Why is it difficult for an independent to be elected?

Answer 1

Candidates that are part of organized political parties have an easier time raising funds, finding volunteers, getting onto ballots, getting invited to debates, coverage by the media and many other reasons.

Money plays a big role in politics - it costs money to hire organizers, purchase ads and rent office space, for example. Major political parties like Democrats and Republicans tend to have lots of connections to money, particularly from wealthy voters, as well as corporations and/or unions.

Major media outlets, as well as many members of the public, assume that most elections will have similar results to the most recent elections for the same office. So in a district where a close two-way race was the most recent outcome, an independent candidate might have a hard time convincing folks to take her/him seriously. There is usually no legal criteria for inclusion in televised debates (which can be an important part of any election), and so the perception that a candidate has no chance can often lead to their exclusion from these events.

Modern political parties also usually have a network of supporters who reside in a given electoral district - independent candidates are likely to go into an election with much smaller networks.

There are exceptions to this general rule - independent candidates that go into election with strong name recognition (e.g., they're a celebrity or an incumbent politician who has left her/his party). A final challenge for independent candidates is to actually get registered on the ballot for an election. In some elections (for example, the Canadian parliament) this is simply a matter of collecting a moderate number of signatures from registered voters. Other elections have stricter rules - for example, getting on the ballot for every state in the US Presidential election can be quite challenging without the backing of an established political party.

Answer 2

The U.S. has only two major parties They each have a national organization and stay active at all times, raising funds , supporting party members who hold offices and planning for the next election. A independent has to create his own campaign machinery which is very difficult to do in any reasonable time. He has to coax those people who have the time and interest to work on political campaigns away from the major parties and get them to work for him. That done, he has to find something that makes him more attractive than the major party candidates in order to get elected.

Answer 3

He doesn't have any money, that's WHY!