I'll agree you may be right.
But I also didn't think Shadegg was an unknown entity.
He was endorsed by just about everything from the center to the right wing of the party.
He had a massive coalition of endorsements, and I knew him as Mike Pences top lieutenant.
Enought articles had been written about him, that I honestly figured, most folks by now should have known who he was.
Remember, when the blogs started urging a change in leadership they were promoting Pence? Pence declined. Shadegg's name popped out and the first question out of most mouths was, "Shadegg who?".
IMO, a lot of folks took the talking points advanced by the blogs that chose Shadegg because Pence was out. Then Pence endorsed Shadegg and that was enough.
Look at the reactions to the new majority Leader. Look at the number of responses asking what he stands for. Theoretically people should have known if they'd done their homework about all three men. That's a dead giveaway people just followed what others said. Sure, the information was out there, but many took the shortcut.