That Amlici’s followers desired that he become king should be no surprise at all. Amlici has been identified as being of the order of the Nehors and that complex includes pressure to kingship along with the concomitant pressures to social stratification through vertical economic distribution and the wearing of costly apparel. What is also significant is the ease with which Amlici appears to develop a following. Even more than the following is that these people are described as “powerful.” How does this happen in the reign of judges?
There is no way to be sure, but it is quite likely that the people who supported Amlici were also followers of or sympathizers with the order of the Nehors. As adherents to the competing politico-religious ideals, they were likely those in a position to become wealthier than other people were (it is rarely the poor who desire to create vertical social stratification). With their wealth, and presumably their connections to outside communities, they might easily be seen as more “powerful” than the more egalitarian societies of the faithful Nephites. Sorenson suggests that Amlici might have been a lineal descendant of Zarahemla (king of the city when Mosiah1 arrived) and thus would have had a strong political base of those who were also more directly descended from Zarahemla. While this explains why he was considered a candidate for king, it is more logical that the power base was derived from the later division between Nephites and Nehors.