What are the challenges to launching Musk’s new ‘America Party’? | EUROtoday

Just over a month since he departed the White House, Elon Musk claims to have fashioned a brand new political get together — however even the world’s richest individual might face some insurmountable challenges with this new enterprise, consultants warn.

Despite main the Department of Government Efficiency in Donald Trump’s administration for 4 months, Musk has publicly cut up from the president as of late, most just lately criticizing the “big, beautiful bill.” On Saturday, the tech billionaire introduced on X, the platform he owns, that he was forming a “new political party” – the America Party.

Musk has detailed how this new get together would infiltrate the nation’s long-standing two-party system.

“One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts,” he defined. “Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.”

Fellow billionaire Mark Cuban and Trump’s former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci have inspired the concept. But historical past and institutional limitations counsel it might be unlikely that the “America Party” would succeed, consultants say.

open image in gallery

“Third-party movements in the US have generally arisen out of some sort of set of deep-seated grievances,” Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University, instructed CNN. “It was not just some wealthy person who’s decided they wanted to start a third party.”

The Democratic and Republican events aren’t the one ones to exist — however historical past exhibits various get together candidates fail to achieve traction in presidential elections. Even distinguished Independent Senator Bernie Sanders caucuses with Democrats.

Jill Stein, for instance, served because the Green Party’s presidential candidate in 2012, 2016, and 2024. In 2024, she earned 628,129 votes, however no electoral votes. Then there’s Ross Perot, who ran as an impartial in 1992 and 1996. During his first run, he garnered 19 % of the favored vote — however nonetheless didn’t earn an electoral vote.

“Perot did amazingly well … but he didn’t come in first in any state, and the way the electoral college works, that means he’s got nothing,” Hans Noel, a professor at Georgetown University researching political events and beliefs, instructed the Washington Post.

The most profitable third-party candidate in U.S. historical past was none aside from a former president: Theodore Roosevelt. After serving in workplace as a Republican, he ran once more in 1912 as a Progressive Party candidate, garnering 88 electoral votes. He misplaced to Democrat Woodrow Wilson. More just lately, in 1968 George Wallace, who ran as an American Independent candidate, earned 45 electoral votes; Republican Richard Nixon received 301.

open image in gallery

Following Musk’s announcement, some additionally pointed to more moderen examples of third-party runs, just like the “No Labels” get together, which didn’t discover a centrist candidate to tackle Donald Trump or Joe Biden within the 2024 presidential race.

Republican strategist Melik Abdul responded to Musk’s tweet: “’No Labels’ was designed to do the very thing you’re suggesting. It, too, was a dud.” Abdul added: “You have the resources to buy influence but lack the charisma and political gravitas to lead a [movement].”

But Musk’s resources alone may not be enough to secure a new political party due to donation limits.

“One very wealthy individual cannot capitalize a new national political party, the way he might start a business, because of federal contribution limits,” former FEC chair Lee Goodman told CNN. “The prospect of a wealthy founder seed funding a national party to participate in federal elections around the country is not feasible in the current regulatory system.”

Musk may have spent more than $250 million helping Trump get elected during the last cycle. But different rules apply to political parties, Bradley Smith, another former FEC chair, told the outlet: “You can fund super PACs all you want. But you can’t fund a political party, as a strange part of American law.”

Abdul’s remark that Musk lacks charisma may also serve as a barrier to building a new party. Recent indicators suggest he’s not too popular.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took a dig at Musk’s new party announcement, telling CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday: “The ideas of DOGE have been very talked-about. I believe in the event you seemed on the polling, Elon was not.”

open image in gallery

A Quinnipiac Poll taken last month shows just 30 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of the tech billionaire while 57 percent have an unfavorable opinion of him. Among Republicans 62 percent viewed Musk favorably. Some predicted the billionaire could split the GOP vote.

“Third events don’t are likely to have an extended lifetime in American politics. Often, they’re bugbears to at least one explicit get together, and this may be the case with Musk’s proposed America Party,” Dafydd Townley, who teaches at the University of Portsmouth, told Newsweek. “If something, the brand new get together would doubtless cut up the Republican vote, probably leading to a Democrat-dominated House of Representatives, no less than within the quick time period, because of the winner-takes-all electoral system.”

If something’s sure, the rocket-building Musk doesn’t draw back from a problem. He seems assured in preventing what seems to be an uphill battle. In response to an X consumer posting about how he might “break the two-party stranglehold,” Musk replied: “Not hard tbh.”