By Kim Malcolm, KERA 90.1 reporter
Dallas, TX – Kim Malcolm, KERA 90.1 reporter: It's debate night at the KERA studios in Dallas. Supporters of U.S. Senate candidates Ron Kirk of the Democrats, and Republican John Cornyn throng the halls, wired on adrenaline. In about 30 minutes, the major statewide debate of the senate campaign will be broadcast live by KERA and the Texas Cable News Network, potentially reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers. But inside the lobby, another debate is going on.
Roy Williams, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate: So I'm saying to you, show me the data that gives you the justifiable reasoning that excludes third party candidates.
Steve Anderson, KERA publicist: We'll get that data as fast to you as possible.
Williams: Hopefully that happens before 8:01, because I have no use for it at 8:01.
That's Roy Williams, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate arguing with KERA publicist Steve Anderson. Williams showed up with about 10 protestors because he wasn't invited to participate. Debate organizers, including the Dallas Morning News, Texas Monthly magazine and Univision, had a set of criteria to determine who could debate. A 6% showing in the polls was one of the benchmarks. Neither the Greens nor the Libertarians have cracked that figure during the campaign. Cliff Pearson is a Green Party candidate for Justice of the Peace in Dallas County.
Cliff Pearson, Green Party candidate for Justice of the Peace: It's kind of a chicken versus the egg thing. How will the public know anything about the candidates unless they're given the opportunity the other candidates have? So all we're saying is the picking of 6% in the polls to be part of the debate is an arbitrary number that excludes half the candidates on the ballot.
Malcolm: It's not just getting free media access. It's changing election rules set long ago by Democrats and Republicans. Ron Paul is the Republican congressman for Texas' 14th district, but describes himself as a Libertarian at heart. He remembers the challenges he faced as the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate in 1988.
Ron Paul, 1988 Libertarian candidate for President: In some states, I had to get 50, 60, 100,000 signatures just to get my name on one state ballot. It should be made much easier for a person to get their name on a ballot, and also not have fees that are so extremely high and I think that would help open up the electoral process to a lot more people.
Malcolm: SMU political science professor Cal Jillson has seen third parties come and go. To make any dent at all in the consciousness of the electorate, he says three things have to be going for them.
Cal Jillson, political science professor, Southern Methodist University: There has to be a crisis to focus people's attention. There has to be a candidate that is of interest to people, usually a candidate that's unusual or persuasive to draw people's attention, and finally, they have to be very, very lucky.
Malcolm: There are no wrestling stars like Jesse Ventura running in Texas this year. And there is no burning third party issue in this election. Concern over the environment has not yet paid off in big support for the left-leaning Greens, and the Libertarian Party's minimal government philosophy hasn't struck a chord with the wider public. Dallas County Greens co-chair David Buelenbecker knows his party has a long, uphill slog to be competitive. But he sees an opportunity the Republicans and Democrats have been unable to capitalize on.
David Buelenbecker, Dallas County Greens co-chair: Young people today form the largest percentage of the non-voting public. And it's because of this feeling that there's nothing for them in politics.
Malcolm: Both the Greens and the Libertarians have fielded a full slate of candidates for the top statewide offices - a first, for the Greens. But they've also got many candidates on the ballot on the county level, where observers think they have their best chance of success. For now, their primary goal is to educate the public - and let people know they're an alternative to the two major parties. For KERA 90.1, I'm Kim Malcolm.
To contact Kim Malcolm, please send emails to kmalcolm@kera.org.