So we didn’t have a primary because Biden was the presumptive nominee
The hyperbole does you no favors here. Every state held a primary. Two did not have the presidential race on their ballots (I think Florida and Delaware). In Texas there we 9 presidential candidates on the Democratic primary ballot. I know you really really really want that to be the same as not having a primary, but it isn’t (except for the one race in those two states). Blame the fact that most of them were a joke on the better candidates who chose not to run.
Why would anyone have bothered to waste money running against the presumptive nominee? Especially when the party went out of its way to conceal Biden’s unsuitability for the position until the first debate of the general election made the illusion impossible to maintain.
No, the non-primary was on purpose. Biden didn’t want to have to pass the torch at the of a single term and the party let him have the nom because he was president.
How do you propose getting better candidates with a chance of winning* on general election ballot?
* Fewer than 1% of legislative offices at the state and federal level are held by independent or third party candidates. Zero 3rd parties were on the ballot in all 50 states in 2024 (only three were in more than 10 states). There have been zero Electoral College votes to third party candidates since 1968 (including when Perot won almost 20% of the national popular vote). So if your suggestion is 3rd parties then you’re going to have to show your work on how to make any of them viable before the 2026 primaries.
The hyperbole does you no favors here. Every state held a primary. Two did not have the presidential race on their ballots (I think Florida and Delaware). In Texas there we 9 presidential candidates on the Democratic primary ballot. I know you really really really want that to be the same as not having a primary, but it isn’t (except for the one race in those two states). Blame the fact that most of them were a joke on the better candidates who chose not to run.
Why would anyone have bothered to waste money running against the presumptive nominee? Especially when the party went out of its way to conceal Biden’s unsuitability for the position until the first debate of the general election made the illusion impossible to maintain.
No, the non-primary was on purpose. Biden didn’t want to have to pass the torch at the of a single term and the party let him have the nom because he was president.
How do you propose getting better candidates with a chance of winning* on general election ballot?
* Fewer than 1% of legislative offices at the state and federal level are held by independent or third party candidates. Zero 3rd parties were on the ballot in all 50 states in 2024 (only three were in more than 10 states). There have been zero Electoral College votes to third party candidates since 1968 (including when Perot won almost 20% of the national popular vote). So if your suggestion is 3rd parties then you’re going to have to show your work on how to make any of them viable before the 2026 primaries.