I've looked through the i-voter guide that jukk0u posted about in another thread and not all the candidates have filled out information. Still a good starting off point for some comparisons and such. It is interesting reading information they are putting down to sell themselves on. What some will comment on, and what issues they choose not to. I've noticed that over the past few years the left is getting more extremest, whiny, laws don't apply to me, do as I say not as I do, someone else should have to pay my way, and guns are the devil...except when they are protecting famous people/political officials (see do as I say not as I do). Where as the right is pretty cozy with churches and 'the word of God' to the point where they are making decisions based solely on their religious preferences, cares too much about who is sticking it to who in the bedroom, and doesn't want abortions yet don't want to pay welfare to the single parent, struggling couple, or rape victim who may need financial support now.
There aren't a lot of candidates that are middle ground or not so extreme one way or the other, and if they are they tend to be anti-2A, or they say something really bizarre that makes you wonder how they will vote on issues in the future.
I was thinking this morning where I stood on a variety of issues, and looked to quantify myself compared to others. I ran across a website:
https://www.isidewith.com/ which I think I've done a few times before in the past. I liked how the questions give you 'other stance' so you can be a little more specific, and there are options for more questions. I figured the more questions I answered the more accurate the quantifications could be. It also has a small blurb about the issue, stats, and more. It was interesting to see where I stood compared to others who answered the questions. It also got me thinking about what issues am I really passionate about and are really worth targeting when researching candidates.
Mr. Q asked about switching political side once elected. Yes you can do that, you commonly see people switch to Independent if they do switch but it isn't a real common thing. But if you go from D to R or R to D, chances are your voting population won't re-elect you unless you do a good job in your position. Generally people will vote based on party lines and a few select issues. Switching to the other side of the party line looks deceptive to the voter base and gives a sense of distrust. So a slight shift to independent isn't met with as much backlash. Of you could just stay for whatever party you ran with and always vote the other side. Come election time most people aren't looking up your congressional voting sheet.
I wonder how many propaganda election ads will try and tie any right leaning candidate to Trump for some sort of negative spin?