Socialism

Yeah I would say run as an independent socialist or run with an already existing group in your area. I joined DSA as they're the main socialists/labor force in my area that runs candidates and wins. But yeah while I'm biased towards saying you should join them you should really just find whatever group has momentum in your area and work with them. Or if there is nothing like that in your area (since you said you're in a red area) then running as an independent could be pretty effective if you have the resources to do it since you can push socialist talking points that resonate with people without being labeled a socialist. But yeah at the end of the day you're gonna need to meet people and make connections with people if you want to run so either you can get the resources you need to run or at the very least know people who will help you with door knocking and phone banking.

Think of it like this. Person A is a "good" person. Wishes no harm on others, actively tries to make life better for others. But doesn't want office because of the stigma surrounding politicians. They accomplish vanishingly little.

Person B, on the other hand, is a "bad" person. Hates others that aren't "like him", a list which grows shorter with every "other" that is eliminated. Wishes only for his own benefit. This person WANTS office, because of the power to further his own ends. He accomplish a terrible amount of awful things.

Which would you rather have in office?

However, there is still some part of me that is screaming these positions are important only because of the potential opponents that can take the reigns instead.

This is why both are important. Even if you don't accomplish much in office, you can keep the greater evil out of office. We need to offset as much systematic evil as possible if we want direct action to be effective. Politicians won't save us, but some of them will absolutely make things worse.

It's better to join a Socialist org like PSL and build up that better party than it is to engage with the DNC as a "good" politician. Collective power is better than individuals throwing themselves into the meat grinder.

Nah you have to kiss babies instead of shooting them

Anarchist here. I don’t think there’s a one size fits all answer to this— in some adequately rural towns you can have a real impact engaging in local politics.

In most mid-size cities working in local government will feel like pulling teeth and you won’t be able to accomplish anything you want to. You will also be working alongside people who want to be career politicians.

Personally I think your energy is usually better spent organizing to address local issues directly. Even if you start small (filling potholes or cleaning up a park) I feel community work often snowballs in a positive direction because accomplishing small things can help remind people that they can just take responsibility for things they want to see changed. Conventional politics seems to lean towards the idea that you’re outsourcing your responsibility at the ballot box, which would be excellent if representatives actually shouldered your responsibilities, but they usually do not (and probably could not) and we end up with a sort of responsibility vacuum where things are bad and no one feels personal responsibility to fix them.

The answer is always both