I’m on the fence.
Gut instinct now says he was designated loser. Did HE know that? He campaigned extra HARD the last few days before the election. Did he know the fix was in and wanted to make it look good? Or was he a patsy? Did he think he really had a shot? (I did.)
I am actually quite certain he was the designated loser and knew it. If he didn’t know it, he has an IQ of 100. He wanted to look good, that’s he had energized himself at the end. Before that he had been quite lukewarm for some time, IIRC.