Perot, by comparison, did not win any, nor will Buchanan or Nader. Yet history shows that third-party candidates need not win states to have an impact on the political process. Wallace's most enduring influence was in reshaping American politics after the election. Nixon and, to a greater extent, Ronald Reagan co-opted Wallace's supporters by stressing socially conservative issues. Third parties are most powerful when one of the two major parties is compelled to adopt their platform.
Examples abound in U.S. history, many involving populist economic, trade, and monetary issues.
The 1892 Populist platform, which emphasized free silver and opposition to the gold standard, was co-opted four years later by William Jennings Bryan and the Democrats. Grover Cleveland, elected president in 1892 for the second time, was the last pro-gold Democrat. The Populists lost the election, but their ideas prevailed over the long term. Silver, which has been accepted as coin since the dawn of history, has been demonetized to add to the purchasing power of gold by decreasing the value of all forms of property as well as human labor, and the supply of currency is purposely abridged to fatten usurers, bankrupt enterprise and enslave industry. Recognizing that the money question is paramount to all others at this time . . .