...usual answers are: get into office for the benefit of the public, to get into office for the private benefit of yourself and your cronies, to make a public statement about issues without seriously trying to win the election, and to make a private statement to the incumbent with the hope of changing policy. The first three are pretty obvious; the latter one needs a little explanation.

Suppose you've been petitioning a city council to remove religious artifacts from public buildings and getting stonewalled--sound familiar? Without either incentive or clout, the incumbent has no reason to respond to you. By challenging him for the seat, you might make him take you seriously. If you're openly Atheist, make church-state separation a big issue, and receive a non-trivial percentage of the vote, those artifacts might get quietly removed to placate your voters and make you go away--and you might win anyway, in which case you can simply do it yourself)

The second question you should ask...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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