# ...who do you vote for in a three-way race? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 17, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086 "2020-02-17T21:02:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/1 "2020-02-17T21:02:39Z")
…lets change up the scenarios. Lets assume Bernie wins the Democratic nomination comfortably. Bloomberg decides to run as an independent. The polls suggest that Bloomberg might edge out Bernie in a couple of states that matter, but the others are all at a coin-toss. Who do you throw your support behind? Who gets your vote? (Try to vote without “cheating” to see what everyone else did first, it would be interesting to see how split the vote would be, if at all.) ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/2 "2020-02-17T21:07:48Z")
Whoever gets the Democratic nomination gets my vote. Period. I probably won’t vote for Bernie in the primary, but I’m “Bernie all the way” if he wins the nomination. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/3 "2020-02-17T21:08:01Z")
It is all about beating Trump, so no third party candidate please. Bloomberg would drain more votes from Sanders than Trump, so a very bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/4 "2020-02-17T22:16:50Z")
I would hope Bloomberg would throw his support behind Sanders IRL. I would vote Sanders. I live in a red state where my vote doesn’t matter but still Sanders all the way. I would hope the ones who do vote Bloomberg do not live in swing states. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/5 "2020-02-17T22:25:39Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Whoever gets the Democratic nomination gets my vote. Period. I probably won’t vote for Bernie in the primary, but I’m “Bernie all the way” if he wins the nomination. Same here. I haven’t come down in favor of one candidate yet. Missouri’s primary is after Super Tuesday, so I figure the field will have thinned since then. In waiting to see how that shakes out. But yeah, I’m voting Democrat up and down the ballot, pretty much whoever it is If there’s some local race where the Democrat is like a serial killer or something, I’d probably vote third party. Under no circumstances will I vote for a Republican. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/6 "2020-02-17T22:28:44Z")
As long as the Dem nominee is a US citizen over 35 years of age and has a pulse, they’ll get my vote. Any vote for a 3rd party candidate is a vote for Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/7 "2020-02-17T22:31:03Z")
I’d vote against whoever was petulantly trying to play spoiler, so in this circumstance I’d vote for Sanders. Although I’m not a particularly big fan of either of them, Bloomberg is overall a more problematic candidate for me generally. Other than perhaps pragmatic electability, where I think he would likely have an advantage. But I’m not sure if naked realpolitik is quite enough to get me to favor Bloomberg. That said if it were a disgruntled _Sanders_ running as an independent against official candidate Bloomberg, I’d vote for Bloomberg without hesitation. For the same reason as above - spoiler candidates suck. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/8 "2020-02-17T22:51:54Z")
As Tamerlane said, and my politics align pretty well with Sanders and Warren. I’ll likely be voting for Warren when I make it to early voting in the next few days, although I keep vacillating between her and Sanders. But if Bloomberg or Sanders goes spoiler, I’ll be first in line to piss on their names. That said, I think the chance of Bloomberg going third party is vanishingly small; he’s too smart for that. And the chance that Sanders will do so is even smaller. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/9 "2020-02-17T23:04:25Z")
None of the above. Bloomberg and Trump are the same person for all intents and purposes other than claimed party affiliation. And Sanders is a non-starter. There is no scenario where’s I’d vote for any of these three candidates. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/10 "2020-02-17T23:06:42Z")
Whoever is the Democratic nominee gets my vote. Since the scenario specified in the OP is Sanders-D and Bloomberg-I my vote would go to Sanders. My guess is that in this scenario that the swing states would end up something like Trump 48%, Sanders 42%, and Bloomberg 10%. Trump would likely win the electoral college with somewhere around 350 electoral votes in this scenario. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/11 "2020-02-17T23:11:57Z")
I’m not a Sanders fan, but since this is the one year in four that he’s a Democrat I would vote for him. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/12 "2020-02-17T23:14:51Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Whoever is the Democratic nominee gets my vote. Since the scenario specified in the OP is Sanders-D and Bloomberg-I my vote would go to Sanders. > > My guess is that in this scenario that the swing states would end up something like Trump 48%, Sanders 42%, and Bloomberg 10%. Trump would likely win the electoral college with somewhere around 350 electoral votes in this scenario. Pretty much. Assuming Bloomberg continued to campaign hard and go all-out with his many billions even as an independent, he’d be far more a vote-splitter than 2000 Nader ever was. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/13 "2020-02-17T23:51:59Z")
I put down Bloomberg, but only because I was careless and didn’t read the post under the poll, I just saw the three choices. If I could, I’d change it to Sanders. I’d vote for the Democratic nominee over a third party candidate - no matter who it is. But I really don’t think it’s a plausible situation. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/14 "2020-02-17T23:56:17Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Whoever gets the Democratic nomination gets my vote. Period. I probably won’t vote for Bernie in the primary, but I’m “Bernie all the way” if he wins the nomination. This. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/15 "2020-02-18T02:34:16Z")
For the record, if Bloomberg somehow gets the Dem Nom and Sanders ran 3rd party, I would vote for Bloomberg. I’m voting for the Dem Nom no matter what as no third party candidate this side of Teddy Roosevelt has ever come close to winning. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/16 "2020-02-18T02:40:50Z")
In the general election, any Dem. In the primary… my California ballot retains names of quitters. Even with a mail-in ballot, I’ll wait till primary day before guessing who has the best chance. I guess that makes me a swing voter. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/17 "2020-02-18T03:15:00Z")
Whichever one has a better chance of defeating Trump. Which I predict will be the Democratic nominee, who in the OP’s scenario is Sanders. So I would vote for Sanders. If somehow Sanders and Bloomberg looked like they had an equal chance of beating Trump, I would vote for Bloomberg. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/18 "2020-02-18T06:39:32Z")
I join the many who vote for _The Nominee of the Democratic Party_, whoever he or she is. (I suppose we might imagine scenarios where the Convention somehow dissolved in utter chaos, hundreds of times worse than the Iowa caucus, and two different candidates decide that they’re the nominee. But that’s another thread, for the Horror Stories forum.) In OP’s scenario, I’m afraid Trump gets his 270 electoral votes very easily. But what if the election _is_ thrown to the House (with V.P. chosen by Senate). Who has the numbers then? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/19 "2020-02-18T06:43:05Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > what if the election _is_ thrown to the House (with V.P. chosen by Senate). Who has the numbers then? Since Republicans control more House delegations, they’d win the presidency. (28 to 22? Someone can correct me) Assuming the GOP still holds the Senate, they’d pick a Republican VP, too. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086/20 "2020-02-18T06:44:11Z")
Interesting. Nearly one-quarter of Dopers in the poll say they’d go for Bloomberg. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-vote-for-in-a-three-way-race/848086.md?page=2)