Three's a crowd in US elections where in next month's midterms assorted outliers ranging from Libertarians to Greens will try vainly to break the Democratic-Republican grip on the system.
Hundreds of third-party candidates are standing in the November 3 contest for the House of Representatives and Senate.
But to the growing frustration of voters wanting to disrupt the status quo they have no chance of beating the Democrats and Republicans.
"Why am I standing? I ask myself that every morning," admits Tim Sharman, who is running as an independent for Virginia's 8th District seat in the House.
"I don't feel I belong in the Democratic Party, nor in the Republican Party. So I thought, let's have a go at shaking it up.
"I come with a business background, so I believe in solutions and collaboration across the spectrum."
Sharman, 62, spent $40,000 on his push to gather the 1,000 verified signatures required to get on the ballot for the midterms.
He relies on friends for logistical support in his one-man campaign under the slogan "Government that works. Politics that doesn't get in the way."
"Actually running for office has been fun and engaging," he said.
"If you met me in a bar a year ago, I'd have opinions, but when you have to think through policy positions, it's a lot harder because there's always trade-offs, which has been an interesting exercise."
A record high 45 percent of US adults identified as independent in a Gallup survey released this year, pointing to growing dissatisfaction at the Republican and Democratic parties that have had a stranglehold on power since the 1850s.
Young people are much less likely to identify with either of the main two parties, the survey found, citing 56 percent of Gen Z-ers saying they were independent.
For Dianne Blais, standing for Congress as a Green Party candidate is not about winning but about continuing her work as a volunteer that ranges from serving in school positions to fostering children.
"I'm so unhappy and upset about what's happening in this country, and this is one thing I know how to do," said Blais, who has run for the Greens before.
She first joined the party to promote rail transport to ease road congestion, and now describes herself as primarily a peace activist, criticizing both Democratic former president Joe Biden and Republican President Donald Trump for failing to halt wars worldwide.
"I just hope to educate a few people," she said.
Blais cites Green candidate Ralph Nader, who won three percent of the national vote in 2000, as a major inspiration for the third-party movement -- though Ross Perot pulled in a huge 19 percent as an independent in 1992.
"The way the system is, there's just no winning when you're a third party," she said.
US elections are almost all winner-take-all contests, meaning a party that wins 15 percent or more of the vote nationwide can end up with nothing, and no Libertarian or Green has ever been elected to Congress.
Blais, 72, has avoided door-to-door campaigning this year due to aggressive dogs -- in contrast to Libertarian Party candidate Taner Lopez, 46, who has been pressing the flesh at every opportunity.
"I have weekly breakfasts, we have a tent at events like agricultural fairs," he told AFP.
"I knock on a lot of doors but I know people are tired of listening. They are frustrated with politics. If one person says 'this is amazing,' it makes me go after 10 other doors."
Lopez feels certain that he would win his House seat for Virginia's 7th District if he had the same resources as the establishment parties.
"We don't have money, so we can only go out, meet people, and expand our networks. It's not easy, but that doesn't mean we should give the main parties the chance to do whatever they want."
Undaunted, Lopez is already looking ahead to the next election.
"The new generations are tired of a system that is supposed to be a choice, but it's not. Once they look at other options, they start considering," he said.
"This is a marathon. I'm running in 2028, and I believe the Libertarian Party is the future."
Sharman is also eyeing a run in 2028. "It won't cost as much, and I'll have more support next time," he said.