| I don’t get it either. I think it is a combination of the two party system, and short attention span / tribalism. Look at the California primaries. In every race I can name, the right wing (like funded by the same people as Trump levels of right wing) and the republican token candidate are advancing to the general election. We have open primaries, so, in theory, there could be a corporate democrat vs. a populist/progressive democrat in the general elections. I say “token” republicans because they are clearly sending the B team. One ran on “too many dogs get to vote” and another (who advanced) on a transphobic platform. Typical breakdowns of California primaries in Silicon Valley, translated to European norms: 5% left, 15-25% center left, 30-35 moderate to hard right, 35-40 right wing nationalist. In the general, the first three categories will collapse, and the moderate to hard right democrat that gets elected will claim they have a mandate from the voters. Edit: The narrative dominating the news cycle is Trump’s claim the elections are rigged because the results were so far to the left. I guess he wants two republicans facing off in every general election race, despite the state being overwhelmingly blue. Also, on ballot initiatives, the state overwhelmingly votes left, not moderate right, so, when presented with an actual policy decision, they vote completely differently than they do when given a choice of candidates. |