The whirlwind affair that is the 2016 presidential campaign has captivated the news media and much of the country. Over the course of the race, a number of themes have emerged as the dominant narratives defining this nomination cycle: voter anger, antiestablishment rhetoric, etc. But as the process to determine who will be each party’s respective nominee drags on, the notion that the two-party system can no longer fully represent the views of the American people is becoming clearer. 

The most obvious place to start with any assertion about the dynamics of this particular race is with one-man phenomenon Donald Trump. After claiming a decisive victory in his home state of New York last week, the businessman and long-standing frontrunner for the Republican nomination actually has a chance to secure the 1,237 delegates needed to automatically become the nominee, especially if he performs well in California, which he is currently expected to do.

Given the myriad of offensive, off-color, or otherwise ill-advised remarks that Trump has made throughout the campaign season, this feat is impressive in and of itself. But that he holds many views opposed by most of the so-called GOP establishment is perhaps even more surprising.

Last week on NBC’s “Today,” Trump said North Carolina’s transgender bathroom bill was “causing [the state] strife.” The bill requires people to use the bathroom of the sex listed on their birth certificate, and that has caused several businesses (such as PayPal) to withdraw from economic activity in the state. Trump said North Carolina was facing “economic punishment” for the bill and it should just “leave it the way it is … there have been very few complaints.” 

Trump later said he believes the decision should be made at the local and state level, but he still thought North Carolina’s law was “causing problems.”

Trump’s opponent for the nomination, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, seized on Trump’s statement, releasing an ad that insinuated “grown men pretending to be women” would be allowed to use the women’s restroom, while superimposing Trump’s words on top. 

The “bathroom” issue is just the latest in a string of positions that set Trump apart from the rest of the GOP pack. One is trade. Many Republican senators support free trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, while Trump has called it “a horrible deal.” His hard-line stance on immigration (building a wall and deporting illegal immigrants) has differed from most of his opponents. Trump promises to protect Social Security and Medicare and get tougher on Wall Street. 

On some of these issues, Trump shares common ground with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is now polling just a few points behind Hilary Clinton in national polls for the Democratic Party’s nomination. Both Trump and Sanders have driven large numbers of independents to the polls. They both have railed against their respective “party establishment,” in some cases characterizing it as corrupt and suppressing the will of voters.
On the Republican side, many party elites hope to take the nomination away from Trump, despite his having garnered a plurality of votes. And on the Democrats’ side, some states (such as New York), have party-registration rules have prevented thousands from voting. 

Some have defended these rules as a way for the parties to ensure that those voting in the primaries and caucuses are actually members of the party or that the delegates have some control over who becomes their choice. But in an election that has centered on the ineptitude, malfeasance, and corruption of the so-called establishment, circumventing the will of the voters may be a dangerous prospect for the survival of the two-party system as we know it.