But this story is about more than just what’s happening in California. There’s a reason the bursting hype bubble has become a trend.

These days, all politics is national. If a local candidate or party wants an outcome different from their state’s partisan lean, they need to be intentional about separating themselves from the national narrative rather than playing into it.

The insurgent campaigns of Jaime Harrison (South Carolina) and Amy McGrath (Kentucky) and John James (twice in Michigan) all reverted to the mean in the same exact way that Larry Elder and the Republican recall effort have in California. They were each representing a minority party in their states and got swept up in the buzz and backing that was coming from supporters who reside in other states, where their party is actually popular.

So as these candidates railed against the opposing tribe’s bogeymen, the dollars flowed in, but the votes didn’t follow.