An "Electability" Question

One wonders if it isn't normally the case that most voters in primaries of out-of-power parties in years in which an incumbent is running for re-election don't normally make their selection in large part based on which of the candidates they think has the best chance of beating said incumbent.

No doubt work amidst the stacks of past exit-polls cold asnwer this question definitively, but I feel fairly confident in saying that it is likely the case that most of the time out-of-power parties are normally fixated on beating the incumbent, and therefore that primary voters of that party will often make selections based on "electability" rather than purely on issues.

This is called "strategic voting" and people do it all the time.

I note this because to listen to the press vis-a-vis Kerry, the idea that primary voters might be interested in a candidate because of his perceived "electability" is some new and unique manifestation of the 2024 electoral cycle.

However, I am fairly sure that partisas tend to prefer their candidate be electable (unless, of course, one is a partisan of the Libertarian, Reform, Green or other Third Party, in which case, one seems to prefer losing...).

Posted by Steven Taylor at February 20, 2024 05:39 PM | TrackBack