Éminence grise - a 2020 Election Game (Rules, Signups, and OOC)

[Boobs]

Éminence grise
a 2020 election game

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton / Timothy Michael Kaine - 81,991,936 (57.69%) 471 EVs
Donald John Trump / Michael Richard Pence - 56,722,103 (39.91%) 67 EVs

The 2016 presidential election saw the effect of political inexperience completely sink the Republican Party's prospects, while a highly disciplined and focused campaign by Clinton never lost footing. Clinton's campaign successfully managed to keep both Bernie primary voters and convince swing voters to rally around her, in addition to attacking Trump on both policy and personality issues.  It was, however, Trump's many gaffes and personally issues that pushed more and more traditional Republican voters away from the ticket. Clinton's promise of a one-term administration made her candidacy much more palatable to many Republicans who were on the fence. The early resolution of Clinton's email server scandal, cleared completely by FBI Director Comey, and the October surprise of the Access Hollywood tape, released the week before Halloween, was the ultimate nail in the coffin of the Trump campaign. Hillary Clinton's stunning landslide victory, the largest since Ronald Reagan's landslide 1984 re-election, made her the first woman President and the largest vote-getter in history, nearly 12 million votes more than Barack Obama's 2008 election.

Riding on Clinton's coattails, the Democratic Party gained a net of 56 seats in the House of Representatives and 8 seats in the Senate, taking control of both chambers.

President Clinton and the 115th Congress passed several progressive legislation, such as Medicare-for-All, a revenue-neutral carbon tax, and others, as well as appointing two new Justices to the Supreme Court, renominating Merrick Garland to take Antonin Scalia's seat in early 2017, and Sri Srinivasan to replace Anthony Kennedy after his retirement in the summer of 2018. Clinton's relative success domestically was matched by breakthrough progress with North Korea, although relations with Russia continued to sour.

In the 2018 midterm elections, Clinton's positive approvals and the strong economy, with unemployment down to 3.5% and real wage growth up for the third year in a row, tempered some of the Democrats' losses. However, Republicans were still able to win the Senate, gaining 6 seats, but failed to capture the House, albeit thinning the Democrats' majority from 244 seats to 226. In gubernatorial elections, Democrats had a net gain of 1, although both parties picked up 4 Governor's mansions each.

(For reference, Democrats won New Hampshire, Missouri, and Indiana in 2016, and held on to Virginia and won New Jersey in 2017)

Between Election Day 2018 and the sitting of the new Congress, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced her retirement. President Clinton nominated Kentaji Brown Jackson, judge of the DC District Court. Although Brown Jackson was confirmed and took Ginsburg's seat in late December, Clinton's gambit was seen as deceitful and tricky.

The relationship between President Clinton and the 116th Congress was a lot less cooperative than that with the 115th Congress, although thanks to moderate Republicans in the House and Senate, the signature accomplishment of 2019, a tax reform bill, passed. Although unemployment was up, slightly, the economy was still relatively strong, but economists warn of an upcoming recession.

Clinton's approvals sit at an average of 57%. She has not reneged on her promise to serve one term, and both ambitious Democrats and Republicans have leapt at the opportunity.



Rules:
(which I stole from Wxtransit, who may or may not have stolen from Lumine's game, thanks, Lumine and wxtransit)

This game will cover the 2020 US Presidential Election from September 1st, 2019 to November 3rd, 2020, divided into three main phases:

Primary Phase: Assuming campaign announcements to have come earlier in the year, this primary season will take us from September 2019 to June 2020, with players from the Democratic and Republican Parties fighting to emerge as the frontrunner or even the nominee of their respective parties.

Convention Phase: Both main parties will enter this phase to decide on their eventual nominee, although the gameplay will be very limited if a player has already won his respective nomination. Should a party lack a clear nominee, a gameplay system encouraging backroom deals as the ballots move forward will be put in place.

General Election Phase: Taking us from September 1st to November 3rd, 2020, with eight turns of a week to account for the final stage of the campaign as players play the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates, and potentially some key surrogates for their campaigns.

2.- The in-game length of turns will vary from days to an entire month depending on the circumstances, but all turns will last one week (from calendar Saturday to Saturday, no more) in RL. Duly informing of a turn absence will yield no penalty (a polling freeze or very limited loss), but simply not posting will bring consequences.

3.- Personal message me for endorsements! No candidate may recieve more than 2 per turn, and there are some special endorsements that will be reserved for key events or dates (for example, New Hampshire or Iowa Governors, or relevant newspapers like the Des Moines Register or the New Hampshire Union Leader).

4.- There will be debates, several of them to account for the OTL high number of GOP debates and their undeniable impact on the race. The first few turns will all feature limited debates.

5.- Like other games, I will use a number randomizer to determine positive and negative news for the candidates. 1-5 will be positive experiences (1 being great news) and 95-100 will be negative experiences (100 being terrible news). 6-94 will be no news. Real life news will also feature as part of the game for players to exploit (or influence).

6.- Third Party candidates are allowed to join, but their respective gameplay will be focused on the General Election. The only exception is the Americans Elect Primaries, which may be a factor if a player wants to run for their nomination (thus making them more successful and relevant than in OTL).

7 - If your candidate is not included in the provided list below, make sure to personal message me so that I can approve/reject the candidate. Please make your candidates realistic (they must be real people who would plausibly seek the nomination in 2020, if you don't know if they could work, just ask).

8. Have fun.

Candidate List

Declared Candidates:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (NewYorkExpress)
Sen. Katie McGinty (Ishan)
Vice President Tim Kaine (JacksonHitchcock)
Mr. Mark Cuban (Jaguar)
Gov. Larry Hogan (Terp40hitch)
Fmr. Gov. Bill Halsam (NTP)
Gov. Greg Abbott (Wxtransit)


Potential Candidates:
Democrats:
Vice President Tim Kaine (VA)
Sen. Cory Booker (NJ)
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI)
Sen. Russ Feingold (WI)
Sen. Kamala Harris (CA)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN)
Sen. Chris Murphy (CT)
Sen. Michael Bennet (CO)
Gov. Kate Brown (OR)
Gov. Tom Wolf (PA)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (NY)
Gov. Roy Cooper (NC)
Fmr. Gov. Terry MacAuliffe (VA)
Fmr. Gov. John Hickenlooper (CO)
Fmr. Gov. Deval Patrick (MA)
Attorney General Tom Perez (MD)
Sec. of State and Fmr. VP. Joe Biden (DE)
Sec. of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro (TX)
Rep. John Delaney (MD)
Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (IN)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (NY)
Mayor Eric Garcetti (CA)
Others (PM me)

Republicans:
Sen. Susan Collins (ME)
Sen. Cory Gardner (CO)
Sen. Ben Sasse (NE)
Sen. Ted Cruz (TX)
Sen. Mitt Romney (UT)
Sen. Rick Scott (FL)
Sen. Tom Cotton (AR)
Sen. Bob Corker (TN)
Sen. Rand Paul (KY)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC)
Sen. James Lankford (OK)
Sen. Joni Ernst (IA)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (AL)
Fmr. Sen. Marco Rubio (FL)
Fmr. Sen. Pat Toomey (PA)
Fmr. Sen. Jeff Flake (AZ)
Fmr. Sen. Rick Santorum (PA)
Gov. Doug Ducey (AZ)
Gov. Greg Abbott (TX)
Gov. Asa Hutchinson (AR)
Gov. Scott Walker (WI)
Gov. Phil Scott (VT)
Gov. Charlie Baker (MA)
Gov. Larry Hogan (MD)
Fmr. Gov. Nathan Deal (GA)
Fmr. Gov. Nikki Haley (SC)
Fmr. Gov. John Kasich (OH)
Fmr. Gov. Jeb Bush (FL)
Fmr. Gov. Paul LePage (ME)
Fmr. Gov. Brian Sandoval (NV)
Fmr. Gov. Mike Pence (IN)
Fmr. Gov. Mike Huckabee (AR)
Rep. Mark Sanford (SC)
Rep. Peter King (NY)
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (UT)
Mr. Donald Trump (NY)
Mr. Mark Cuban (TX)
Ms. Meg Whitman (CA)
Others (PM me)


Libertarians:
Fmr. Gov. William Weld (MA)
Fmr. Gov. Gary Johnson (NM)
Mr. Zlotan Istvan (CA)
Mr. Adam Kokesh (AZ)
Mr. Austen Peterson (MO)
Others (PM me)


Greens:
Fmr. Gov. Jesse Ventura (MN)
Fmr. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (GA)
Ms. Jill Stein (MA)
Ms. Cheri Honkala (PA)
Ms. Roseanne Barr (GA)
Others (PM me)


Independents:
PM me.

[Boobs]

How many 2020 games can we have going at the same time?

I think I'll reprise my previous Election game performance of Elizabeth Warren...but I'm not thrilled about the prospect of doing two games at once.

This likely won’t start for a couple of weeks.

[Boobs]

Official results of the 2016/2018 elections would be nice (as in, a list of winners for all Senate/House/Governor's mansions that are different in partisan officeholder to real life).

2016 results for House, Senate, and Governor are on the initial post; no candidates are changed from IRL.

2018 results for governor:
Alabama: Kay Ivey defeats Walt Maddox
Alaska: Mike Dunleavy defeats Bill Walker
Arizona: Doug Ducey defeats David Garcia
Arkansas: Asa Hutchinson defeats Jared Henderson
California: Gavin Newsom defeats John Cox
Colorado: Jared Polis defeats Walker Stapleton
Connecticut: Erin Stewart defeats Ned Lamont
Florida: Ron DeSantis defeats Philip Levine
Georgia: Brian Kemp defeats Stacey Abrams
Hawaii: Colleen Hanabusa defeats Andria Tupola
Idaho: Brad Little defeats Paulette Jordan
Illinois: JB Pritzker defeats Bruce Rauner
Iowa: Terry Branstad defeats Cathy Glasson
Kansas: Kris Kobach defeats Laura Kelly
Maine: Mark Eves defeats Mary Mayhew
Maryland: Larry Hogan defeats Ben Jealous
Massachusetts: Charlie Baker defeats Jay Gonzalez
Michigan: Gretchen Whitmer defeats Bill Schuette
Minnesota: Lori Swanson defeats Tim Pawlenty
Nevada: Steve Sisolak defeats Adam Laxalt
Nebraska: Pete Ricketts defeats Bob Krist
New Hampshire: Jeanie Forester defeats Colin Van Ostern
New Mexico: Hector Balderas defeats Steve Pearce
New York: Andrew Cuomo defeats Marcus Molinaro
Ohio: Mary Taylor defeats Joe Schiavoni
Oklahoma: Mick Cornett defeats Drew Edmondson
Oregon: Kate Brown defeats Knute Buehler
Pennsylvania: Tom Wolf defeats Paul Mango
Rhode Island: Alan Fung defeats Gina Raimondo
South Carolina: Catherine Templeton defeats James Smith
South Dakota: Kristi Noem defeats Billie Sutton
Tennessee: Beth Harwell defeats Karl Dean
Texas: Greg Abbott defeats Lupe Valdez
Vermont: Phil Scott defeats Christine Hallquist
Wisconsin: Scott Walker defeats Kelda Roys
Wyoming: Mark Gordon defeats Mary Throne

For Senate:
Arizona: Krysten Sinema defeats Kelli Ward (Jeff Flake lost the primary)
California: Dianne Feinstein defeats Kevin de Leon
Connecticut: Chris Murphy defeats Dominic Rapini
Delaware: Tom Carper defeats Gene Truono
Florida: Rick Scott defeats Bill Nelson
Hawaii: Mazie Hirono defeats Thomas Edward White
Indiana: Mike Braun defeats Joe Donnelly
Maine: Angus King defeats Eric Braley and Zak Ringelstein
Maryland: Ben Cardin defeats Tony Campbell
Massachusetts: Elizabeth Warren defeats Geoff Diehl
Michigan: Debbie Stabenow defeats John James
Minnesota: Amy Klobuchar defeats Jim Newberger
Minnesota-Special: Tina Smith defeats Karin Housley
Mississippi: Roger Wicker defeats David Baria
Mississippi-Special: Chris McDaniel defeats Mike Espy
Missouri: Josh Hawley defeats Claire McCaskill
Montana: Tim Fox defeats Jon Tester
Nebraska: Deb Fischer defeats Jane Raybould
Nevada: Jacky Rosen defeats Dean Heller
New Jersey: Bob Menendez defeats Bob Hugin
New Mexico: Martin Heinrich defeats Aubrey Dunn Jr. (Libertarian)
New York: Kirsten Gillibrand defeats Chele Farley
North Dakota: Kevin Cramer defeats Heidi Heitkamp
Ohio: Sherrod Brown defeats Jim Renacci
Pennsylvania: Bob Casey defeats Lou Barletta
Rhode Island: Sheldon Whitehouse defeats Robert Flanders
Tennessee: Bob Corker defeats James Mackler
Texas: Ted Cruz defeats Beto O'Rourke
Utah: Mitt Romney defeats Jenny Wilson
Vermont: Bernie Sanders reelected without major opposition
Virginia: Tim Kaine defeats Corey Stewart
Washington: Maria Cantwell defeats Susan Hutchinson
West Virginia: Evan Jenkins defeats Joe Manchin
Wisconsin: Tammy Baldwin defeats Sean Duffy
Wyoming: John Barrasso defeats Gary Trauner

[Boobs]

Virginia: Tim Kaine defeats Corey Stewart

Isn't he the vice president?

You are correct; I'll rectify the mistake. Bobby Scott was appointment in Kaine's stead.

Tim McCain please

Hes not gonna answer. He won’t answer. I’m finna keep messaging him

Had you sent me a PM with any actual content, I may have been inclined to respond, but you instead sent me several empty messages in the span of several minutes, including "Hey" three times. Perhaps I would have been tempted to accept George Clooney as a candidate, but right now I am rather hesitant.

[Boobs]

I'm hoping we can get some more people, for both parties and perhaps an independent, Libertarian, or Green, although those could join later on.

[Boobs]

Can I take a shot with Sherrod Brown?

Certainly.

[Boobs]

Is this game still happening?

Yes. It will begin on this Saturday, if that’s alright with everyone.

[Boobs]

First turn is open! https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=297538.0

You will have until next Friday at midnight.

[Boobs]

Should West Virginia really be that early in the primary process?

It would make three majority white states, something Democrats in particular would want to avoid.

Maybe either Alaska or Hawaii should go in that spot instead.

https://frontloading.blogspot.com/2018/05/2017-18-state-legislative-review_30.html

This assumes this bill succeeded.

Also remember that under a President Clinton, the Democratic brand in West Virginia effectively dies at every level, so the only people left in the party in the state are college students, actual liberals, black people in McDowell County, and exurbanites in the far Eastern Panhandle.

[Boobs]

Can I please run for President? I'd like to run as Governor Scott Walker.

Yes, approved. You’ll need to post your schedule for September by Friday night.

[Boobs]

I’d like to play as Steve Scalise (did he still get shot?).

Yes, he does.

You have my approval.

[Boobs]

Turn ends tonight – reminding you to get your schedules in.

[Boobs]

I’ve been working all day, so I won’t be able to post Turn 2 until Sunday evening. If you still need to post anything, you’ve got until then.

[Boobs]

Can I have an extension till tomorrow

Turn ends this evening, but you can post until tomorrow morning (9 AM or so. )

[Boobs]

Alright. Seeing the large amount of extension requests, the turn is extended to Monday, 13 August, at 11:59 PM Central Time.

[Boobs]

HCP, do we have an ETA on the next Turn?

When I get home after work. Around 8 PM CST.

[Boobs]

NYE could easily rectify this by changing it to “75 children and their families.”

[Boobs]

NYE could easily rectify this by changing it to “75 children and their families.”

Thanks for the free advice.

Lord knows you need it.

[Boobs]

I also am doing an extension since I don’t current have WiFi at my apartment and I’m typing this on my phone.

[Boobs]

I also am doing an extension since I don’t current have WiFi at my apartment and I’m typing this on my phone.

To when?

I should get internet on Tuesday, so until then.

[Boobs]

Turn is now closed, next turn should posted tonight.

[Boobs]

Here is the primary schedule; let me know if I'm missing any states.

[Boobs]

I think New York should be later than March 10th honestly, just based on their position in 2012 and 2016.... Maybe April 28, the same day as the rest of the Acela States (except for Massachusetts?)

That's reasonable; if anyone else seconds this, I'll be fine with changing it.

[Boobs]

Quick question I wanted to ask. Will there still be campaigning expected from candidates in the month of January? I ask that since Iowa votes during that month and I am unsure whether we would campaign more after December or if the results are just released.

We will have a turn for just January 1st-26th, and then results for Iowa. Similarly, we will split up turns to be short between each primary contest.

[Boobs]

 I'll extend the turn to be until *next* Sunday. I understand most of us have school starting up again, so don't worry, I don't want this to be a high-stress game. You can also edit your schedules, if you've posted them already.