Howie Hawkins and NY's Hectic Third Party Habitat

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for New York State Governor, is threatening a disruption in this gubernatorial showdown. To be fair, there is a very slim chance Hawkins will beat Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo or Republican contender Rob Astorino, but the presence of a third party shifts coalition voting blocs, for better or for worse.

speciesandclass.com

The NY Green Party is a progressive, environment focused party that distances itself from what it claims is a corrupt status quo interested only in self-preservation rather than governing for the greater good. Their platform includes a higher minimum wage, ecological accountability, greater citizen participation in government, among other stark changes to our political system. According to a Siena poll,  Hawkins is running a progressive campaign in a progressive state, so why does he only have less than ten percent of the potential vote?

First, he is unknown. Seventy-eight percent of respondents in the Siena poll didn't know or had no opinion towards Hawkins, compared to Cuomo's 3% and Astorino's 27%. Before the recent debate, Quinnipiac's poll had Hawkins closer to 90% unknown.

Second, voter concentration is glued to the two major parties. For those who are aware Hawkins exists, approximately 0% of them think another candidate other than Cuomo or Astorino will be elected, opening another conflict that third parties often claim is the central cog in the two-party political machine.

Third, the poll does not say "Howie Hawkins" for Q13 of the poll, it simply states "other", and this is not the only question. Third parties often feel discriminated against, as if the institutions written by the two major parties are designed to shut out competition. This is the reason, according to third parties, that their campaigns get little media attention and therefore a sliver of a sliver the vote. They claim this is a purposeful and perpetual cyclic design.

Hawkins' campaign is set to expand by way of a media buy in upstate New York, where Cuomo's indomitable lead is softer and more competitive between the three candidates. Could Hawkins late-game and new-found presence in New York politics have lasting effects? Could New York's party system allow third parties to compete?