Lesser known presidential candidates could impact race, but visibility and money are obstacles

FOX 2 (WJBK) - Depending on which polls you see, some reports show some 60-70 percent of American voters don’t want a rematch of President Joe Biden versus former President Donald Trump.

There are alternative candidates out there. The only problem is how many people know of them.  For now — the most notable alternative to Biden or Trump is Republican candidate Nikki Haley.

But there are a number of other politicians out there — including two men — Republican Ryan Binkley and Democrat Dean Phillips — who are not packing it in yet.

But how well do early voters know of them and the independents in this race?  FOX 2 went to a polling place on Detroit’s west side.

We got varied responses to questions about Phillips, Binkley, Jill Stein, Cornel West, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr,

"I’m familiar with Robert F. Kennedy because of his father," said voter Terrell Brown. "That’s history. He’s a Kennedy. You’ll remember him."

Dave Dulio is the distinguished professor of political science at Oakland University.

"The effort that’s underway to encourage Democratic voters to vote for uncommitted next week is likely to see more success than Dean Phillips," he said.

Dulio says one of the biggest challenges for candidates like Binkley or Phillips trying to break through the clutter, is money.

However the path to relevancy is easier for the three independent candidates.

"Somebody like Robert Kennedy, Jill Stein, Cornel West, who are likely going to be on the ballot in November, in a year like this, they can have a significant impact on the results," he said.

FOX 2: "Will there ever be a time, whether in our lifetime or generations after us, where other party candidates will be taken more seriously?"

"This is the year, where if you look at the survey data that’s out there, more Americans, a percentage of Americans, than anytime in history, are interested in or want to see a Third Party front and center in a presidential race," he said.