Broadly, if one believes that elections are a tool that should be leveraged, it's crucial to understand that elections are not enough, Never have been. Elections are but a small part of the democratic system. All the other cogs - campaigns, fundraising, at all levels of government, for this or that office, within parties, all of that matters immensely. The people you mention who acted as a bulwark against the fascists were a product of that system. Who the choices are come election time is the product of that. Whether it's a Turd Sandwich v. Giant Douche. Or whether it's Mamdani v. Cuomo.