It would help if they actually ran a candidate that leaned more moderate than extreme. They seem to choose candidates specifically to rile up the Republican base. That makes sense if this is actually a football rivalry or something but if they want to get elected they need to appeal to the middle, which doesn't seem (at least from my perspective) to happen very often.

Biden and Harris were both centrist choices. Harris specifically campaigned with never-Trump Republicans by her side. It didn't matter. Republican campaign ads and their captive media ecosystem portrayed them as radical leftists.