Quite often voters pick the name that gets their attention. When I first came here in the early 90s, I heard many times that if you have a Japanese last name, you had a better than even chance of winning. Not sure how much of that is true, either now or then.
I do know that having a last name that's alphabetically first compared to the others on the ballot get you votes. People are lazy and will select the first name in the list if party isn't a determining factor.
Then there's the name recognition. People with celebrity status get more votes just because people do know them. Doesn't matter why they are well-known.
If you trust certain groups and organizations, you can check their endorsements. Google them or check their websites. Candidates' sites also list their endorsements.
My mom used to vote for whoever was ahead in the polls, for two reasons:
1. She figured other people know more and would be voting for the best person, and
2. She could feel good that she voted for the winner!
I recommend you take a couple of hours to do your own research. Plenty of good, factual info online. That's always better than asking for someone else's opinion. They might be one of the voters I listed above!
