Duverger’s law, the way the elections are winner takes all makes it mathematically certain there are only two viable options. It’s basic math which people failed at.
You also have to include the swing states having a highly disproportionate amount of voting power, the wealthy having a disproportionate amount of influence, and the electoral college making small farm states election makers
When parties are roughly evenly matched, elections often turn on irrelevant or misleading considerations such as economic spurts or downturns beyond the incumbents’ control; the outcomes are essentially random. Thus, voters do not control the course of public policy, even indirectly.
Duverger’s law, the way the elections are winner takes all makes it mathematically certain there are only two viable options. It’s basic math which people failed at.
You also have to include the swing states having a highly disproportionate amount of voting power, the wealthy having a disproportionate amount of influence, and the electoral college making small farm states election makers
Which makes it all the more important for candidate not to pull a Harris and try to gaslight voters.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691169446/democracy-for-realists
duvergers law does not say that. it’s not"basic math". it’s a useless tautology