There is only one wasted vote and that is the one not cast.
Voting for the loser? Who would that be?
Until the votes are counted, you have know idea who has won or lost.
Like it or not the majority chooses the representative at the election.
So you vote for who you want, as I will vote for who I want.
Democracy is about who is in power. Nancy Pelosi never represented the majority of anybody. Yet she had full control over the House agenda for several years.
In a DEM House district, there are 400,000 adults. Yet 20,000 votes is enough to win a primary and control the seat. There is no consensus. It is all about controlling the majority party.
The minority party voters have no influence. The people drawing the lines of the districts have more influence than anybody.