Businessman Ross Perot ran as candidate for the Reform Party with economist Pat Choate as his running mate : he received less media attention and was excluded from the presidential debates and , while still obtaining substantial results for a third-party candidate , by U.S. standards , did not renew his success in the 1992 election . Businessman Ross Perot ran as candidate for the Reform Party with economist Pat Choate as his running mate ; he received less media attention and was excluded from the presidential debates and , while still obtaining substantial results for a third-party candidate , by U.S. standards , did not renew his success in the 1992 election .