Envision that person as receiving a plurality of votes in an electoral district, and ask yourself why someone, anyone, wasn't in a position to stand in their place.
In that case the first step would be to research what kind of opponent they faced in the primary and general election. That might tell you more. Did they actually win against a good opponent for reasons outside of your knowledge?
Has no one else mentioned this on LW yet?
Elizabeth Edwards has been elected as a New Hampshire State Rep, self-identifies as a Rationalist and explicitly mentions Less Wrong in her first post-election blog post.
Sorry if this is a repost