Very good thread. Bookmark it for when you get replies that want to endlessly rehearse "your presumably naive faith in elections vs my cynical dooming"
The US is not about to have a free and fair election. The state has put its thumb on the scale to favor the ruling party in multiple ways. It's a mostly free, somewhat unfair election. But still one where the ruling party can be overwhelmed by numbers. Hence the term "competitive authoritarianism."