The problem isn't that I have ran 9 times. The problem is that only once did anyone actually try to run against me in a serious fashion (Though I did make it incredibly easy that cycle 
). I can't "prop up" my opponents, though I did try to do that also. I am not sure if it is the "closeness" of people in this game or the fear of a primary/general challenges causing permenent animousities, but for some reason, people are reluctant to challenge incumbents in this game, beyond what one would naturally expect from "strength of incumbents" and "name recognition".
People are reluctant to challenge incumbents in this game because that almost always means they will lose. Ironically, this doesn't extend to Presidential elections, because lately it seems like no one ever wants to run for more than one term at a time, which is perhaps one of my least favorite new trends around here, but that's off-subject.
People will run for office if they believe they have a shot. You guys in the South are currently forming some sort of southern Bloc party. Do you expect anyone to challenge that? You aren't helping the situation by basically encouraging the turn of the region into an official one-party state.
Running and losing ruins reputations, and creates new ones where the person is just a repeat loser. Who would want to subject themselves to that?
The idea is actually a lot more complex then that. The south has a regional registration board; my hope was that the regional bloc would dominate at a federal level, and people would divide themselves into factions based on the different houses. The Imperial Senate would be contested, but by two or three people within the same organization.
And the problem with finding a challenger for Yankee is simple. PiT and I have to scrape around to keep the regional posts full, and our other active posters are already involved in the federal government. If there were more active people, finding challengers to incumbents wouldn't be a problem. Hell, if I thought I could leave the regional government to its own devices, I might run just to shake things up. Eh, maybe not. Don't know that I would want this job. And Yankee does do a good job.
