainly has a bigger devoted-cultist following than anyone in American politics other than Ron Paul.
 
Powell 96 is an obvious one (assuming he didn't want to be a republican)... Reagan 76 in a three way with Ford and Carter would have been interesting
Dean 04 as an anti war
 
Dean and especially Reagan were party men when the buck stopped, ultimately. A good choice might be Gene McCarthy, since he had a devoted following and never gave a damn about how his fellow politicians felt about him.
 
Dean and especially Reagan were party men when the buck stopped, ultimately. A good choice might be Gene McCarthy, since he had a devoted following and never gave a damn about how his fellow politicians felt about him.

Hmm, but I doubt McCarthy could match Perot...
 
I've thought about this at great lengths but will not name who I think is the best candidate (Because they maaaaay appear at some point in the Controlled Chaos series).

Here's some that I will probably never use so feel free to steal these ideas.

Warren Buffett: Millionaire and inventor of the buffet table :)p), Buffett could launch a campaign if dissatisfied with the Democratic nominee.

Arlen Specter: Previous showed Presidential interest, if both parties have sub-par nominees he could launch a campaign that would be strong in the north east.

Gary Johnson: It's yet to be seen how Gary Johnson will effect 2012, but he could be a future Perot, he can pull in New Mexico voters, they love him, maybe he wins there and no where else.

Bruce Springsteen: Decides making bad music is not good enough and decides to make bad policies and loudly blares Born in the USA wherever he goes. I probably kill myself.

Clint Eastwood: Libertarian who isn't afraid to say it like it is, punk. The media would love the hell out of an Eastwood campaign and depending on when he runs he has some experience.

Ralph Nader: If Nader would run for some other office, he would totally win it, and could totally get a real presidential campaign off the ground. He does not seem interested in doing so.

Jesse Ventura: If he can keep his foot out of his mouth, Ventura could steal libertarian, liberal, and moderate voters.
 
Actually the one person I could see maybe winning as an Independent would be Eisenhower (if you're willing to go back to 1952), but he has no reason not to accept one of the parties' nomination.

Or Colin Powell in '96 :p

Maybe Taft edges him out for the GOP nomination (it was really close)...

Alright, I love the idea of an independent Eisenhower, but I'm not sure how workable this is. Granted, Ike was truly concerned about the possibility of a Taft Presidency, and I suppose it could be exaggerated into Ike adopting a "Stop Robert Taft at all costs" attitude following Taft's nomination, which leads to an independent campaign. But of course, such an act seems out of character for Eisenhower, and Taft/the Republicans could easily portray it as the act of a sore loser unwilling to accept his defeat at the convention. Still it'd be interesting to see how the election turns out. Given the Republican split, Stevenson might just win.
 
Hmm, but I doubt McCarthy could match Perot...

Despite my opposition to most of his political beliefs, there's something I like about Gene that would make it so awesome to see him as a Perot-esque figure.

While we're suggesting people who did run (Nader, Gene), I might as well bring up the idea of a more successful Anderson or George Wallace bid. Certainly not victory, but doing better than each of them actually did.
 
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