United States presidential election, 2024

[Simfan34]

After years of popular cynicism and a "revolving-door presidency" with the last two-term president being GWB, 2024 is the United States' first real multi-party election, with four candidates- Texas Governor Julian Castro, Senator Rand Paul, Senator Margaret Hoover, and Governor Rod Dreher- being considered to have a chance at victory. While incumbent president John Thune is the first incumbent not to run for reelection since LBJ in 1968, progressive activist Ana Kasparian mounts her own campaign. "Actual results":

The problem is that a competitive multi-party election would look like this electorally (2004 mock election):



Election 2024:

Julian Castro (D-TX) Rand Paul (L-KY) Margaret Hoover (R-NY) Rod Dreher (C-LA) Ana Kasparian (I-CA)

36.76% 23.61% 20.83% 14.29% 2.05%

498 EV 19 EV — 15 EV 6 EV

A competitive multi-party race... but not really. Also, I gave Dreher Montana.

Let us assume that Obama is defeated come November. Romney, as predicted, imposes austerity, sinks the economy, gives the rich a big old tax cut, deepens the debt, yadda yadda yadda. Come 2016, he is defeated by... Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo with his Nixon-esque personality is intransigent, the economy stagnates, China overtakes us, people die somewhere, et cetera, et cetera. He is defeated by... John Thune? He looks too generic and yet too much like Barney Stimson, so he fails at life and loses too. So we've had:
 

44: Barack Obama (D-IL) 45: Mitt Romney (R-MA) 46: Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) 47: John Thune (R-SD) 48: Julian Castro (D-TX)

2009-2013 2013-2017 2017-2021 2021-2025 2025-

*That one woman who had those racy Christmas party photos.

With rising voter cynicism, the anti-party movements like the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, polarization, the underinformed swing voter, and declining long-term social and economic prospects, is this what might befall the US? Would this set off a vicious cycle of economic and political degradation due to high political volatility, leading to even more of the sort? What would the results of this sort of scenario be?

[Northeast Representative Goldwater]

Either Margaret Hoover or Rand Paul , I can't decide which on I should vote for...

[Simfan34]

Julian Castro accepts the Democratic nomination in Atlanta, August 27th 2024.



Margaret Hoover speaks at the last Republican debate in Provo, Utah, Feburary 6th 2024.



Rand Paul campaigns for the presidency in Dayton, Ohio, July 26th 2024.



Constitution Party candidate Gov. Rod Dreher poses with his family, March 3rd, 2024.



Ana Kasparian at a campaign event in Newport, Rhode Island, September 14, 2024.

[Governor Maxwell]

Rand. not even thinking.

Julian Castro is terrible.

[後援会]

Who the hell is Margaret Hoover? Because I'm definitely not voting for Castro or Rand Paul.

[Simfan34]

Who the hell is Margaret Hoover? Because I'm definitely not voting for Castro or Rand Paul.

Margaret Claire Hoover[1] (born December 11, 1977)[2] is a political commentator, political strategist, media personality, gay rights activist and author. She is the author of the book American Individualism: How A New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party[3] published by Crown Forum in July 2011. Her work is committed to renewing the Republican Party to enable it to connect with a new generation of Americans,[4] even as it remains true to the principles of individual freedom and fiscal conservatism and continues to champion a robust U.S. foreign policy.

But Dreher really, really seems your type.

[後援会]

Who the hell is Margaret Hoover? Because I'm definitely not voting for Castro or Rand Paul.

Margaret Claire Hoover[1] (born December 11, 1977)[2] is a political commentator, political strategist, media personality, gay rights activist and author. She is the author of the book American Individualism: How A New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party[3] published by Crown Forum in July 2011. Her work is committed to renewing the Republican Party to enable it to connect with a new generation of Americans,[4] even as it remains true to the principles of individual freedom and fiscal conservatism and continues to champion a robust U.S. foreign policy.

But Dreher really, really seems your type.

Maybe. I haven't read his things.

I don't share Hoover's massive enthusiasm for SSM, and I'm sure if I dug into her stuff, I'd probably find out she is probably more right-wing than I am on a lot of fiscal issues. It is unlikely she'd be my first choice in a primary, but there's nothing about her or her stances that would encourage me to vote third party.

[Comrade Shmoo]

Castro/Bayh, duh.

[Big Wiggly Style]

Rand Paul, without a doubt.

[Pacific Justice IBDD]

i would rather have bayh at the top but still atleast hes on the ticket soo im voting for Castro/Bayh

[Bacon King]

Write in: Naso

[Emperor SJoyce]

Well, Castro sucks, I'm not voting for the 'Progressives', no idea who Margaret Hoover is, and I'll vote for anyone and everyone before my vote goes to anyone affiliated with the Constitution Party. So Rand it is.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Hoover.  Is she really from New York?

[♀ Komrade Feminazi Kitteh ♀]

Who the hell is Margaret Hoover? Because I'm definitely not voting for Castro or Rand Paul.

Margaret Claire Hoover[1] (born December 11, 1977)[2] is a political commentator, political strategist, media personality, gay rights activist and author. She is the author of the book American Individualism: How A New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party[3] published by Crown Forum in July 2011. Her work is committed to renewing the Republican Party to enable it to connect with a new generation of Americans,[4] even as it remains true to the principles of individual freedom and fiscal conservatism and continues to champion a robust U.S. foreign policy.

But Dreher really, really seems your type.

I don't know how a gay rights activist could share a ticket with Ken Cuccinelli. Even assuming that gay rights is a non-issue by 2024, I don't see Cuccinelli supporting her. He'd probably back the Constitution Party.

Anyway, I'm torn between Castro and Kasparian. Castro is fine but Evan Bayh...ugh. In the end i'd probably hold my nose and vote for Castro because the VP "isn't worth a bucket of warm piss".

[Simfan34]

Okay, let's explain what happened.

THE INCUMBENTS

P. John Thune (SD)

V.P. Jon Huntsman (UT)

Having won a fairly painless Republican primary, John Thune was elected president in 2020, defeating the unpopular incumbent, Andrew Cuomo. But of course, the major problems that had haunted Cuomo's presidency- decaying infrastructure, sinking educational performance, rapidly declining economic competitiveness, and all the other hallmarks of decline- were either hard-to-control trends or impossible to resolve with the level of gridlock. Thune too, then, was fairly unpopular, but he had seen what had befallen his last three predecessors and made the shocking decision to not run for another term. This set the stage for...

THE PAINFULLY FRACTIOUS REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

Sen. Margaret Hoover

Gov. Ken Cuccinelli (VA)

Gov. Mark Sanford (SC)

Gov. Kristi Noem (ND)

Sen. Cathy McMorris

Gov. Rod Dreher (LA)

The race to succeed President Thune was fierce, and represented the tenuous nature of the Reupublicans' broad coalition. The early front runner was Kristi Noem, governor of North Dakota, whose Western populism reminded voters strongly of the incumbent, who, despite his failings, remained popular amongst the base. Due to a number of gaffes and missteps, however, Noem faded out early, leaving a tense race between the liberal Senator from New York, Margaret Hoover, and the conservative former Governor of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli. Hoover, the great-granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover, was a notable supporter of gay marriage and social centrism, but gained recognition for her victory in Democratic New York. Cuccinelli was known for his right-wing policies, and was the first person since Mills Godwin in 1970 to win re-election to two (non consecutive) terms. Hoover eventually prevailed, and the two consented to a unity ticket, and were said to get along fairly well (or as one comedy show put it, very well, as they were sleeping with each other, which proved a meme hard to suppress). Rod Dreher, a conservative columnist that had surprisingly won a jungle primary in Lousiana, refused to endorse the ticket and instead ran with the Constitution Party.

THE DEMOCRATS

Gov. Julian Castro (TX)

Sen. Evan Bayh (IN)

The Democratic nomination was a surprisingly straightforward affair, with Texas Governor Julian Castro easily winning nomination, and selecting as his running mate"elder statesman" Evan Bayh, who had decided he wanted to be a Senator again and once again succeeded Dan Coats in 2016.

THE LIBERTARIANS

Sen. Rand Paul (KY)

Rep. Jim Forscythe (NH)

Rand Paul loudly and triumphantly left the Republican Party in 2022, running for a third term as Senator against a Republican and Democratic candidate- and winning. He was the obvious choice for the Libertarian candidate in 2024, and was joined by former Representative Jim Forscythe, who had served as a Republican and but had switched to the Libertarian Party after leaving office in 2023.

THE CONSTITUTION PARTY

Gov. Rod Dreher (LA)

A.G. Caleb Stegall (NE)

The Constitution Party this year found itself taken over, in a way, by moderate traditionalists, who, if they had to define themselves, would identify as "Burkean". It came as a surprise when Louisiana Governor Rod Dreher announced that he would seek the Constitution Party's nomination, and he chose former Nebraska Attorney General Caleb Stegall as his running mate. Dreher, a self styled "crunchy conservative" Orthodox convert, rejected both liberal and libertarian tendencies for a more original form of conservatism.

THE INDEPENDENTS

Ms. Ana Kasparian (CA)

Sen. Tim Ashe (VT)

When progressive pundit and activist Ana Kasparian announced her bid for the presidency, few gave pause to the surely quixotic run. When she declared Vermont Senator Tim Ashe as her running mate, attention grew towards this "upside down ticket". Ashe, a member of the Vermont Progressive Party, had replaced Bernie Sanders in 2018, and caucused with the Democrats.

[dead0man]

Well, Castro sucks, I'm not voting for the 'Progressives', no idea who Margaret Hoover is, and I'll vote for anyone and everyone before my vote goes to anyone affiliated with the Constitution Party. So Rand it is.

Pretty much this

[Lief]

Ugh, I hope Evan Bayh's not still on VP shortlists in 2024...

[後援会]

Honestly, the number of people voting for Rand Paul worries and disappoints me.

[dead0man]

Honestly, the number of people voting for Rand Paul worries and disappoints me.

That's how I feel about people voting for Romney or Obama (or McCain or W or Kerry or Gore)...I'll use the lame ass excuse they use, I'm just voting for the lesser of 5 evils.

[後援会]

Honestly, the number of people voting for Rand Paul worries and disappoints me.

That's how I feel about people voting for Romney or Obama (or McCain or W or Kerry or Gore)...I'll use the lame ass excuse they use, I'm just voting for the lesser of 5 evils.

One of these days, I need to get one of you guys to explain the whole libertarianism thing to me.

[Simfan34]

Honestly, the number of people voting for Rand Paul worries and disappoints me.

That's how I feel about people voting for Romney or Obama (or McCain or W or Kerry or Gore)...I'll use the lame ass excuse they use, I'm just voting for the lesser of 5 evils.

One of these days, I need to get one of you guys to explain the whole libertarianism thing to me.

Not me. But it seems to be sticking, at least in 2024.

[Emperor SJoyce]

Honestly, the number of people voting for Rand Paul worries and disappoints me.

That's how I feel about people voting for Romney or Obama (or McCain or W or Kerry or Gore)...I'll use the lame ass excuse they use, I'm just voting for the lesser of 5 evils.

One of these days, I need to get one of you guys to explain the whole libertarianism thing to me.

Take your pick of "low-tax liberalism", "socially liberal and fiscally conservative", or "fiscally responsible and socially tolerant".

[後援会]

Honestly, the number of people voting for Rand Paul worries and disappoints me.

That's how I feel about people voting for Romney or Obama (or McCain or W or Kerry or Gore)...I'll use the lame ass excuse they use, I'm just voting for the lesser of 5 evils.

One of these days, I need to get one of you guys to explain the whole libertarianism thing to me.

Take your pick of "low-tax liberalism", "socially liberal and fiscally conservative", or "fiscally responsible and socially tolerant".

Low-tax liberalism sounds like a lot what we have today. Extremely lavish promises and entitlement programs that we have no possible revenue stream whatsoever to provide for.

[Emperor SJoyce]

Honestly, the number of people voting for Rand Paul worries and disappoints me.

That's how I feel about people voting for Romney or Obama (or McCain or W or Kerry or Gore)...I'll use the lame ass excuse they use, I'm just voting for the lesser of 5 evils.

One of these days, I need to get one of you guys to explain the whole libertarianism thing to me.

Take your pick of "low-tax liberalism", "socially liberal and fiscally conservative", or "fiscally responsible and socially tolerant".

Low-tax liberalism sounds like a lot what we have today. Extremely lavish promises and entitlement programs that we have no possible revenue stream whatsoever to provide for.

Yeah, there's no lavish entitlement programs...

[Svensson]

One of these days, I need to get one of you guys to explain the whole libertarianism thing to me.

I'll make it short, as I typically do while summarizing the belief: libertarianism is the belief in living your life without fear of wiretaps or being indefinitely detained.

But perhaps I'm not the best representative, considering how leftward I am fiscally compared to the rest of the party. The social stance remains, though.