How do you develop your own Thomas Massie candidate in your district?
Preferably, you will promote a TM candidate within an existing Party organization. Ideally, since Thomas Massie is a Republican, we're looking for our TM candidate to be the Republican Party's nominee. The primary selection process could progress as it normally does. But, an integral part of every candidate's platform would be whether they would run as a TM candidate. Then, primary voters could take into account whether or not a candidate agrees to run within the TM structure. He would be required to enter into the enforcement contact within a short time from declaring his candidacy for the primary race.
Gathering enough signatures to get your TM candidate on the ballot, outside of the primary process, is not really a viable option. Neither is getting signatures to gain ballot access for a new party. If the Republican party will not run a TM candidate, then you could approach other parties who already have ballot access in your state to see if TM could run as their party's nominee. RFK Jr got on the CA ballot as the candidate for the CA Independent Party after abandoning his original strategy of starting his own "We the People" party. Taking advantage of an existing party's ballot access is really the best option. Both the Libertarian and Independent parties might be open to endorsing/running a TM candidate.
A grass roots write-in campaign would not be a winning strategy. However, it's not totally without merit in that it would at least give many citizens the option of being able to vote for someone they believe in, instead of the least awful candidate. The only people who don't waste their votes are those who vote for someone they truly believe in.
Last November was the first national election I've voted in since Ross Perot ran in '92. And, I voted this time for RFK Jr. You might wonder why I voted for someone who had dropped out of the race. Well, he was still on the ballot in CA. And, he was the only candidate I believed in.
When I vote, I view it more as sending a message than selecting a politician for a particular office. I won't go to the polls and waste an hour of my time, while holding my nose and voting for the least objectionable. My vote for RFKJ was real and, although a very small message, it was my heartfelt message: he was the man I'd be proud to have representing me.
If you go to the polls to help pick the winner, then you are the one wasting your vote.