"No more dynasties"--for women, that is

[crazycatlady]

111. It is name ID

Most people don't pay much attention to non presidential races. By the time the primaries are over and the general election begins, both candidates will have name ID in the 90%+ range. Those who don't know who Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is are far too young to vote or won't be voting anyways.

In a downticket race, increasing name ID is one of the major challenges and gives an advantage to the incumbent. Campaigns will spend a lot of money on increasing the candidate's name ID and if they have it from something else (spouse/parents, another office, celebrity, etc) it is an advantage and saves the campaign valuable resources.

This is also how celebrities get elected to public office. I've joked around in my own congressional district the only person who can take out the incumbent congressman is The Boss.