Trailing candidates soldier on in obscurity

[left-of-center2012]

As the next debate nears, trailing candidates soldier on in obscurity

So it goes for the dozen or more presidential candidates whose place on the campaign trail straddles obscurity and oblivion. With donor money drying up, poll numbers going nowhere and the media losing interest, candidates struggling with single-digit (or even zero-digit) voter support are reassessing, rejiggering and relaunching.

A senator, one governor, one ex-governor and two congressmen have already quit the race. Many of those who haven’t are facing regular indignities on the trail, traveling repeatedly to states with early primaries only to find voters who wouldn’t recognize them standing in line at Dunkin’ Donuts.

Half of the remaining field of 20 fell short of the Democratic National Committee’s threshold to be on the debate stage Thursday, a potential death blow to their chances. Even several who do have spots on stage seem stalled in a contest dominated by the top few.

The large number of also-ran candidates who are centrists, all of whom are watching Joe Biden’s uneven performance on the stump and waiting for lightning to strike the front-runner. “I call them the understudies,” said Mike Murphy, a strategist who helped the late Sen. John McCain orchestrate a comeback. “They are all waiting for Biden to crumple.”

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-09-11/crunch-time-trailing-democratic-candidates

[NurseJackie]

1. It's one thing to bravely soldier-on...

... but it's quite another to use their campaign as a platform for smearing and denigrating the party. That kind of negativity generates apathy. Apathy results in low voter turnout. Low voter turnout means that it's easier for the GOP and Russia to steal elections. It constantly amazes me that anyone would do (or say) anything that directly benefits the GOP and the Russians.