'Sore loser' laws make Trump's threat at third-party run unlikely: report

Donald Trump has floated the idea of running a third-party campaign in 2024 if he doesn't win the GOP nomination but, thanks to “sore loser” laws in six states that bar a candidate defeated in a major party primary from running as an independent, it could be a moot point.

Thanks to the laws in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Arkansas and Alabama, if Trump launched a third-party attempt he would immediately find himself with a deficit of 91 electoral votes of the 270 required to capture the White House, Bloomberg reported.

As Bloomberg points out, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel wants to require candidates to sign a pledge to support the GOP nominee as a requirement to participate in primary debates -- which is how the RNC boxed Trump in back in 2016.

While sore loser laws would keep Trump's name off the ballot, voters could still write him in.

"A third major candidate on a presidential ballot poses problems for the Republican or Democratic parties, which dominate US politics, by splitting the votes of similarly minded candidates and handing victory to the opposite candidate, something that has happened a handful of times since the 19th century," Bloomberg's report stated.

The sore loser laws are relatively untested. If Trump did attempt a third-party run, experts expect a lot of litigation to them.

According to Capital University law professor Mark Brown if Trump launches a third-party campaign, "all bets are off."

“It’s a draining process,” he told Bloomberg. “I know Trump’s wealthy, but it costs a lot of money to navigate, even without the legal challenges which are sure to come.”

Read the full article over at Bloomberg.