What Chance Has a Third Party Conservative Republican Candidate?

Shaking your head and murmuring, “There’s gotta be another choice”? You’re not alone. An incredible 55% of American voters want another option than the three Presidential candidates filling television screens and rally venues, according to the Data Targeting Poll. None of the three candidates hold a Biblical worldview, but what chance has a Third Party Conservative Republican candidate?

Dividing the search into two main points of view, I discovered a powerful difference that might assist those still looking for a candidate.

 

Secular View

The longer the campaign lasts, the more the influencers want voters to concentrate their efforts on assuring a party win, regardless of who’ll sit in the White House. Never in American history have both probable nominees been disliked by two-thirds of the citizens. Neither are deemed trustworthy. Both face serious legal challenges outside of the campaign.

When columnists and political pundits of every stripe examine the black and white evidence for the emergence of a Third Party candidate, they usually focus on the statistics. While another option for the conservative voter would be nice, the numbers just don’t add up.

Let’s take a look at what needs to happen for the Third Party conservative to succeed.

Regardless of the popular vote by American citizens, the candidate must secure more than 50% of the votes from the Electoral College.

The 538 electors are charged with casting a vote for the candidate that earned the majority of votes in their particular state. The number of Electors in a state varies, depending on the population of each State.

If none of the candidates on the ballot receive 270 votes, the election is turned over to the House of Representatives to decide.

Currently, the Republican Party holds a majority in both the House (247 out of 435) and Senate (54 of the 100). It’s the strongest lead for any political party since 1929. Little wonder the politicians reject anything that would split the Republican vote.

When conservatives unhappy with Donald Trump as the nominee decide just to stay away from the ballot altogether, the Republican Congressional strength might very well be lost. The House of Representatives have all 435 voting seats on this year’s ballot and one-third of the six-year Senate terms are up for grabs.

Currently, ten of those Senate seats are held by Democrats and thirty-four by Republicans. Losing only five of those seats to the Democratic Party will shift the balance in the Senate, so both parties are working hard to get these supporters to the ballot box, regardless of their personal opinion of the nominee for the top spot.

The suggestion has been made to cast the Presidential vote for a Third Party name, choosing the traditional party affiliation for the other seats on the ballot. While such a move assures the voter will be more likely to complete his ballot, little credence is given for a Third Party success.

The staunch Republicans declare the conservatives must vote for Trump to keep Hilary from taking the White House. They’re fighting hard against a conservative Third Party bid, arguing that Hilary will win by default since neither Donald or the Third Party candidate would earn the majority vote.

Those Republicans willing to toss out their conservative, Biblical worldview to save the party at any cost, have not taken seriously the truth found in Scripture.

 

Biblical View

Only one standard of measure fuels those with a Biblical worldview. The rule book is the Bible. Regardless of party affiliations or the outrageous blather, it does matter what Jesus would do (WWJD).

Christians seeking God’s direction before marking the ballot consider the statistics, but all are held up to the real Commander-in-Chief. Historically, numbers never decided the victory.

While many examples of God’s intervention could be extrapolated from the numerous battles God’s people fought, let’s focus on the one most familiar to the majority of Christians. We’ll examine the event in light of the same objections to a Third Party conservative candidate.  You can find the whole story in I. Samuel Chapter Seventeen.

 

Challenge: Save the nation from bondage to the enemy.

While the two opposing armies assemble on the hills skirting the valley, neither force triggered an all-out assault. Instead, the champion of the one taunted their enemy to send just one man to fight only him. The victory would be decided, the army of the loser becoming slaves to the force of the victor.

 

Objection One: The numbers don’t add up.

Philistine taunter: A full-grown warrior with years of experience, standing nine feet, nine inches tall.

Defensive Weapons:

• Bronze helmet
• Bronze coat of scale armor weighing 125 pounds
• Bronze greaves covered his legs.
• Shield carried ahead by another soldier

 

Offensive Weapons:

• Bronze javelin (slung over his back)
• Spear–shaft like a weaver’s rod, iron tip weighed fifteen pounds
• Sword

Israelite responder: A teenage boy, part-time armor-bearer for the king and part-time shepherd whose battle experience included successfully fighting a bear and lion when each threatened his father’s sheep. His height is assumed to be unremarkable for age and ethnicity.

Defensive Weapons:

• Shepherd’s staff
• No visible defensive covering.

 

Offensive Weapons:

• Slingshot
• Five smooth stones (weight not specified)

 

Objection Two: It’s late in the game, and there’s no support for a rookie.

The Philistine giant taunted the Israelites for forty days, twice a day reinforcing their weakness and cowardice. When David showed up, it was to bring food to his brothers and gifts to the army leader. He had no intention of getting into the battle.

Hearing the Philistine’s taunts, David basically asked the same question most of today’s Christians are asking, “Why isn’t someone doing something?” Instead of being honest, admitting their fear of losing frightened them into accepting the inevitable unrighteous winner, they lashed out at David.

Rather than being relieved that someone would stand up to the bullying Philistine, his oldest brother yelled at David. Furious that the kid brother had even come, he shouted ugly lies at him in front of everyone. (Twitter hadn’t yet been invented, or he’d have sent a flurry of bitter tweets.)

 

Objection Three: There’s no way conservatives can win against the powerful move of political correctness.

When Goliath saw the young David present himself to fight, he cursed and insulted him, detailing what he’d do to him and his corpse.

David responded:

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (I. Sam 17:45-47 NIV)

That’s exactly what happened. Regardless of the odds against the young man, God used David to bring down the giant. From his courageous act came a total routing of the Philistine army that very day.

 

Bottom line: God’s not hindered by low numbers, lack of support, or impossible odds.

Almighty God only needs someone to come forward who’ll stand for the principles contained in God’s Word—living them out at any cost. The Lord’s also looking for voters who will mark their ballots, expressing a Biblical worldview.

 

Election 2016

As Christians, we believe that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so why are we shrinking from the thought that God might raise up a David to deliver us from today’s Goliath? The great giant of the 21^st Century stands, shaking an evil fist at all who dare to believe in God’s Word.

If a David should arise, will Christians trust God by supporting a Third Party conservative candidate? It’d be wonderful to hear a modern-day version of the young shepherd’s words:

“You come against us with your politically correct rules to inflict our Christian country with your anti-Semitism, anti-morality, and anti-family values, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the committed Believers in Christ, whom you have defied. This November 8, the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your leadership. This very day the whole world will know that there is a God in America, as well as Israel. All those glued to the streaming of election results will know that it is not by caving to political pressure that the country will be saved; for the battle is the Lord’s.”

 

May the Lord raise up a candidate whose relationship with Him produces not only a fierce loyalty to God and His Word but that hidden strength that defies all the odds against a victory.

Whether a candidate with a Biblical worldview emerges to contend for the top spot, please don’t stay away from the ballot. Seek the Lord as to how to vote and make the effort. America needs your vote.