It doesn’t work because the entire system above it takes massive amounts of private money, which influence downballot races. The parties spend a lot of money t

It doesn’t work because the entire system above it takes massive amounts of private money, which influence downballot races. The parties spend a lot of money to raise the profile of a few candidates in a state (people can only remember a few names anyway), then leverage their popularity to endorse candidates in downballot races. In practice, whatever local candidates supported by the largest party-sponsored get-out-the-vote operation wins. In NYC, that means a figurehead celebrity mayor and most of the lower positions filled by a political machine.