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Quote from: Bigby on February 19, 2016, 10:51:37 PM

Two Parties? Try Four!

Mr. Donald J. Trump (Am Ref - NY)/Senator Jeff Sessions (Am Ref - AL): 173 EVs, 32.8% PV
Fmr. State Sec Hillary R. Clinton (D - NY)/HUD Sec Julian Castro (D - TX): 169 EVs, 31.5% PV
Senator Marco Rubio (Rep - FL)/Governor Nikki Haley (Rep - SC): 126 EVs, 24.7% PV
Senator Bernie Sanders (P - VT)/Senator Elizabeth Warren (P - MA): 70 EVs, 10.7% PV

After Rubio's shocking first place win with 31% of the vote in South Carolina on February 20th, Donald Trump's campaign went down in almost literal flames. Bush and Kasich immediately dropped out, pledging their support, delegates, and funding to Rubio. Trump won a close second with 28%, but this searing loss combined with another second place running to the Florida Senator's first in Nevada sent Trump into a tirade of insult, crying, and threats on the Feb. 25th debate. Trump outright humiliated himself, and this only led to Rubio dominating on Super Tuesday. After crushing the Florida primary with 60% of the vote, Rubio reached out to Cruz, receiving his endorsement. An infuriated Donald concedes, but declares his intention to run third party. Cue the sweating of every non-Trump Republican.

The Democrats felt as if their victory was secured, and so Bernie and Hillary let loose on their campaigns, feeling invincible. This would bite them both in their own ways, however. Bernie began to ignore black and latino votes entirely for white liberal votes, and constantly fumbled with why he only bothered with white progressives. Gaffe after gaffe, the Vermont Senator almost began to seem borderline racist. Meanwhile, Fmr. State Sec Clinton went too far with reaching out to minorities, causing herself to experience the same, but racially inverted, issue that Sanders walked to. When questioned by a discontented white Sanders supporter during a debate, an already angry Clinton (that particular debate was not going well for her) immediately yelled "why should the Democrats care what white voters think? They're all racist and selfish!" The Democratic Party's primary became divided by racial lines, with whites overwhelmingly going Sanders and minority voters even more overwhelmingly going towards Clinton. What ultimately gave the edge to Clinton was the sharp decrease in white voters primary after primary (Many moderate whites were fleeing to either avoid the nasty primary, to not vote entirely, or were being wooed by the now independent Trump), and the increasingly massive advantage in superdelegates gave Clinton four more delegates than needed to clinch the nomination. Pundits were coronating her for the Presidency already...

... That is, until Sanders announced a left-wing independent bid of his own. Many heartbroken left-wing whites returned to the fold, immediately pledging to Sanders. The Vermont Senator ran an anti-establishment campaign once again, but began to actively tear down the Democrats as "Keynesian quislings" and "deceivers of the working American." Trump also tapped into populist anger, unsurprisingly, but he did so without turning left-wing. Though Trump revealed that he had left-wing views to a small extent, such as being pro-choice, pro-single player healthcare, and pro-SSM, he was still largely a right-wing Perotite. In fact, the businessman sounded more genuine as this strange combination of overall moderate views than as a Republican. Still, Trump campaigned on right-wing positions that he had campaigned on in the GOP primaries, and that was what drove far more voters to his side. With Bernie solidly taking the progressive and liberal white vote and Trump taking the undecideds, normally non-voting population, and a strange alliance of conservative Republicans and blue-collar Democrats, neither Hillary nor Rubio were ever clear frontrunners.

The 2016 Presidential election was an absolute nightmare that seemed to have confirmed the end of the Republican/Democratic binary set in place since 1854. Trump usually lead with 25 - 30% of the vote, though this was consistently within the margin of error. Clinton was the only other candidate to have ever been neck-and-neck or level with Trump, but this was not by taking his votes. Rather, the State Secretary aimed to repair her image with white voters by using the chaotic race against Bernie. Many liberal whites did return to Clinton, but they remained a low minority of the total number of her supporters. She was winning minority support to levels unseen, even for Democrats, though. Sanders did not even bother campaigning in the South outside of Texas, Virginia, and Florida, preferring to run in liberal urban centers that were being gentrified. Rubio run as a "Buckley Conservative," being solidly conservative, but "reasonably so" and with an "optimistic, unifying message." It sounded like robotic repetition to the average voter, but it visibly showed to have worked with conservative Republicans when Trump's numbers were mildly corroding. The VP picks by each candidate showed the divisions of the electorate perfectly. Clinton chose HUD Secretary Julian Castro, a mestizo Cuban who helped Clinton secure so much of the Latino vote. Senator Rubio chose the woman who was the centerpiece of his nomination: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley; she helped cast Trump as a far-right extremist who "gets his jollies out of perverting the soul of the Republican Party and the soul of America." Donald Trump chose a naturally ally, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, who felt personally betrayed by fellow Republicans after a personal conversation with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over trade. Finally, Senator Sanders chose Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, feeling betrayed when Hillary was caught saying that "Warren has no f[inks]ing idea of what being Native American really is." The debates were savage and unruly, rally members got increasingly radical, and the four contenders devolved into ad hominem spewers. Many wondered if this was the end of the Republic.

Sure, the moment of truth came, but it only led to more questions. No one achieved the 270 electoral votes needed to be declared President, with many states being decided by one percent of the vote... if even that many. Some demanded a recount, but the messy results made it to where a recount would benefit none and only add more heartache. Trump barely sneaked by with a majority of the popular and electoral vote, thanks to his bipartisan (but admittedly lopsided towards Republicans) coalition of agitated voters. Clinton, with heavy amounts of minority votes and a healthy minority of fearful white voters, got right behind Trump in second. Clinton had steadily pilled left-leaners from Trump during October, but it simply was not enough to beat him. Rubio got third, possibly because Sanders was shown to be too extreme to be anything but fourth. Non-major candidates received only 0.3% of the vote, with many third parties vanishing under the weight of Trump and Sanders' dissent. It also helped that the Green Party endorsed Sanders and the Constitution Party endorsed Trump. As per the 12th Amendment, Congress would determine the next POTUS and VPOTUS. The Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress, only experiencing very mild losses. (Both parties largely ignored the Presidential race altogether, allowing for very odd downballot choices by voters.) The Republicans held the House firmly, only losing 7 seats. The GOP lost 3 seats in the Senate, but gained one, so their net loss was only 2 seats. With a 240 majority seat in the House and a majority of 52-48 in the Senate, the Republicans slimly but objectively held the advantage to pickthe next President and Vice President. Nikki Haley would be out since she was he 3rd place winner for VP, but Jeff Sessions is universally seen as preferable to Julian Castro. However, would Hillary have a chance to become POTUS, or is it a two-man race between Rubio and Trump now? No matter who Congress chooses, no one will be fully pleased.

The House vote for Pres is 1 vote per state. The delegations from the states carried by Sanders or Clinton vote Clinton; those from states carried by Rubio or Trump vote Rubio. Rubio, the 3rd place finisher, is elected, and you are correct: no one is fully pleased.
The Senate will vote on party lines.

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