Who are the top independent presidential candidates for 2028?
As of mid-2026, no major independent candidate has formally entered the 2028 presidential race, so there is no confirmed list of frontrunners. Independent and third-party contenders typically declare and qualify for the ballot later in the cycle - this site tracks them as they emerge.
It is still early. As of mid-2026, no prominent independent has launched a formal 2028 presidential campaign, and serious independent bids usually take shape much closer to the election year, once the major-party fields are clearer. Any 'top independent candidates' list published this far out would be speculation rather than fact, so the honest answer is that the independent field has not yet formed.
Independent and third-party candidates also face a steep structural hurdle that major-party nominees do not: ballot access. Rather than being placed on the ballot automatically, they must petition their way onto it state by state, often gathering tens of thousands of signatures and meeting deadlines that run from the spring through the early fall of the election year. This is why many talked-about independent runs never make it onto ballots nationwide.
History shows how difficult the independent path is. No independent or third-party candidate has ever won the presidency. The strongest modern showing was Ross Perot in 1992, who won about 19 percent of the popular vote but zero electoral votes. John Anderson drew about 7 percent in 1980. More recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched an independent campaign in 2024 before suspending it. The Electoral College's winner-take-all system in most states makes it extremely hard for an independent to win electoral votes even with substantial national support.
We update this page as the 2028 independent and third-party field develops. For the current names and their status, see the live candidate tracker and the independent and third-party section on this site.
Related questions
Has an independent ever won the presidency?
How does an independent get on the 2028 ballot?
Who are the possible independent candidates for 2028?
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Related explainers
Unknown. As of June 2026, no major third-party candidacy has been announced. Third-party campaigns have been a feature of several recent elections; whether one emerges in 2028 depends on the major-party nominees and political conditions.
A person becomes an official presidential candidate by filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) once they raise or spend more than $5,000, or by making a public declaration of candidacy.
Ranked-choice voting (RCV) lets voters rank candidates by preference. A few states and cities use it for some elections, but the 2028 federal general election will not use RCV - it is decided by the Electoral College under existing rules.
See the live 2028 candidate trackerAll 2028 election questions