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There are indeed many clever people in this world, and after the Habsburg Family gave up the struggle for the Polish throne, several other European royal contenders also announced their withdrawals.
This included the Bonaparte family, with Napoleon III wisely giving up the enormous pitfall that was Poland. Even though he wanted to support Poland as a counterbalance to Austria, Napoleon III still did not have faith in Poland's success.
Whether the Polish looked down on them for that reason remains unknown. After all, in those days, the Bonaparte family was still seen as an upstart with normally no qualifications to be a candidate.
If the Polish had indeed listed them as a backup option, wouldn't that have been awkward? With the Bopo's knack for self-destruction, it wouldn't have been surprising if they did something like that.
Another strong contender, the Gotha family, also withdrew, daunted by Poland's dreadful strategic position.
