I felt a bit cope-ful when my lil town’s social-oriented local candidate deserved a dedicated smearing campaign by UR while literally everyone there was positive about them. That’s the ceiling for now as long as UR has that much regional power, administrative resource and just cash. I’m not a believer in electoral politics, especially not today, and not with local KPRF cell that (unlike yours?) is as good as absent in my experience, but there is a potential, a demand, that can be acted on if/when total apathy and ER gets weaker. Not holding my breath and still figuring out what may work there with some trial and error.