MUNCY, Pa. — Kelly Gibson from Nanticoke wasn't impressed. Last week, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz went from trading insults through attack ads to swapping jabs on a debate stage.
"Unsure and certain about both candidates, really," was how she felt after watching the debate.
Gibson is not a registered independent, but she does plan to vote for a third-party candidate in the Senate race next week.
"I am registered one way or the other. Because if I'm not registered that way, I don't get a voice in the primary. And I think that's very unfair."
It's the same story for Beth Zielewicz from Muncy.
"I wasn't thrilled with either option, so I began doing research on the third-party candidates."
She's frustrated with the current two-party system.
"Political parties are a problem. They're very divisive. People will immediately discount a candidate and just because of the letter behind her name," Zielewicz said.
Both women often hear voters say a vote for a third-party candidate is just a waste of a vote. They disagree.
"It's not. It's a vote for the person you're voting for. So if enough people start this and start doing the research and voting for these independent third parties, things can change," Zielewicz says.
Jessica Glover, eastern vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania, is feeling good about that possibility for change. She says her party is turning independent voters.
"It's like the old saying: Insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. Democrats and Republicans have been taking turns year after year, and I think people are starting to get tired of that."
The Libertarian candidate in the Senate race, Erik Gerhardt, is polling at 3% in the most recent Insider Advantage poll.
Other polls have even higher percentages of voters choosing "other" when faced with the choice of Fetterman or Oz.
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