WI: Pat Buchanan runs with constitution party

What if in the 2000 presidential election, Pat Buchanan had run on the constitution party ticket instead of the reform party? who would have gotten the reform party nomination? How well would Buchanan do in this timeline? How well would the reform party be doing today in this timeline?
 
Buchanan running on the Constitution Party probably garners him the same results he got in OTL. Trump may stay in the race as, without Buchanan, things would have been less dysfunctional for the Reform Party. The Reform Party might remain cogent enough, Jesse Ventura may keep his affiliation with the party, that they make it through 2000 with 2-3% of the vote. In the long run, I don't see the Reform Party lasting.
 
John Hagelin also ran for the reform party nomination. what are his chances of getting the nomination if Buchanan had gone with the constitution party?
 
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Could this possible make the Constitution Party as big as the Libertarian or Green Party is OTL? Right now, it's the smallest of the 3 big third parties by a lot, but this could give it more publicity and support among the far right.

Other than maybe a slightly bigger Constitution Party, I can't really see this having much of an effect. Maybe the Tea Party- if it ever starts ITTL- could coalesce around the Constitution Party with the Republicans as their second choice the same way libertarians generally support the Libertarian Party more than the Republican Party, leading to a slightly more moderate GOP, but even that's pretty unlikely.

The Reform Party probably still dies out. Unlike the Green, Constitution, or Libertarian parties, it didn't have a well-defined ideology that's attractive to people (it's candidates have ranged from Ross Perot to Ralph Nader), and it would never be able to accomplish its goal of fighting corruption or reforming the political system, since it can't get elected to national office (its only real success was Jesse Ventura's election) to do anything. The only third parties that can survive in the USA are the ones with an attractive ideology that isn't represented well by one of the two big parties (the Libertarians) or the ones for people who are too radical for one of the big parties (the Greens and Constitutionalists).
 
Buchanan running on the Constitution Party probably garners him the same results he got in OTL. Trump may stay in the race as, without Buchanan, things would have been less dysfunctional for the Reform Party. The Reform Party might remain cogent enough, Jesse Ventura may keep his affiliation with the party, that they make it through 2000 with 2-3% of the vote. In the long run, I don't see the Reform Party lasting.
I do agree. Trump might make a good Reform nominee.

John Hagelin also ran for the reform party nomination. what are his chances of getting the nomination if Buchanan had gone with the constitution party?
Maybe not as good as Trump, but still good.

Could this possible make the Constitution Party as big as the Libertarian or Green Party is OTL? Right now, it's the smallest of the 3 big third parties by a lot, but this could give it more publicity and support among the far right.

Other than maybe a slightly bigger Constitution Party, I can't really see this having much of an effect. Maybe the Tea Party- if it ever starts ITTL- could coalesce around the Constitution Party with the Republicans as their second choice the same way libertarians generally support the Libertarian Party more than the Republican Party, leading to a slightly more moderate GOP, but even that's pretty unlikely.

The Reform Party probably still dies out. Unlike the Green, Constitution, or Libertarian parties, it didn't have a well-defined ideology that's attractive to people (it's candidates have ranged from Ross Perot to Ralph Nader), and it would never be able to accomplish its goal of fighting corruption or reforming the political system, since it can't get elected to national office (its only real success was Jesse Ventura's election) to do anything. The only third parties that can survive in the USA are the ones with an attractive ideology that isn't represented well by one of the two big parties (the Libertarians) or the ones for people who are too radical for one of the big parties (the Greens and Constitutionalists).
OTL, Bob Smith was considering a run on the Constitution ticket, and briefly switched parties. Of course, if a Constitution candidate in 2000 took enough votes from Bush, Republicans may blame it on whoever ran...
 
If both Buchanan and Trump stay in until the end, does that siphon any more votes away from the main two parties?
 
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