If they know you, they’ll vote for you… provided they don’t think you’re nuts.
In California, we have a long history of people spending ridiculous money in order to win elections, only to lose them because Californians aren’t impressed with money. They’re impressed with celebrity. That’s why two actors (Reagan and Schwarzenegger) have managed to get elected governor in spite of never getting elected to public office before. The more famous you are, the better chance you have at getting elected—provided you aren’t infamous.
In the mid-’90s we had two Republican idiots run for the U.S. Senate against our incumbent senators. Both had a lot of contributions. Both had a lot of support from the die-hard conservative Republican base. Both personally had a lot of money. Neither got elected. Why? Not famous enough.
Sounds superficial, but you can also apply this to a whole lot of national elections. Which candidate is more famous? Which candidate has received more name recognition, face time in the press, or even jokes about him on the late night talk shows (provided the comedians take him seriously even while they’re making fun)? Unless the guy who’s the most famous has managed to annoy more people than his opponent, he’s gonna win.
So there’s Kent’s Handy-Dandy Guide to Getting Elected. (1) Make sure everybody knows who you are. (2) Make sure they don’t know you’re a nutjob.
Guaranteed 81.4% accurate.