Brad L. Davis '00 was a conservative Republican. Kyle D. Hawkins '02 also had Republican leanings. But both were unsatisfied with traditional party politics and wanted something more.

The Minnesota residents hoped to find a better forum than the current two-party system and were attracted to the Reform Party.

But after nearly a decade, the third option in the political spectrum has yet to convert unsatisfied voters, especially students, into a strong political force.

While the party initially found appeal through its idiosyncratic founder, H. Ross Perot, and was later given new life by Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, its current torchbearer, Patrick J. Buchanan, is alienating voters like Davis and Hawkins. And so the Reform Party is still struggling to gain national credibility as it attempts to break the two-party hegemony.

The Birth of a Party

In the last decade, the Reform Party has moved into the mainstream of American politics, organizing a national effort to challenge the two-party system.

In 1992, billionaire Perot ran for president under the organization "United We Stand America," spending over $60 million of his own money in the race.

After the effort, in which he drew 19 percent of the popular vote, Perot and his supporters organized the Reform Party, focused on such issues as balancing the budget, reforming campaign finance and election laws and protecting American jobs.