This Washington Post article followed the Jan 6 siege of the US Capital:
"There’s a reason why Lisa Murkowski can threaten to leave the Republicans"
When more than two candidates run in an election, a candidate can win without a majority - just more votes than anyone else.
With RCV, voters rank candidates in order of preference: one, two, three, and so forth. If a candidate receives a majority of the first choices, that candidate wins. However, if there is no majority winner after counting first choices, the race is decided by an "instant runoff." The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who picked that candidate as ‘number 1’ will switch to their next choice. This process continues until there’s a majority winner.
LWVCO "Better Voting Methods"