Stein and Johnson do their best to interrupt the Trump and Clinton show

This election is, for all intents and purposes, a fight between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, but two othercandidates are doing their best to make their voices heard above the din.

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This week, Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein enjoyed a moment in the spotlight as she tookpart in a nationally televised town hall meeting on CNN.

"The unique thing about the Green Party is that we are the one national party that is notcorrupted by corporate money," Stein told the audience as she took questions on her party andits policies.

Green promises

The Greens leanleft and advocate higher taxes on the wealthy, a much smallerdefence budget and the closure ofmost U.S. military bases overseas.

The Green Party has been polling in the low single digits but hopes to lure disenchanted Democrats,particularly those Bernie Sanders supporterswho can't bring themselves to vote for Clinton.

Clinton supporters argue a vote for the Greens is a vote for Donald Trump.

Many Democrats still blame the Greens for their party's narrow loss in the 2000 election.

Green candidate RalphNadertook less than three per cent of the popular vote, but in a tight race between Al Gore and George W. Bush, many Democrats felt he handed victory to the Republicans.

Stein was asked during the town hall meeting whether she worried her campaign could lead to aTrump presidency. Her answer echoed thoseof Green Party supporters back inthe 2000 race who argued there's little difference between the two major parties.

"I will have trouble sleeping at night if Donald Trump is elected," Stein said."I will also have trouble sleeping at night if Hillary Clinton is elected."

Libertarian platform

Stein isn't the only hopefultrying to break into this two-horse race. Gary Johnson and his Libertarian Party have been making a spirited pitch to voters whodon't likeTrump or Clinton.

Like the Greens, the Libertarian platform has some controversial clauses, including a pledge to legalizenarcotics and make abortion strictly a matter of personal choice with no say from government.

The partywould also eliminateincome tax, close down the Internal Revenue Service and scrap thesocial securitysystem.

CNN held a televised town hall meeting for Johnson and his running mate Bill Weld back inJune. Both men are former governors and former Republicans. Theirpoll numbershave beenhovering at around 10 per cent, though some surveys have put them slightly higher.

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For Libertarians, the goal now is to get their candidate's poll numbers up to 15 per cent to secure a spot inthis year's presidential debates.

For now, neither the Greens nor the Libertarians have a realistic chance of winning the WhiteHouse in November. But in this election, when neither of the two main candidates enjoy highapproval ratings, voters might be more willing to kick the tires of other parties.

And if enough decide they like whatthey see and the race is tight,it could have an impact on which of the big-name rivals becomes the world's most powerful leader.