US Authoritarianism

In the primary. And if your candidate gets enough votes there, then in the election. But first in the primary. If you don't get past the primary, then your candidate didn't get enough votes. That's how democracy works.

And I'll be the first to say that First Past the Post is a garbage system that could and should be replaced with any of about a half a dozen better ones, but first you've got to actually win a regular election and get someone in who might actually pass something like Ranked Choice, or get a ballot measure with enough votes.

Oh, and also try running for something like city council first and, you know, eventually work your way up to Congress or the Presidency, once you've established that you're actually serious about governing, and not just out there running vanity campaigns or playing spoiler.