Libertarian vice presidential candidate says third parties structurally designed to fail

What was said

"The real challenging part is that the duopoly's perfectly structured to blast those people. I mean, just to crush them. They keep 'em off the ballot. They force you to spend millions and millions of dollars to even get on the ballot. And then once you get on the ballot, you've already, you know, blown your whole wad and you don't have any money to put into ad campaigns to actually try and compete, then you don't get any fucking media coverage because you're looked at as a joke oftentimes, and oftentimes you are one."

Russell, who ran for Libertarian VP in 2024 and came within 3 votes of winning the nomination with 49% delegate support, explains why he now believes the two-party system is structurally designed to prevent third-party success. He describes ballot access costs that exhaust campaign funds before advertising can begin, combined with media blackout. He now advocates the 'paleo strategy' of supporting anti-establishment candidates within major parties like Thomas Massie.