I’m not sure there were any candidates that could win. Trump has enough charisma to pull off a lot, and democrats don’t understand that most of the country operates on a junior high level of understanding of most issues. They try to bring in the nuances of some issue, and all the Homer Simpson’s watching on TV get bored and confused. Trump gets them and knows “illegals are criminals and eat cats (isn’t that ALF?)” lands while “migrants cross the border illegally to make a better life for their family and our legal immigration system is bullshit unless you’re on an H1B,” doesn’t. They understand “food costs more, and Biden hasn’t fixed it,” but not “bird flu because of poor farming practices and shit luck, and the war in Ukraine is raising grain prices”.