Don't understand it from the article given to me.
Basically, you have third parties on the ballot that often endorse people running for the main parties too. For example, for President Bush, he was a candidate for both the NY Republican Party and the NY Conservative Party. If for some reason, he did something to piss off the Conservative Party, they could endorse someone else, which could end up costing him votes in the state.
It might seem silly, but there are a lot of voters who are members of one of our 3rd parties that take it very seriously and vote straight party line. It gives those 3rd parties a lot of pull in close races, where if the Republican candidate doesn't get the endorsement of the Conservatives or maybe the Independence Party, it could cost him the election.
Poll
