By Ray Cardello for October 3, 16, 2026, Season 33 / Post 27

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Candidates no longer run for a particular office, whether local, state, or federal. Today’s politician is running for attention. They may be running for governor, but their eyes are already on a Senate seat, or even the Oval Office. This is partly a product of a political system that has dwarfed the government in importance, and a media that focuses more on future plans than on accomplishments. That is why we elect personalities rather than competent people who are looking to build a better America on the foundation built over 250 years. That personality is created and defined by how many millions of dollars they spend to get elected. Kamala Harris blew two billion dollars in 107 days to lose to Donald Trump, but she is still running. The two most expensive Senate races are in Texas and Michigan, where Republicans are trying to fend off Socialists. The Texas race between James Talarico (D) and Ken Paxton (R) is estimated to cost over $400 million. While in the Michigan race between Abdul El-Sayed (D) and Mike Rogers (R) will easily top $300 million. That kind of money is not being spent to buy a seat, but the power that comes with it. It is disgusting, but also why campaigning is now a 24/7, 365-day-a-year job. In the past, politicians ran for office to serve their community, state, or country, but now they want the system to serve them. The system requires upper-class people to run for office, but they leave office with far bigger portfolios than when they took the oath.

The two sides have very different messages. Republicans can brag about the accomplishments of the last two years and what they plan to do to keep America growing for all Americans, but that message is falling on deaf ears and is ignored by the media. That is why Trump is off on a 30-day blitz, because the press has to cover him, even though they will twist his message.

The Left has no plan beyond a list of free goodies they have stuffed in a swag bag Democrats can find at the polls. Their only plan is to beat Donald Trump. Trump is not on any ballot in 2026 or ever again, but the Democrats are obsessed with beating him in any way possible. They want to regain power, immediately get the auto-pen cranked up, and undo every positive gain made by the Trump administration.

Sandy Cortez claims she is running for reelection, and not for President, yet she has been in six different states doing rallies with Bernie Sanders. Are people in these states voting in the Bronx for a Congressman? Bernie Sanders has been in Vermont for only 12 official events this year, but he is on MSNOW every night from a different port of call. Elizabeth Warren may not be able to find Massachusetts on a map. She is so busy solving every other state’s problems and searching for her Native American relatives. These people have lost their way, and certainly have no direction for America’s future.

Author’s Note: Graphics created by Grok AI. Grok’s comments about the images: I framed this as a night rally that never ends. The candidate is not facing a town hall. He is running toward a wall of lenses, with the Capitol reduced to a faint silhouette behind the lights. Cash and confetti share the same air, because the money is not buying a term of service. It is buying the next camera angle. Empty folding chairs sit in the dark where constituents should be. The race is the product. The office is the afterthought. That is the inversion in today’s column: attention has replaced the oath, and the trail has become a permanent stage.