Eternal Sunshine of the Democratic Mind

[The Other Castro]

Kamala

March 3rd, 2020

“You are most certainly getting a raise,” Kamala joked to her chief strategist. Their plan appeared to be working. Booker and Warren didn’t know what they were up to, and the media shared in their confusion. The delegate rules worked to their advantage in the short run, but in the long term they had another strategy. Campaign for the support of both the Bernie and Hillary wings, pressure one of Booker or Warren to drop out, and gain the bulk of that candidate’s support. In the end, they had decided that a matchup with Booker would play to their advantage rather than a showdown with Warren.

Drinks were served at the Harris headquarters when they won Texas, but champagne flowed when Minnesota was called. Elizabeth Warren had been on the decline since New Hampshire, and Kamala’s win in Nevada and strong second place showing in South Carolina had provided what so many people in the party craved. An alternative, and a way out from another Bernie vs. Hillary proxy war. Some Democrats wanted an established candidate with party support, but not someone as susceptible to corporate criticism as Booker. Others wanted a true progressive as the nominee, but not someone as potentially divisive as Warren. Kamala's campaign was just what the uncomfortable Democrats had been looking for.

Democratic Candidates: Delegates / Votes

Alabama
Cory Booker: 32 (25+7) / 47.3%
Kamala Harris: 17 / 31.2%
Elizabeth Warren: 10 / 18.9%
Others: 0 / 2.6%

Colorado
Kamala Harris: 38 (26+12) / 37.9%
Elizabeth Warren: 22 / 33.1%
Cory Booker: 19 / 28.3%
Others: 0 / 0.7%

Georgia
Cory Booker: 61 (46+15) / 44.1%
Kamala Harris: 34 / 32.4%
Elizabeth Warren: 24 / 22.9%
Others: 0 / 0.6%

Massachusetts
Elizabeth Warren: 64 (40+24) / 43.3%
Cory Booker: 29 / 31.4%
Kamala Harris: 23 / 24.2%
Others: 0 / 1.1%

Minnesota
Kamala Harris: 44 (28+16) / 36.8%
Elizabeth Warren: 27 / 36.5%
Cory Booker: 20 / 27.2%
Others: 0 / 1.5%

North Carolina
Cory Booker: 56 (42+14) / 35.9%
Kamala Harris: 37 / 32.6%
Elizabeth Warren: 31 / 27.4%
Others: 0 / 4.1%

Oklahoma
Elizabeth Warren: 20 (16+4) / 38.8%
Kamala Harris: 12 / 31.9%
Cory Booker: 9 / 24.1%
Others: 0 / 5.2%

Tennessee
Cory Booker: 33 (25+8) / 38.4%
Kamala Harris: 21 / 31.8%
Elizabeth Warren: 18 / 28.5%
Others: 0 / 1.3%

Texas
Kamala Harris: 114 (85+29) / 37.2%
Cory Booker: 74 / 33.1%
Elizabeth Warren: 64 / 28.8%
Others: 0 / 0.9%

Vermont
Elizabeth Warren: 17 (9+8) / 55.4%
Kamala Harris: 4 / 24.2%
Cory Booker: 3 / 18.6%
Others: 0 / 1.8%

Virginia
Cory Booker: 51 (37+14) / 36.8%
Kamala Harris: 32 / 32.7%
Elizabeth Warren: 30 / 30.1%
Others: 0 / 0.4%

American Samoa Caucuses
Kamala Harris: 7 (3+4) / 43.1%
Cory Booker: 2 / 31.5%
Elizabeth Warren: 1 / 20.3%
Uncommitted: 0 / 5.1%

Total Delegates:
Cory Booker - 457
Kamala Harris - 440
Elizabeth Warren - 382
Uncommitted - 8

1287 delegates allocated, 2242/4483 needed for a majority.

Kamala Harris had positioned herself as a progressive with distinguished support within the party, and some late endorsements from Senator Franken and Governor Perlmutter helped provide a major blow to the Warren campaign. Her internal polling now even had her overtaking Warren nationally in some polls, though all three candidates were within only a few points of each other. The next week would be possibly the most important stretch in her campaign. Not only was a debate coming up on Saturday the 7th, but it would take place as Democrats voted in the Louisiana and Maine primaries, as well as the Kansas and Nebraska caucuses. While she wasn’t favored in any of them, she did have solid second place numbers for all four. The big test, however, would be on March 10th when the other key Midwestern states voted. Tonight’s win in Minnesota was a major upset, though a strong debate performance could provide some more surprises in Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. "I could really win this thing," Kamala thought to herself.

[MAINEiac4434]

Well, I certainly hope you do Kamala.

[Kamala]

Well, I certainly hope you do Kamala.

[The Other Castro]

Well, I certainly hope you do Kamala.

I more or less approached this with a basic framework, but I try to not to decide exactly what I'm going to do for the endgame in order to keep the story flowing. Plenty of primaries to go, so plenty of potential surprises remaining.

[mjwatts1983]

When is the next update?

[The Other Castro]

When is the next update?

I've been creatively drained recently with a lot of stuff going on, but I plan to get back to this very soon, and at a more consistent rate. Happy to have you as a reader though!

[The Other Castro]

Cory

March 7th, 2020

This had gone on for long enough. The more time his two opponents spent in the race, the more likely it became that a brokered convention would occur. He had to knock out one of them, and he had to do it tonight. This was potentially the last debate with three candidates, as four contests were being held at the same time as the debate that night, and another four would take place three days later in Ohio, Missouri, Michigan, and Mississippi. Cory answered the standard debate questions as he had practiced with the focus groups, and waited for the moment to strike. When the time came, Cory set his sights on Warren.

"...but Senator Warren, you’re not talking about how we actually solve the problem. We can’t just go after all the bankers and expect that to magically solve every problem. The real world doesn’t work like that, and we have to be pragmatic if we’re serious about getting things done. This is why my plan works to-"

"-look, this is why people don’t think Democrats are for the little guy, because some are in the pockets of Wall Street and therefore won’t act out when a problem presents itself. I sincerely think you want to solve these problems, but your support from certain interest groups may have blinded you and prevented you from seeing how to best-"

"-excuse me but you’ve stated this on multiple occasions and gone on time after time with these allegations that are simply untrue and have no basis in reality, and if you look at my record you can easily see that it’s untrue. Because I try to work with everyone in order to find reforms that more people can agree with, you’ve mocked that as caving in to to Wall Street. Not only that but you’ve continuously sent members of your campaign to heckle and interrupt my own campaign events because your own is struggling, and I-"

"-hold on that is false and I have not once interfered with your campaign in any way. It is because of your own actions that-"

"-please Senator you cannot deny that the-"

"-please please please can we stop this?" a new voice remarked.

It was at that moment that both Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker remembered that there was another candidate on stage with them, also looking to have her say. Kamala Harris continued with her interruption of irritation.

"This is exactly what we don’t need, this kind of useless arguing right here. We have so much more important things to fight than each other. When we have someone like Donald Trump in the White House, there is no time to waste on anything other than bringing in change. Voters don’t care about what one candidate did to another, so can we please get back to talking about how to recover from the disaster of this administration by passing reforms that can really do some good? Right now we have a Homeland Security Department verging on authoritarian tendencies, denying incoming refugees their lawyers and sending them back to certain death in dangerous countries. There are innocent men, women, and children being locked up for years on low level drug offenses. We have the government directly working with for-profit private prisons to arrest as many people as possible just to make more money. Let’s end this nonsense, and focus on the issues that really matter."

Cory was seething later that night after the debate with his advisers as he watched the returns come in. His attacks hadn’t worked, it just bloodied the both of them. And worse still, Harris used the situation to act like she was above them, as if she hadn’t been making Machiavellian calculations of her own to manipulate the voters. His victory in Louisiana wasn’t enough to calm him down, and he yelled for quite a bit longer at his senior staff before the night had ended.

Democratic Candidates: Delegates / Votes

Kansas Democratic Caucuses
Elizabeth Warren: 18 (14+4) / 43.6%
Kamala Harris: 12 / 34.9%
Cory Booker: 7 / 21.5%

Louisiana
Cory Booker: 30 (22+8) / 42.1%
Kamala Harris: 19 / 35.5%
Elizabeth Warren: 10 / 18.3%
Others: 0 / 4.1%

Maine
Elizabeth Warren: 14 (9+5) / 38.8%
Kamala Harris: 9 / 34.9%
Cory Booker: 6 / 24.6%
Others: 0 / 1.7%

Nebraska Democratic Caucuses
Elizabeth Warren: 14 (10+4) / 39.4%
Kamala Harris: 8 / 33.1%
Cory Booker: 7 / 27.5%

Total Delegates:
Cory Booker - 507
Kamala Harris - 488
Elizabeth Warren - 438
Uncommitted - 8

1441 delegates allocated, 2242/4483 needed for a majority.

[MAINEiac4434]

I'd proudly be a Kamala delegate from Maine :')

[The Other Castro]

Elizabeth

March 10th, 2020

Elizabeth felt something she didn’t feel that often. Regret. If she had run in 2016, she might have been able to beat Hillary Clinton in the primaries, and stop Donald Trump from ever becoming president. Now, she was worried that it was too late and her time had passed. The once front-runner was disappointed by her slipping grasp on the nomination. Her supporters were leaving her like rats from a sinking ship, and joining Team Kamala as the more powerful alternative to stopping Cory Booker from winning the nomination. Tonight's results were a major blow to her campaign, and only solidified her decline as a candidate.
 
Democratic Candidates: Delegates / Votes
 
Democrats Abroad
Elizabeth Warren: 10 (6+4) / 43.1%
Kamala Harris: 5 / 36.6%
Cory Booker: 2 / 20.1%
Others 0 / 0.2%
 
Michigan
Kamala Harris: 62 (45+17) / 34.8%
Elizabeth Warren: 42 / 32.4%
Cory Booker: 40 / 30.9%
Others: 0 / 1.9%
 
Mississippi
Cory Booker: 24 (19+5) / 52.6%
Kamala Harris: 13 / 35.8%
Elizabeth Warren: 4 / 11.6%
Others: 0 / 0.9%
 
Missouri
Kamala Harris: 36 (24+12) / 35.1%
Cory Booker: 24 / 33.8%
Elizabeth Warren: 21 / 30.3%
Others: 0 / 0.8%
 
Ohio
Kamala Harris: 68 (51+17) / 35.7%
Cory Booker: 45 / 32.5%
Elizabeth Warren: 42 / 30.1%
Others: 0 / 1.7%
 

Total Delegates:
Kamala Harris - 672
Cory Booker - 642
Elizabeth Warren - 557
Uncommitted - 8
 
1879 delegates allocated, 2242/4483 needed for a majority.

She remembered four years earlier, when Bernie Sanders had stayed in the race even though his odds had dropped immensely. If she stayed in now, she might cause an even worse party split or a brokered convention, and neither would help in November. She would not be remembered for the collapse of the Democratic Party in another defeat to Donald Trump. Elizabeth had entered the Democratic primaries with one goal in mind: Stop Trump. If her presence in the race was hurting that goal, then it was time to leave. But if not her, then who would be able to take on the president? Elizabeth already knew the answer. She called over her communications director. If her opponent agreed to Elizabeth’s terms, then she would feel comfortable about exiting with more dignity.
 
“Get her on the phone. Tell her about our proposal.”

[Illini Moderate]

This is really good! One of my favorites already!! Keep it up

[Hoosier_Nick]

Wow, amazing! I just spent an hour reading the entire thing (lol) and am totally invested! Besides Donnelly losing , I've been overall very happy with how this has went. I hope Warren pulls it out, but if Harris does I wouldn't be mad. She's pretty good.

But yeah, this is soooooo well written! Great job! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

[The Other Castro]

Wow, amazing! I just spent an hour reading the entire thing (lol) and am totally invested! Besides Donnelly losing , I've been overall very happy with how this has went. I hope Warren pulls it out, but if Harris does I wouldn't be mad. She's pretty good.

But yeah, this is soooooo well written! Great job! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

This is really good! One of my favorites already!! Keep it up

Thank you both! It's good to know that people are reading this and like it.

[The Other Castro]

Kamala

March 17th, 2020

“Thank you! Thank you! Tonight, the major political task that we face up until November is to make sure that Donald Trump is defeated once and for all. Eight months ago, I entered this race with every intention of becoming the candidate that would make that goal a reality. Since that amazing day in May, we have a run a positive campaign that we are all so proud of, and one that exemplifies what our party is really about. The Democratic Party is the party of working people, women, young people, people of all ages, races, religions, everyone. When the Republicans in Congress and in Donald Trump’s White House say the are looking out for you, you know that they are not being honest. They are looking out for themselves, the bankers, the corporate lobbyists, the special interests working on behalf of Wall Street and the big banks.
 
I entered this race because I knew what we needed to do and how to get it done. However, it is clear to me now that the numbers simply are not there. We will not be able to secure the support the necessary to win the Democratic nomination. I am incredibly proud of all of you, and I am inspired every day by your limitless drive and ability for action. Although I am suspending my campaign tonight, that does not mean I am going away. I intend to be there every step of the way during the general election, because we must be unified as a party if we really want to win back the White House.

I look forward to working with the Democratic nominee in the fights to come, and I know that whoever we select as our nominee will be a monumentally better president than Donald Trump is on his best day, and trust me he doesn’t really have that many good days. He and his ruinous allies in the White House have brought about nothing but chaos and fear during their reign.

They say they want to keep America great. Well, you certainly couldn’t tell based on how they’ve treated the American people over these last four years. If they really wanted to keep America great, they would get out of the way because they are hurting us. They are hurting each and every one of us. Every tax cut that they pass goes straight to the top bracket at the expense of everyone else. Every attack that they make inflicts damage on those that need our help the most, and they mask this destruction as progress. This has to end.

So tonight, as I suspend my campaign, let me leave you with this. In November, you will have the opportunity to change course from this failure of an administration, the chance to break free from this cycle of destruction. You have the power to bring the change you seek. Thank you all, and God bless you, and God bless America."
 
March 17

Democratic Candidates: Delegates / Votes

Arizona
Kamala Harris: 47 (37+10) / 54.1%
Cory Booker: 29 / 42.6%
Others: 0 / 3.3%
 
Florida
Cory Booker: 148 (115+33) / 51.8%
Kamala Harris: 101 / 45.3%
Others: 0 / 2.9%
 
Illinois
Kamala Harris: 113 (84+29) / 53.2%
Cory Booker: 72 / 45.7%
Others: 0 / 1.1%
 

Total Delegates:
Kamala Harris - 940
Cory Booker - 893
Uncommitted - 566
 
2399 delegates allocated, 2242/4483 needed for a majority.

With Warren’s exit, Kamala had expanded her primary coalition and taken Booker by surprise. Now, the fun part arrived. From March 24-April 11, almost every contest would be Western caucuses, the exact type of race where Booker would struggle the most and Kamala would excel. If she built up enough momentum in that run, Booker would be significantly weakened going into the Acela primaries. That would ideally be his last stand, and Kamala’s time to seize the nomination. Then, the White House.

[BuckeyeNut]

Sad Warren's out, but good, as per usual.

[Hoosier_Nick]

Kamala

March 17th, 2020

The nomination was so close that Kamala Harris could almost hear her entrance music, and see herself taking the stage at the convention in Indianapolis.

Ayeeeeeeeee. Although sadly I'm 100% certain this won't happen in real life because of logistical issues, I'm happy we are getting recognition.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Kamala

March 17th, 2020

The nomination was so close that Kamala Harris could almost hear her entrance music, and see herself taking the stage at the convention in Indianapolis.

Ayeeeeeeeee. Although sadly I'm 100% certain this won't happen in real life because of logistical issues, I'm happy we are getting recognition.

Why? Indy has a good, accessible convention center. That + the memetic "reclaim the midwest" thing makes it a really good candidate.

[Hoosier_Nick]

Kamala

March 17th, 2020

The nomination was so close that Kamala Harris could almost hear her entrance music, and see herself taking the stage at the convention in Indianapolis.

Ayeeeeeeeee. Although sadly I'm 100% certain this won't happen in real life because of logistical issues, I'm happy we are getting recognition.

Why? Indy has a good, accessible convention center. That + the memetic "reclaim the midwest" thing makes it a really good candidate.

Indianapolis won't even attempt to compete, sadly. I was talking to an event planner for the Indiana Democratic Party and although they were initially interested, the problem is that you have to have a month before-hand to prepare the building, and the Indianapolis Convention Center is the only place that's large enough to hold it. But the problem with that is it would conflict with GenCon 2020 and a few other large conventions we have here. And sure, it would be cool to have, but there isn't any time within the time frame of May to July where it could be due to other yearly events.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Indianapolis won't even attempt to compete, sadly. I was talking to an event planner for the Indiana Democratic Party and although they were initially interested, the problem is that you have to have a month before-hand to prepare the building, and the Indianapolis Convention Center is the only place that's large enough to hold it. But the problem with that is it would conflict with GenCon 2020 and a few other large conventions we have here. And sure, it would be cool to have, but there isn't any time within the time frame of May to July where it could be due to other yearly events.

That's a shame. I like the IDP and they deserve good things.

[Da2017]

Keep up the good work. I,m subscibed to this thread. Go Kamala.

[The Other Castro]

Chris

April 11th, 2020

Senator Chris Murphy was not a man that agonized over the past. He had considered a run for President, and had even almost filed for an exploratory committee, but in the end he had decided against it. The field had grown too crowded for his taste, and Elizabeth Warren entering was the last candidate addition needed to keep him out. He had no regrets, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been following the primaries closely. The Republican side wrapped up pretty quickly when Justin Amash dropped out after Super Tuesday, but the Democratic candidates pressed on. However, the end appeared to be near following Warren’s exit. Though she had not officially endorsed Kamala Harris, everyone knew which way she was leaning and where her supporters were going. Since then, Kamala had a winning streak going on in all of the caucus states.
 
March 24
 
Idaho Democratic Caucuses
Kamala Harris: 18 (14+4) / 67.6%
Cory Booker: 6 / 31.5%
Uncommitted: 0 / 0.9%
 
Utah Democratic Caucuses
Kamala Harris: 24 (20+4) / 70.1%
Cory Booker: 8 / 29.3%
Uncommitted: 0 / 0.6%
 
March 28
 
Hawaii Democratic Caucuses
Kamala Harris: 24 (14+10) / 62.9%
Cory Booker: 8 / 36.8%
Uncommitted: 0 / 0.3%
 
Alaska Democratic Caucuses
Kamala Harris: 14 (10+4) / 69.5%
Cory Booker: 4 / 30.1%
Uncommitted: 0 / 0.4%
 
Washington Democratic Caucuses
Kamala Harris: 72 (55+17) / 63.2%
Cory Booker: 32 / 36.6%
Uncommitted: 0 / 0.2%
 
April 7
 
Wisconsin
Kamala Harris: 52 (42+10) / 53.4%
Cory Booker: 35 / 45.7%
Others: 0 / 0.9%
 
April 11
 
Wyoming Democratic Caucuses
Kamala Harris: 12 (8+4) / 57.9%
Cory Booker: 5 / 42.1%
 

Total Delegates:
Kamala Harris - 1156
Cory Booker - 991
Uncommitted - 566
 
2713 delegates allocated, 2242/4483 needed for a majority.

Chris Murphy was surprised that Kamala Harris had now emerged as the front-runner, but he was not disappointed. With her as the nominee, he thought Democrats had a very good chance at taking back the White House. Both she and Cory Booker polled with high single digit leads against Trump nationally, though their numbers in the Midwest still made him skeptical of the strength of a national lead. Chris had also been surprised by the phone call he received a week earlier. According to his staffers, Elizabeth Warren had provided Kamala Harris a list before she suspended her campaign. The list included her recommendations for a VP should Harris win the nomination. And on that list, apparently, was his own name. Chris had been through this before, when Hillary Clinton offered him a spot on her initial VP list as an honorary thing, but this time seemed more real. He knew how to be the attack dog required in the VP nominee, and would be happy to serve that role if asked.
 
Even though he didn't run, he had continued to speak out and tweet like he was running. When the war in Qatar broke out, Chris was there to admonish the president for mocking the soldiers that died. When Chief of Staff David Urban was implicated in a pay to play scheme, Chris was there to describe the absurd hypocrisy of the Trump administration. When the Republican-controlled Congress continued to stall on the Russia investigation, even after charges of Obstruction of Justice appeared well substantiated, Chris took charge and spoke out. He was a young guy, and he would have his chance to run again for president. Being the sitting Vice President certainly wouldn't hurt.

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

Kamala/Chris!!!

[MAINEiac4434]

Dream. Ticket.

Kamala 2020. Kamala 2024. Murphy 2028. Murphy 2032.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

This is flawlessly formatted.

[BuckeyeNut]

Harris/Murphy would make me quite happy even with Warren out.

[The Other Castro]

Sherrod

April 28th, 2020

“Thank you, Elizabeth, and again I’m honored. I look forward to speaking with her.”  

Sherrod Brown had been an early supporter of Elizabeth Warren, and was saddened by her untimely exit in the primaries. But still, he respected her reasoning and defended her decisions. Now, it appeared that she was repaying the favor for his initial backing. He had learned that Warren recommended him, as well as a couple of other names, to Kamala Harris for VP when she dropped out. Any ticket with Harris at the top had appeared unlikely just a few months ago, but was now shaping up to be a reality. She had survived the Acela primaries, and now it was only a matter of time before Booker recognized the position he was in and withdrew. Sure, Booker could stay in and contest the race at a brokered convention, but hopefully he knew better than to do something like that. The Democratic Party wanted unity, and it wanted it now before things got ugly.
 
April 21
 
New York
Cory Booker: 165 (121+44) / 53.1%
Kamala Harris: 106 / 46.9%
 
April 28
 
Connecticut
Kamala Harris: 42 (26+16) / 51.7%
Cory Booker: 23 / 46.2%
Others: 0 / 2.1%
 
Delaware
Cory Booker: 20 (9+11) / 54.1%
Kamala Harris: 8 / 44.5%
Others: 0 / 1.4%

Maryland
Cory Booker: 70 (45+25)/ 54.3%
Kamala Harris: 34 / 42.1%
Others: 0 / 3.6%

Pennsylvania
Kamala Harris: 97 (77+20) / 49.7%
Cory Booker: 77 / 49.2%
Others: 0 / 1.1%

Rhode Island
Kamala Harris: 21 (12+9) / 52.9%
Cory Booker: 9 / 44.7%
Others: 0 / 2.4%

Total Delegates:
Kamala Harris - 1464
Cory Booker - 1355
Uncommitted - 566
 
3385 delegates allocated, 2242/4483 needed for a majority.

Losing Pennsylvania probably should have been Booker's death knell. Sherrod checked CNN to see if there was any news about him withdrawing. Still nothing. Well, the night was still young and Sherrod could understand Booker wanting to think things through, but the party had been growing antsy. According to Elizabeth, former President Barack Obama had reached out to her, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Joe Biden to request that they remain publicly neutral until a nominee had been chosen. However, Booker and Harris continued to fight each other while Donald Trump tweeted insults at both of them. The taunts of Lazy Kamala and Corrupt Cory were getting annoying, and Democratic leaders were ready to get behind one candidate to take Trump head-on. What happened next would be in Cory Booker's hands.