An unknown ex-governor could win the presidency purely through sheer grinding effort.
Evidence
In November 1974, just before Carter announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination, Gallup conducted a survey to gauge support for thirty-two potential candidates for president of the United States; Carter’s name was not among them. The governor of Georgia determinedly headed for the small towns of New Hampshire and the precincts of Iowa. “Jimmy Who?” worked harder than anyone else. — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 81