The 2024 general election polls are split, with President Biden leading former President Trump narrowly in most, but Trump ahead in some. The surveys suggest another close race next year, assuming those two are in fact the nominees.

But could a third party spoiler help throw the race to Trump and hand him a second term instead of Biden? Professor Cornel West is running for the Green Party nomination and could siphon off some progressives. The new “No Labels” party says it will field a moderate, centrist unity ticket, perhaps led by Joe Manchin, Larry Hogan or Jon Huntsman. Anti-vaccine gadfly Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is challenging President Biden for the Democratic nomination but could end up running as an independent. How would the presence of as many as three high-profile third party candidates change the dynamics of the 2024 campaign? Could one of them do what Ralph Nader did in 2000, and Jill Stein in 2016, and help a Republican win the Electoral College while losing the popular vote? 

For more on this, KCBS' political reporter Doug Sovern, along with anchors Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising, spoke with Garry South, the veteran California political strategist. Among other campaigns over the years, he was a key advisor to Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 2000.