Ummm, what? In a two-round presidential vote, it would be the first part no one cares about.
Round One: Jeb Bush. Hillary Clinton. Gary Johnson. Jill Stein. Gee, I wonder who makes it.
That's what people in France thought until 2002, when the left-wing vote splintered. Center-left candidate Lionel Jospin came in third, and voters had to choose between the center-right Jacques Chirac and the far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen. Chirac won the second round 82-18.
In which case the ultimate outcome, Chirac's victory, was never in question?
After the first round, Chirac's victory was never in question.
In the first round, it's hard to tell: Chirac 20%, Le Pen 17%, Jospin 16%, likely left-wing parties (the Workers' Struggle, the Greens, the Revolutionary Communist League, the French Communist Party, and the Radical Party of the Left) 20%, a likely right-wing party (the Hunting, Fishing, Nature, and Traditions Party) 4%, and a remaining half-dozen parties, whose names I can't quickly identify, with a total of 23%.
