Voters in these areas are the ones I don’t understand…I’d vote for anyone “not incumbent”
That’s part of the problem. You would vote for “anyone” but you can’t find a coalition (much less a majority) to back “a specific someone”.
By contrast, the incumbent proved that they could find a majority to back them. And every subsequent election involves going back to that winning base and saying “pick me again”. That’s a lot easier than building up a new unknown candidate from scratch.
with no way out and end up with MJT representing you.
I’m not sure who MJT is. But a lot of these candidates have to win hotly contested primaries. It isn’t like the voters just don’t have options. It’s that the options they have build voting coalitions by making common cause with some really shitty media moguls and money men.
That’s part of the problem. You would vote for “anyone” but you can’t find a coalition (much less a majority) to back “a specific someone”.
By contrast, the incumbent proved that they could find a majority to back them. And every subsequent election involves going back to that winning base and saying “pick me again”. That’s a lot easier than building up a new unknown candidate from scratch.
I’m not sure who MJT is. But a lot of these candidates have to win hotly contested primaries. It isn’t like the voters just don’t have options. It’s that the options they have build voting coalitions by making common cause with some really shitty media moguls and money men.