Why is Everyone Running for President and not Mayor?
Most American mayoral elections feature a single candidate, running unopposed, says Melissa Marschall of Rice University, who studied a cross-section of 2016 municipal elections. How do we explain this lack of interest in managing cities, especially in a time when American mayors are leading on critical issues like climate change?
The Nieman Lab offers three answers.
The "victory-in-defeat incentive structure of modern presidential politics" encourages candidates to look beyond local opportunities. You can lose a presidential race but win a national platform with a punditry gig on MSNBC or Fox.
The rise of social media: outsider candidates can build support through Facebook and Twitter, slipping past the media's editorial bottleneck.
Digital media has decimated local news, including coverage of local government and politics.
Bottom line: the internet makes us more interested in national politics and less so in local politics, deterring talented public officials from running for the roles where they might have real impact.