Winner‑Take‑All Makes Influencers Dangerous

In first‑past‑the‑post systems, major parties face sharp tradeoffs when dealing with polarizing online influencers: courting them can win marginal votes but risks normalizing illiberal views, while excluding them risks losing access to large, mobilized audiences. The structural incentives of winner‑take‑all politics therefore turn platform personalities into strategic dilemmas for democratic parties. — Shows that an electoral system (plurality voting) shapes not just policy choices but how parties manage platformized cultural actors and the boundaries of acceptable coalition partners.