Is the sixth time the charm?
South Jersey’s Hirsh Singh has mounted no less than five runs for high office in the past seven years: New Jersey governor in 2017, both U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey in 2018, U.S. Senate again in 2020, and a second run for governor in 2021. Singh failed to secure the GOP nomination in each of those races, but on Thursday, the perennial candidate announced a run for… president.
Yes, president.
“Today Americans face grave threats from the corruption of both Big Tech and Big Pharma which have relentlessly attacked our freedoms,” Singh declared in his announcement video shared via Twitter, a former fierce advocate for former President Donald Trump who is lightyears ahead of the opposition in every poll.
So why is he doing this? A young man who, objectively, has charisma and speaking skills regardless of how you may feel about his character and the campaigns he’s run? Someone who might’ve found some success focusing on building a political career at the local level (although he did reportedly lose a condo board race last August)? But who’s now entering into a national race with no cash, no major backers, and a negative chance of ultimate success?
I guess it depends how you opt to define “success.” I’m not a psychologist, Save Jerseyans, and have no interest in trying my hand at it. What we can conclude is that running for president – especially in the social media age – is becoming a business as much as a civic activity. It used to be that every major race featured serious candidates, candidates attempting to make a serious point, and a gadfly or two (or several) who weren’t trying to be famous so much as they had a screw lose (or several). Today, major party primaries attract a small army of influencers and wannabe influencers hoping to build a brand by running for president on a large stage.
“Winning” isn’t really the goal. “Getting known” through social media dust-ups and coverage from the permanent political media establishment which could help build a monetizable following online is the new definition of success for many modern candidates.
Healthy for our already ailing system? I’ll leave that to you to decide.
Here’s one take perhaps worth considering: Robby Starbuck, a Cuban American filmmaker who gained a following in his own right after a failed 2022 congressional campaign, shared some harsh post-announcement advice with Singh on Twitter which the millennial New Jerseyans unsurprisingly didn’t take very well…
https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1684811638120079360
Appreciate that but the field is full already. It just comes off poorly at this point.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 28, 2023
