“He’s not very knowledgeable on the issues.”
Shallow people place far too much importance on that.
One can gain knowledge on issues, but one cannot amend one’s character over a short period of time, if at all.
So let me see if I hear you clearly; A candidate that has a deeper knowledge of the issues is the favorite of shallow people? That sounds quite odd.
It seems to me that one would want a good character candidate with a deeper and more thorough knowledge of the issues. But you don’t want that.