Professor Bert Johnson has this article in The Conversation, an academically-oriented news organization, that links ballot access laws and the number of independent candidates who get elected to partisan office.
Professor Bert Johnson has this article in The Conversation, an academically-oriented news organization, that links ballot access laws and the number of independent candidates who get elected to partisan office.
A more likely reason is the relative size of election districts. It is literally possible to campaign door-to-door and impossibly expensive to use mass media. There is a reasonable chance that voters actually know the candidate, or can at least relate to them. In a larger state, a candidate might be a “retired high school teacher” or a “small businessman.” In a smaller state, the candidate would “English teacher at Bugtussle High” or “Owns Sam’s Garage on Route 36” A voter will know where Bugtussle High is and probably went there, and if they don’t know Sam, they know the garage is across from the pizza joint.
Independents inherently don’t have a continuing political organization. When an independent leaves office, the Democrats and Republicans are ready to step in and campaign for the replacement.
There are services which microtarget cheap media advertising via cable television and social media affordably, but not all campaigns are aware of them.
@HL,
Do these work with areal targeting for small areas with a few 1000 people?
They target particular zip codes.