Satellite - A Political Story (Chapter 1: 2016)

[Prince of Salem]

(Prologue, in case you haven't read it: https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=187922.0)

Introduction:

During his last mid-term, president Barack Obama would only grow more unpopular everyday. With his power diminished after losing the Senate in 2014, it got way too hard for him to do anything done, and is not like he pushed any harder than he'd done before.

But the Republican majority in Congress didn't seem to do any better. The leadership of both John Boehner and Mitch McConnell did not seem enough. Not to many initiatives were introduced, and even less were passed. There was too much fear of the presidential veto, it seemed.

The Campaign:

The 2016 Presidential Primaries were probably the most exciting ones in generations.

The Democratic Primary was not the honeymoon Hillary Clinton expected. Although she did win the Iowa caucus and resisted the challenge imposed by Joe Biden, her lead in the polls started to crumble when she lost the New Hampshire primary by an unexpectedly wide margin to Elizabeth Warren who, in the end, defeated Clinton in a close delegate battle at the DNC in Cincinnati. She picked Al Franken as her VP nominee.

The Republican Primary, on the other hand, did go as expected: very, very close. In the end, it would become a battle to death between Jeb Bush, who won the Iowa caucus, and Rand Paul, who won the New Hampshire Primary. Paul tried to recall his father's "caucus strategy", but his base support wasn't strong enough to even try such thing. At the RNC in Philadelphia, Bush won by a very narrow margin, which reminded a lot of people of the 1976 primary. Susana Martinez was selected as VP nominee.

Altsomn Stmarken:

In his own words, Altsomn was "ready to take any challenge". And a very big one he took. He ran as the Republican nominee for U.S. Representative in a congressional district that was considered "Democratic country": Texas' 30Th. Incumbent congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson was running for reelection against Stmarken.

But running for a House seat wasn't enough for this young enthusiast. He endorsed and campaigned with many major candidates, regardless of party. He even endorsed Elizabeth Warren in the General Election for the Presidency! His heterodoxy, sense of humor and savviness would start to draw attention to him, although some still preferred to ignore him...

[Prince of Salem]

07:00 PM

Joe Turner: It is 07:00 PM Eastern Time and polls are now closed in the states of Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. And now we can project that Elizabeth Warren will carry the state of Vermont, while Jeb Bush will carry Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and South Carolina. Our electoral vote count goes now like this: 3 electoral votes for Warren, 44 electoral votes for Bush. Now Carla Roosevelt will bring us some information about the Senate races.

Carla Roosevelt: Thank you Joe. At this moment Satellite Network can project that Johnny Isakson will be reelected in the state of Georgia, defeating Jason Carter, grandson of former President Jimmy Carter. In Kentucky, Rand Paul will also be reelected, thus defeating Adam Edelen. In South Carolina, Tim Scott will defeat Darla Moore and will be reelected too. We still cannot project the races in the states of Indiana and Vermont. In Indiana, incumbent Senator Dan Coats faces former Senator Evan Bayh in a very tied race. In Vermont, Patrick Leahy faces one of his greatest political challenges in decades against former Republican governor Jim Douglas.

Joe Turner: Thank you Carla. In the presidential race we cannot project Virginia yet. For more detailed information, we'll go now to Mathew Vilmar, who's in charge of our interactive map.

Interactive Map: President

Interactive Map: Senate

Mathew Vilmar: Thank you Joe. This Election Night is just getting started and there's not much to be said about the races already projected, as they were all expected to come out like that. But let's take a look to the states yet to be projected. In the two past presidential elections, Virginia was carried by President Barack Obama, but this year most polls give the advantage to Bush here, although the final result is still uncertain. About the Senate races, in Indiana things seem like they are gonna be tough. We could say it is too close to call, and it will definitely be decisive at the end of the night. In Vermont, Pat Leahy faces Jim Douglas. The most interesting thing about this particular race is that 24 years ago, both men faced each other for the same Senate seat, and Leahy won. What will happen this time? We'll see.

Joe Turner: Thanks Mathew, now let's take another look to the Electoral Vote count: 3 votes for Elizabeth Warren, 44 votes for Jeb Bush. In the Senate race, 33 seats for Republicans and 36 for Democrats. We'll be back after a few commercials.

[Prince of Salem]

07:05 PM

Joe Turner: We are back with this Satellite Network's Election Night in which Elizabeth Warren and Jeb Bush face each other for the presidency of the United States. Let's make a review of the electoral vote count up to now: 3 for Warren, 44 for Bush. In the Senate, 33 seats for Republicans and 36 for Democrats. Now let's go to our opinion's round table with Stephen Bearach and Jane Ruiz.

Jane Ruiz: Thank you Joe, and good evening to everyone watching Satellite Network. Today America will elect a new president and we have as candidates Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican former Governor Jeb Bush. After the nomination of Warren, many Republicans said they'd achieve an electoral landslide similar to those in 1972 and 1984. Up to this moment, this seems far away from happening. Meanwhile, many Democrats on Twitter launched and made popular the hashtag #BushNoMore, in clear reference of the presidencies of the father and the brother of the Republican nominee. Stephen?

Stephen Bearach: Good evening everyone. Today America will elect its 45th President. If we look at the polls and the information they can offer us, we see that most voters aren't very satisfied with the main candidates, and tend to vote for the one they consider "the lesser of evils". Something very different is seen in the Senate elections, in which both Democrats and Republicans have made huge efforts to find the best candidates, bringing is quite a lot of competitive races, which we'll be watching through the night. Back to you, Joe.

Joe Turner: Thank you very much. Keep watching Satellite Network.

[Prince of Salem]

07:30 PM

Joe Turner: It is 07:30 PM Eastern Time and polls are now closed in the states of North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia. At this moment, I can only inform you that in Ohio the presidential race is too close to call. We have no projections in the presidential election. Maybe Carla can tell us something about the Senate.

Carla Roosevelt: Joe, we have no projections in the Senate either. In North Carolina, Democratic Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and Republican candidate Greg Brannon face each other in a very tied election. In Ohio, Republican incumbent Rob Portman and Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan are making another tossed up election.

Joe Turner: Thank you, Carla. There you have it, people. No projections for now. Let's go to Mathew Vilmar to see the Interactive Map and an analysis.

Interactive Map: President

Interactive Map: Senate

Mathew Vilmar: Thank you, Joe. Three decisive elections have just been closed. Two of them are located in Ohio, a state that tends to give us tied elections. On one side, the presidential election; on the other, the senatorial race, in which Rob Portman and Tim Ryan face each other in an election that will be decisive for the whole country. Then we have North Carolina, where Democrats have made huge get-out-and-vote efforts for Anthony Foxx in African American neighborhoods, while Republican Greg Brannon has highlighted his freshman condition. Both Senate seats are now in the hands of Republicans, the majority party, so they'll be of particular importance.

Joe Turner: Thank you very much, Mathew. There's a lot to discuss about the races mentioned before, so let's go to our opinion's round table.

Stephen Bearach: Thank you, Joe. Democratic efforts to get votes for Anthony Foxx have been so big that if I was him and I lost today's election, I'd kiss politics goodbye. Just kidding. Greg Brannon set a very challenging campaign. The seat vacated by Republican Senator Richard Burr is desired by both parties. During the latest years, North Carolina has become a politically competitive state, and there are many factors that will determine the final results. On one hand, Foxx has the unconditional support of most of his party, while Brannon has built his campaign nearly on his own, with the occasional support of some party partners, specially Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. On the other hand, Brannon has the advantage of being a new face in American politics, while Foxx, sitting Secretary of Transportation, has been directly involved with the Obama administration for the last four years.

Then we have Ohio. Ohio, Ohio, Ohio. A state which, it seems, won't stop giving us headaches, and will even give us two this year. The presidential election on one side and on the other, the senatorial election between Rob Portman and Tim Ryan, a race that some time ago wouldn't have been predicted to become so close. But the young Congressman from the 13Th District run an aggressive and smart campaign, attracting national attention just like he did a decade ago in the House floor. You know what I'm talking about. Saying that what will happen in Ohio will be very interesting isn't enough. Will two candidates from the same party win or will we face a major surprise with an heterodox result? I'll anxiously wait for the Ohio results, this year more than ever.

Jane Ruiz: I totally share your feelings, Stephen. Both senatorial races will be very important. In particular, I'd like to mention the Ohio senatorial race, in which there was a particular lot of double-campainging along with the presidential election. We'll see how much their results relate each other.

Joe Turner: Excuse me Jane, I interrupt the opinion's round table to announce that Satellite Network now projects that the states of North Carolina and West Virginia will be carried by Jeb Bush in the presidential election. Now he has 64 votes in the Electoral Vote count, leaving Warren with 3. Let's go for a moment to the interactive map with Mathew Vilmar before we return to the opinion's round table.

Interactive Map: President

Interactive Map: Senate

Mathew Vilmar: Thank you Joe. Two small doubts have been cleared out right now, although the polls already suggested this results. I'd like to remind you all that the results you see right now do not mean Bush will win a landslide. There is still a lot missing for the results in our map to really reflect the vote of the American people. For now, we only have a fraction of it. Be careful.

Joe Turner: Thank you for the clarification, Mathew. Now let's go back to our opinion's round table.

Jane Ruiz: Thank you, Joe. Something we've been observing is that the Senate races are being more competitive than usual. Both big parties are running a lot of high-profile challengers, and that is having a huge influence on the current result. A clear proof of this are the Senate races in Indiana and Vermont. Although both states tend to stand in the extremes of the political compass, none of its senatorial elections has been projected. Evan Bayh and Jim Douglas are very popular figures in their respective states, and they are receiving a lot of support from their people.

Stephen Bearach: I agree with you, Jane. What we are about to see in the Senate races will be surely exciting, probably surprising. I also shall mention that many high-profile incumbents are facing close elections, like Marco Rubio, Harry Reid, Kelly Ayotte, Barbara Boxer... there's a lot remaining to be seen here. Joe?

Joe Turner: Indeed, Stephen. We'll be back after a few commercials, but let's see our counting first: 3 electoral votes for Elizabeth Warren, 64 votes for Jeb Bush. 33 seats for Republicans in the Senate and 36 for Democrats. Stay tuned.