Alternative Elections and Presidencies in the Universe of Michael Richmond

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Let's say in 1981, Ronald Reagan is assassinated on March 30, by John Hinckley; George Bush thus becomes America's 41st President and by May 22, Bush has secured under the 25th Amendment the nomination of Senator Robert Dole as Vice President; Bush more or less stays true to the Reagan agenda and by 1984, has strong advantages against the prospective Democratic nominee, Walter Mondale. Everything else stays the same, Bush and Dole run in 1984 and as expected they win with 57% to 42% for Mondale-Ferraro, here's the map
The electoral vote is as follows 504-34

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Bush has pretty much the same thing happening in the second four years and already Bob Dole looks like he is likely to be the party's nominee in 1988, Bush see's the final two years of his presidency stalemated by the ongoing congressional investigation into the Iran-Contra affair and Democrats see little damage in going to much after Bush, but Dole is a different matter. Already the Democrats are salivating at the prospects of winning the 1988 election and want to do very little that could ruin there chances of retaking the White House, Kentucky's favorite son, and Senator, Monroe Fields goes on to win the Democratic Nomination for President and selects Liberal military hawk, Congressman Daniel Lewis of California to be his running mate; meanwhile Bob Dole emerges as his party's presidential nominee and selects Lamar Alexander to run on the ticket, little comes of this effort to challenge Fields in his own backyard, but Alexander would be an asset, he would fail to deliver his own home state come election day.
The outcome was pretty close, and Bob Dole garnered 232 electoral votes to 306 for Monroe Fields, but it was a win and here was the 1988 map.

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During the early part of 1989, Monroe Fields and his administration are confronted with the collapse of the communist regimes behind the Iron curtain, the fall of the Berlin wall and the overthrow of the Ceaucescu regime in Romania is the culmination of the fall of communism. Fields meets with Gorbachev in Malta in November and in December authorizes a military intervention into Panama. In 1990 there are mid-term elections and Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait in August, Monroe Fields at an impromptu press conference states that a "Line has been drawn in the sand". Secretary of State, Harold Owens canvasses for sanctions against Iraq and mobilizes for UN support for Military against Iraq. The mid-term elections are a mixed bag for the Fields administration; Democrats gain 9 seats in the House and suffer no losses in the Senate. A pretty good performance
247 (+9)- 188 (-9) House
51(0)-49 (0) Senate.
One of the many young men called to combat include young Marine Lieutenant, Michael Richmond, recently graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.

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As 'Operation Desert Storm' kicks off on January 16, 1991 with an Oval Office speech by President Monroe Fields; the Persian Gulf war is a ringing success and see's Michael Richmond and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (HMM-268) "Red Dragons", deployed to the Persian Gulf aboard USS New Orleans on December 1 1990 and returned to U.S. in August 1991; while Richmond was distinguishing himself in combat operations, a new political force in Ohio politics by the name of Eugene Maxwell had begun his first term as Governor. By the fall of 1991 most major Republican figures were opting out of the contest to challenge Monroe Fields, leaving Senator Frank Neal of Texas to emerge as the default Republican presidential nominee; Neal had all the advantages of a strong candidate, had a first class fundraising network, came from an electorally rich state, good field organization and was a pretty good Senate debater; he had clashed with Fields on many occasions while they were both colleagues and had once bested The president on the floor of the Senate; but time and experience and seasoning had made Monroe Fields an even stronger figure and this came through in the debates in October of 1992, despite the weak economy, Fields just came across as more likeable and had the advantages of incumbency, notwithstanding the tanking economy. The election result was 32 states and the District of Columbia for Fields to 18 for Jensen.

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Fields had his second term and his party had picked up seats in both the House and the Senate.
This was how the 103rd congress was configured:
The House was 271 (+24) to 163(-25)for the Republicans.
In the Senate the numbers played out as follows 59 (+8) to 41 (-9) for GOP. Fields had performed better in terms of coattail effect better than even LBJ and did as well as FDR, he was also the first Democrat since FDR to win a full second term; the question remained what he would do with an extension to his lease on the White House.
The early part of Fields new term was dominated by an attack on the WTC in February of 1993, then there was a shoot out between federal authorities and the Branch Davidian's in Waco, Texas in April; there was the distraction of the Gays in the military controversy, with a 'Don't-ask-Don't tell' compromise been worked out. The NAFTA treaty was pushed by the Fields administration in the fall of 1993; the Health care reform initiative faced stiff opposition and many had said that Fields had overreached in a similar way to how FDR had pushed a supreme court packing scheme in 1937; 1994 was a year where Monroe Fields had to deal with the Bosnian crisis, the Dayton accords were signed off on, but it was a temporary measure, and there would be a revisiting of the issue five years later. The mid-term elections of 1994, showed the 'six-year itch' tendency of voters to throw out the bums.
The result was dramatic losses in the Senate while the losses in the House were so-so.

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The outcome of the 1994 mid-terms was an 25 seat loss in the house for the Democrats and they lost 7 in the senate, so whatever gains the Democrats made two years previously was more or less neutralized.
In the House the make up was 209 (-62) to 226 (+63), while in the Senate 52 (-7) to 48 (+7). The Democrats lost control of the House, but about held on to the Senate. One of the shining Republican lights, Eugene Maxwell, was reelected Governor of Ohio with 71% and thus became the overnight front-runner for the 1996 Republican Presidential nomination; he was catapulted in to the lead over likely Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Dan Lewis.
1995, saw the terrorism erupt on the American homeland, when the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed in April, 168 people lost there lives and Monroe Fields showed his strengths as mourner-in-chief. There was a stand-off between the White House and the Republican leadership in the House over budget expenditures and there was a government shutdown as a result. Fields proved to be as effective in his abilities to master political events. It was against this backdrop that the 1996 election campaign would be played out.

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The 1996 campaign was bitter and closely fought and from the caucuses in Iowa in the early  part of the year, until election night the nation would be transfixed on who might emerge as the ultimate winner, both party nominee's Eugene Maxwell and Daniel Lewis between them were had resources and manpower dedicated to there individual causes and the election result was a reflection of that reality. The final Presidential election result was the closest since 1968. The Electoral vote was 285 to 253, Maxwell won 28 states to 22 and the District of Columbia for Lewis and his running mate Senator John McConnon of New York.

It was the first time since 1888 that the winner in the electoral college, did not win the popular vote. While losing the presidency, Daniel Lewis won it by 804,989. Eugene Maxwell  became President with 49.50%. In the Congressional races the new House was configured with 224 (-2) to 211 (+2). In the Senate, it was 53 (+5) to 47 (-5) The net result the Republicans while losing 2 house seats held control of that chamber and won 5 seats in the Senate to win control of that chamber for the first time in 10 years.

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Taking a break from the trevails of the poilitical events which were to dominate the last twenty years of the 20th Century, we see Michael Richmond winning a battlefield promotion on the field of combat along the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia border as his unit fights back elements of Iraqi's Republican Guard; his unit see's action in Somalia in April 1991 and by August of that year, Richmond is back on home turf, highly decorated and fishing around with something to do. The following year, he goes on the reserve list and enrolls at Duke University law school and graduates magna cum laude as Juris Doctorate in 1995; he returns to Texas and studies for the Texas bar exam. The following year while undertaking volunteer work on the successful Maxwell presidential campaign, he is involved in a full blown relationship with Katherine Maxwell daughter of the Republican party's presidential nominee. There is a White House wedding in September of 1997 and no sooner than the newly married couple, Michael Richmond is approached by influential Republicans from the Houston area, to recruit the President's son-in-law as a candidate for the upcoming congressional campaign in the 22nd congressional district. The fact that his mother was none other than Barbara Richmond, who had been elected to the United States Senate seat in 1994, to succeed Frank Neal who retired didn't hurt the young man's chances and to the the surprise of many, Michael Richmond proved to be a political natural and after a bitter primary fight and an equally tough general election campaign, Michael Richmond at 30 years old was elected to congress and would serve two terms in the House of Representatives. One of the many house committee's of which Richmond was to be assigned to was the Committee on Energy & Commerce. More to follow