@schestowitz Does the US have a "second tour" concept? It's when a second tour of elections begins after no candidate gets more than 50% of votes, an election with the two most voted for candidates.
The simple idea is that when a candidate has less than 50% of votes, they're not really elected by the majority.
This helps overcome the fear of voting for a less famous candidate as then one can simply revote in the second tour.
So maybe the perceived famousness will no longer stand in the way.
After writing all this next I've come to the conclusion that this doesn't mesh well with the House of Representatives.
Ugh, US, why are you so… ugh.