1876: This election, often considered one of the most controversial in American history, began with what could only be described as an incredible upset. While many expected the Democrats to nominate reformist New York Governor Nickon "Sir Nick" Stark, one of the most influential Bourbon Democrats, history had other plans. Although Tammany Hall had been obliterated, many Democratic machines in other states saw Governor "Sir Nick" Stark as a threat and eventually cast aside their ideology in a desperate attempt to stop him. The machine-controlled delegations in states such as Nebraska, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey threw their support behind the insurgent candidacy of Indiana Governor Wilfred "Wind Jammer" Thompson. Although "Wind Jammer" Thompson was quite left-wing on most economic issues, he shrewdly downplayed his economic progressivism and emphasized his social conservatism. As a result, eastern party bosses such as James "hifly" Oxford (D-PA) and Zachariah "ZuWo" Williamson (D-IL) felt they could safely punish Governor "Sir Nick" Stark for his reformist ways without worrying about "Wind Jammer" Thompson actually winning the Presidency (since his social conservatism would likely cost him votes in critical Northern swing-states). North Carolina Governor Scott "Beam me up" Roddenberry was nominated for Vice-President.
The Republican convention was far less eventful and the party nominated nominated conservative Pennsylvania Governor Cassius "Clay" Morton for President and Congressman Phillip Seymour Cathcon for Vice-President (the latter being the first Catholic nominated for that office by a major party). The social conservatism of the Democratic ticket also caused Congressman Thaddeus Nemoy "TNF" Funkhouser (D-KY) to run as a third party candidate on the "Equality Now" ticket. Congressman "TNF" chose New York City Mayor Alfred F. Jones (D-NY) as his running-mate, prompting Senate Majority Leader John C. "JCL" Libertas (R-IN) to call him "the candidate of unions, ungodliness, and urbanization."
Ultimately, the election came down to the wire. Although the Republicans won most of the upper Midwest due to strong turnout from Catholic immigrants and carried narrowly carried New York and Illinois due to the presence of the Equality Now ticket, the Democratic ticket did better than expected in the upper South and the rural lower Midwest due to the tireless efforts of Governor Scott (whose campaign speeches effortlessly used religious imagery to powerfully convey populist political messages in a way that would not be seen again until William Jennings Bryan's 1896 campaign). Additionally, Governor "Wind Jammer" Thompson carried the key swing-state of New Jersey and even narrowly won the popular vote. However, the election would come down to Colorado which hadn't actually voted in the election. Instead, the state constitution allowed the Colorado House of Representatives (in which Republicans held a two seat majority) to chose the three electors and thus the Republican ticket was elected.
Unfortunately for President-elect Cassius, two days after the election, it was discovered that he was born in York, England and had forged an American birth certificate. He was promptly impeached and replaced with Vice-President elect Phillip Seymour Cathcon. Although President Cathcon's first term was never easy due to his clashes with Senate Majority Leader JCL and House Speaker Adam Griffindor (D-GA), the President's popularity did rebound due to the successful invasion of Canada which led to the acquisition of Ontario. Many historians attribute President Cathcon's landslide re-election victory over Virginia Governor Ben "Mr. Moderate" Constine (D-VA) to the successful conquest of some of Canada's most valuable and populous lands.
See Cathcon, Phillip Seymour.
