In early 1992, George Bush 1 was set to easily win the presidency again. Democratic heavyweights (like Al Gore) decided to wait four years rather than risk losing the 92 election. So a third-rate politician, with a little history of philandering and corruption already before him, won the '92 primary. And the rest is history.

I think this Democrat saga has all these contenders throwing their hat in the Republican ring because politics is often not predictable. While I still think it is a Trump/Desantis race, and the entire Republican base will fall in line with the victor, the lower level contenders know that something could happen. There is a small chance they could be president. They might as well put their name on the R ballot. Not much sense in waiting four years!

As you know I have a different way. The TDG elections are annual. So every year, there will be a few people moving in, out, up, and down. But there won't be a big break in political direction because charismatic climber manages to find a niche to exploit and gets full control of the position he/she has won.