They find themselves spending more and more of their time raising big bucks from donors. The more money it takes to run for elected office, the fewer the people willing to do it. The connection is obvious.
Incumbents have an edge from the start.
Already in power, they're the better bet, so special-interest money flows to them. And in campaigns, whoever spends the most almost always wins. It's a disturbing trend. Unless North Carolina changes its system for financing campaigns, democracy will suffer. The increasing role of money in politics threatens to narrow the field to the wealthy and those willing to sell themselves to the highest bidder.