[michaelt]

To an extent - but a politician might have to deal with 30 different issues, and choosing the right stance on 5 of them will get you enough support to get elected.

Say the right things on taxes, guns and abortion and you can get elected regardless of your stance on nuclear power or microplastics or cryptocurrency.

[randomdata]

The election is merely the hiring process. Getting elect is necessary, but not where the job ends. It is post-election when the constituents start hammering you with their demands and as their representative you have to find the general sentiment of the crowd.

It is true that not everyone believes in the democratic process and, as such, will never speak to their representative again, if they even managed to during the election campaign, but then they're not really constituents in any meaningful sense and can be safely ignored.