"Simplifiying a national election to two people is a nonsense.". ....... but this is how many people decide their vote.... they don't bother with local candidates or what they individually stand for. if a candidate is a member of a political party then all information required relates to party policies, ideology and dogma/platform.
some even decide by watching advertisements.
town hall debates seem to have disappeared so candidates are often unknown.
the job as I see it is to speak with each candidate and try to engage them in a bit of debate to see how they tolerate others' opinions and if they become defensive or attack personally they're out of contention.
if they discuss intelligently and consider other points of view thoughtfully..... they can win my vote.
