The ballot measures would also promote majority governance, as they would eliminate spoiler candidates with little or no hope of being elected.

Many have suggested that Prokhorov, who has close ties to the Kremlin, is little more than a spoiler candidate designed to split the middle-class vote and weaken the protest movement.

Some considered him a spoiler candidate, and argued that he would take support away from right-leaning candidate Larry Di Ianni (Spectator, 29 October 2003).

Speculation that James Green was a "spoiler" candidate was inflamed when it became known that Sullivan had helped Green in a dispute about office space.

But Mr. Westlund withdrew from the race in August because he said he did not want to be a spoiler candidate who would skew the election.

During most of the election campaign, Morial was viewed by most commentators as a spoiler candidate with little chance of victory.

But without cross-endorsement, smaller parties can exist only by running "spoiler" candidates like Ralph Nader.

Nader was criticized for being a spoiler candidate for running or having stolen the election from Al Gore, the Democratic Party nominee.

Dixon's centrist labourism brought about opposition from the Socialist Party of Canada, which ran a spoiler candidate against him.

The general election itself was expected to be close with Independent candidate Russ Potts as a possible spoiler candidate.