Politics 101: Why do candidates run in presidential primaries, and continue to run, when they have no chance of winning?
1-You never know, e.g., Jimmy Who? or the Comeback Kid Bill Clinton or the skinny kid with a funny name Barack Obama.
2-You become famous by developing name recognition, e.g., Pat Robertson, Gary Bauer.
3-You position yourself for higher political office or future campaigns, e.g., HW Bush, Joe Biden, Ben Carson.
4-You position yourself for higher income jobs, increased speaker fees, e.g., Mike Huckabee, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
5-You’re described in media the rest of your life as “former presidential candidate,” e.g., Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, et al.
6-It’s fun, you travel around treated as royalty, media follows you, e.g., Herman Caine, Carly Fiorina.
7-You keep your issue in the news, e.g., Ralph Nader, Jesse Jackson.
8-Egos and Logos, e.g., Ross Perot, Michael Bloomberg.
9-Money, Sex, and Power, or what Scripture calls Lust of the Eyes, Lust of the Flesh, and Pride of Life, e.g., John Edwards, Gary Hart, and enough others to run the alphabet.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
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