Two people are out to show the nation that there are more candidates vying for the presidency than just President Bush and Sen. John Kerry.
Green party presidential candidate David Cobb and Libertarian nominee Michael Badnarik are set to debate Thursday on the West Mall in the fourth of five debates held in a month.
The debate will consist of prepared questions administered by KUT's Ben Philpot and random questions from the audience, said Ben Woosley, president of Libertarian Longhorns, which is co-sponsoring the debate with the Campus Greens.
"It's more about taking the argument and presenting each side," Woosley said. "The argument will always be there, but it doesn't take shape unless the people know about it."
Bush, Kerry, independent candidate Ralph Nader and Michael Peroutka of the Constitution Party were invited to attend.
Nader and Peroutka both declined, and the Bush and Kerry campaigns did not respond, Woosley said.
Since a victory by a third party candidate is less than likely, Badnarik and Cobb have focused their efforts on teaching young people about their parties.
"College students understand liberty at a very visceral and heartfelt level," Badnarik said. "They are biologically independent."
Green candidate Cobb said he thinks spreading his party's philosophy is the most important goal for Thursday.
"More and more people are refusing to be members of the two main parties," said Cobb spokesman Blair Bobier. "We're not going to win this election, but I think we will win in 2012 and to do that, we have to start now."
Because third party candidates usually secure enough votes to guarantee ballot access through state and local elections, campaigning for additional votes is not a high priority.
"On the one hand, it may be true that young people are more receptive and have an affinity for different voices, but they're least likely to vote," said John Sides, a government professor. "For most people, though, it's unlikely the debate will do anything other than confirm their choice."
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