Talk Elections

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Author's Note: No, I'm not abandoning Four More Years. This is just a fun, low-effort Timeline I'll write as a break from endless studying to exams and sinking into breakup regrets. It won't be nearly as deep, thought-out and full of plot twists as FMY, but more general and relaxed- I'll basically just report election results, maybe recap some news events, speeches, debates etc. I might do it as a Point of View Timeline, akin to Castro's wonderful Eternal Sunshine of the Democratic Mind, but again, much less detailed and complex. It'll start with the results of the 2018 midterms, which I'll begin reporting in the next post. Hope you'll enjoy it!

I'm so here for this

YAAAAAAAASSSSSS

Ahh... I thought this was about Pete Wilson when read the headline. He was mayor of San Diego before becoming senator and later governor of California.

Elizabeth was cautiously optimistic.

The American people were very dissatisfied with President Trump and, most importantly, with the Republican Party. More than a year of continuous failures, unpopular bills and increasingly outrageous controversies were taking a toll and exciting the Democratic base to go out and vote, and this was reflected well in the polls. The blue wave of 2018, they called it. Even better than 2006. Some of the most optimistic pundits even thought that they could win the Senate. Liz hoped that they were right.

Already, CNN had reported and called some races, including her own. She was one of the first Senators to give her victory speech, and did it, as agreed by the two colleagues, right before Connecticut's Chris Murphy gave his own speech. Liz turned to the TV screen, where CNN was recapping the races so far called, and uncalled:

()

Connecticut U.S. Senate Election (35% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Chris Murphy (D)*- 62% ✓
Businessman Matthew Corey (R)- 36%

Delaware U.S. Senate Election (43% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Tom Carper (D)*- 70% ✓
Businessman Chuck Boyce (R)- 27%

Florida U.S. Senate Election (44% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Senator Bill Nelson (D)*- 50.9%
Fmr. Governer Rick Scott (R)- 48.4%

Indiana U.S. Senate Election (56% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Senator Joe Donnelly (D)*- 48.8%
Fmr. U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita (R)- 48.3%

Maine U.S. Senate Election (40% Reporting): INDEPENDENT HOLD
Senator Angus King (I)*- 55% ✓
Governor Paul Lepage (R)- 34%
Teacher Zak Ringelstein (D)- 8%

Maryland U.S. Senate Election (37% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Ben Cardin (D)*- 62 % ✓
Fmr. CIA Officer Sam Faddis (R)- 24%
Ms. Chelsea Manning (I)- 13%

Massachusetts U.S. Senate Election (36% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D)*- 59% ✓
State Rep. Geoff Diehl (R)- 39%

Michigan U.S. Senate Election (33% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D)*- 56% ✓
State Senator Rick Jones (R)- 42%

Mississippi U.S. Senate Election (36% Reporting): REPUBLICAN HOLD
Senator Roger Wicker (R)*- 58% ✓
State Rep. Jay Hughes Jr. (D)- 40%

Missouri U.S. Senate Election (37% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
State Attorney General Josh Hawley (R)- 50.1%
Senator Claire McCaskill (D)*- 48.6%

New Jersey U.S. Senate Election (43% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone- 58% ✓
Fmr. State Assemblyman Jack Cittarelli (R)- 38%

Ohio U.S. Senate Election (48% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Senator Sherrod Brown (D)*- 52.5%
U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci (R)- 46.8%

Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Election (42% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Bob Casey Jr. (D)*- 55% ✓
U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta (R)- 44%

Rhode Island U.S. Senate Election (35% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D)*- 65% ✓
State Rep. Robert Nardolillo (R)- 31%

Tennessee U.S. Senate Election (31% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R)- 50.1%
Fmr. Governor Phil Bredesen (D)- 49.0%

Texas U.S. Senate Election (27% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D)- 51.3%
Senator Ted Cruz (R)*- 47.9%

Vermont U.S. Senate Election (46% Reporting): INDEPENDENT HOLD
Senator Bernie Sanders (I)*- 77% ✓
Fmr. State Rep. John MacGovern (R)- 21%

Virgina U.S. Senate Election (51% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Tim Kaine (D)*- 54% ✓
County Supervisor Corey Steward (R)- 44%

West Virginia U.S. Senate Election (48% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Senator Joe Manchin (D)*- 49.8%
U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins (R)- 48.1%

Elizabeth observed the results critically for a few moments. It was looking pretty good. Senators Casey Jr., Stabenow and King, who were thought vulnerable, easily turned back their challengers. Tim Kaine seemed to be heading for a landslide against his madman of an opponent, with Virginia called even before much of NoVA and his own Richmond reported. Senator Nelson was doing well too, despite the scare that Rick Scott was going to unseat him. Sherrod was looking solid- Jim Renacci's Trumpian rhetoric backfired against him in an anti-Trump midterm. But the Democratic incumbents from the deep red states were worrying her- Joe Manchin seemed likely to be reelected, but Claire and Joe were clearly fighting very tough battles. She just hoped they'd be able to escape defeat, at least this time.

And there were two glimmering beacons of hope- Phil was doing shockingly well in Tennessee against that kooky Blackburn, and Beto was actually leading Cruz, though admittedly many Republican areas haven't reported yet. If one of them could win, in addition to Kyrsten and Jackie in Arizona and Nevada, and they lost only one incumbent... they could actually win the Senate. And if they won the Senate... 2020 was looking better and better.

Liz was well-aware of the rumours against her running. And she had to admit, they were not completely unfounded. Why else would she take up that assignment in the Armed Services Committee? But it's not like she wanted to be President- she just desperately wanted the next President to be a progressive. Bernie seemed to be making moves, though. She thought that he was too old, but she wouldn't run if he did. There would simply be no need. The Senator sighed and turned her eyes back to the screen. 9 p.m. was here, with polls in some important states closing.

The room erupted in cheers as CNN made three consecutive calls- New York for Kirsten, Minnesotta for Amy and New Mexico for Martin. Now it was time to wait.

Hey, girl -- are you the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana? Because I'd gieg your Butti

"We are now ready to call the North Dakota Senate race for incumbent Heidi Heitkamp. Heidi Heitkamp was re-elected to represent North Dakota in the U.S. Senate. This is a key hold for Democrats..."

Kirsten smiled as CNN called yet another race for a vulnerable Democrat. This night was looking better and better, and they were telling her that much of it was caused by increased turnout and enthusiasm from women- which, as a leader of that movement, could only benefit her when it's time to announce her campaign in a year or so. With Trump so weak, and a likely Democratic House, as well as a possible Senate victory, it was just a matter of winning the Democratic primary. And Kirsten Gillibrand was confident that she had a good chance.

She turned her eyes to the list of election result to see the updated list of called races.

()

California U.S. Senate Election (13% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D)*- 59% ✓
State Senator Kevin de León (D)- 41%

Florida U.S. Senate Election (83% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Bill Nelson (D)*- 51.2% ✓
Fmr. Governer Rick Scott (R)- 47.9%

Hawaii U.S. Senate Election (4% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Mazie Hirrono (D)*- 91% ✓
Businesswoman Crystal Carpenter (I)- 8%

Minnesota U.S. Senate Election (49% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Amy Klobucher (D)*- 63% ✓
State Rep. Jim Newberger (R)- 32%

Minnesota U.S. Senate Election, SPECIAL (49% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Tina Smith (D)*- 59% ✓
Fmr. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R)- 39%

Nebraska U.S. Senate Election (44% Reporting): REPUBLICAN HOLD
Senator Deb Fischer (R)*- 57% ✓
City Councilwoman Jane Raybould (D)- 38%

New Mexico U.S. Senate Election (39% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Martin Heinrich (D)*- 54% ✓
Fmr. Mayor Richard Berry (R)- 45%

New York U.S. Senate Election (54% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D)*- 74% ✓
Businesswoman Chele Chiavacci Farley (R)- 22%

North Dakota U.S. Senate Election (61% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D)*- 52.7% ✓
State Senator Tom Campbell (R)- 45.8%

Ohio U.S. Senate Election (88% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Sherrod Brown (D)*- 53.9% ✓
U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci (R)- 45.2%

Utah U.S. Senate Election (38% Reporting): REPUBLICAN HOLD
Fmr. Governor Mitt Romney (R)- 69% ✓
Councilwoman Jenny Wilson (D)- 27%

Washington U.S. Senate Election (20% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Maria Cantwell (D)*- 67% ✓
State Rep. Brad Klippert (R)- 33%

West Virginia U.S. Senate Election (94% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Joe Manchin (D)*- 50.1% ✓
U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins (R)- 47.8%

Wisconsin U.S. Senate Election (43% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D)*- 54.3% ✓
Businessman Kevin Nicholson (R)- 44.6%

Wyoming U.S. Senate Election (55% Reporting): REPUBLICAN HOLD
Senator John Barrasso (R)*- 71% ✓
Businessman Gary Tauner (D)- 27%

Joe Manchin, Tammy Baldwin, Sherrod Brown, Heidi Heitkamp and Bill Nelson, all kept their seats. And these were only the called races. What really interested Kirsten, and most likely any other political watcher, were the races left uncalled:

Arizona U.S. Senate Election (37% Reporting): TOO EARLY TO CALL
U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema- 52.8%
Fmr. Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R)- 39.2%
Fmr. Chairman Robert Graham (R-I)- 7.7%

Indiana U.S. Senate Election (98% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Senator Joe Donnelly (D)*- 48.6%
Fmr. U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita (R)- 48.5%

Missouri U.S. Senate Election (88% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Senator Claire McCaskill (D)*- 49.2%
State Attorney General Josh Hawley (R)- 48.9%

Montana U.S. Senate Election (40% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Senator Jon Tester (D)*- 51.6%
State Audito Matthew Rosendale (R)- 45.2%

Nevada U.S. Senate Election (36% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
U.S. Rep. Jackie Rosen (D)- 49.9%
Senator Dean Heller (R)*- 48.5%

Tennessee U.S. Senate Election (89% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Fmr. Governor Phil Bredesen (D)- 49.5%
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R)- 49.3%

Texas U.S. Senate Election (85% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D)- 49.4%
Senator Ted Cruz (R)*- 49.4%

In Arizona, Kyrsten seemed assured a victory. The Senator from New York noted the "too early", rather than "too close", label. Meanwhile, Montana and Nevada also seemed like solid ground for Jon and Jackie. The only truly worrying places were, for Kirsten, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. Indiaia... it was very close, but the time was running out for Todd Rokita to catch up. She hoped that she was right.

>Those TX & TN results

()

Well, darn it, Texas isn't going to happen, right?

Tim was watching the results of the night with interest. Despite leading very late into the count, Beto's numbers were steadily worsening as the last prescints started reporting, and that slimy Cruz seemed to be running away with the race. His own race wasn't of much interest anymore- with 99% reporting, Virginia went 65%-33% for him against his joke of a Republican challenger. But the other races were, indeed, interesting. It looked like the Democrats just might reclaim the Senate tonight, and he was happy about it.

Still, I could've been Vice President right now, Tim thought for the umpteenth time that night. But he had to remind himself that if he had been the Vice President, the night would probably have looked much bleaker. So at least there was that, with Trump's disastrous Presidency. Tim lost the chance to be Vice President, of course, and he doubted he could become President. That was it. He didn't even want to. Though, the words of his fellow Senator, Mark, kept coming into his mind: "I lost my chance when I didn't run in 2008, Tim, but you could yet bring sensible Virginian governing into the White House... Think about it, Tim, you have the name recognition and you'd be surprised by the amount of people you could appeal to. Terry won't win the primary, as much as I like him, but you could. Think about it."

A CNN alert woke Tim up from his thoughts, and he turned sharply to look at the screen. Then, he had to stop himself from cursing loudly.

"We have a major call to make," Anderson Cooper proclaimed ceremoniously, "Texas Senator Ted Cruz has been reelected. I repeat, we can call the Texas Senate race for incumbent Ted Cruz. This joins the recently called races in Montana and Arizona, and leaves only four uncalled Senate races. A big sigh of relief for Texas Republicans..."

Texas U.S. Senate Election (97% Reporting): REPUBLICAN HOLD
Senator Ted Cruz (R)*- 49.8% ✓
U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D)- 48.7%

Arizona U.S. Senate Election (73% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC GAIN
U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema- 54.1% ✓
Fmr. Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R)- 36.5%
Fmr. Chairman Robert Graham (R-I)- 8.6%

Montana U.S. Senate Election (66% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Jon Tester (D)*- 52.3% ✓
State Audito Matthew Rosendale (R)- 45.8%

Disturbed by the result, Tim turned to look at the rest of the races in his campaign manager's laptop, hoping to see something encouraging.

()

Indiana U.S. Senate Election (98% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Senator Joe Donnelly (D)*- 48.7%
Fmr. U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita (R)- 48.7%

Missouri U.S. Senate Election (94% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
State Attorney General Josh Hawley (R)- 49.3%
Senator Claire McCaskill (D)*- 49.0%

Nevada U.S. Senate Election (54% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
U.S. Rep. Jackie Rosen (D)- 50.7%
Senator Dean Heller (R)*- 48.2%

Tennessee U.S. Senate Election (93% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Fmr. Governor Phil Bredesen (D)- 49.6%
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R)- 49.4%

The tension in the room seemed to be growing. Claire wasn't in a good shape, while Phil and Joe were in very dangerous positions. The night was not quite done yet.

I'm going to predict that MO is an R pickup and TN is a D pickup.

The room erupted in cheers as the AP called Nevada for Jackie Rosen, another gain for them. Of course, it didn't come as a surprise to Chuck- the numbers were heavily suggested that. He patted Harry Reid, who came to participate in the watch party, on the shoulder.

Nevada U.S. Senate Election (63% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC GAIN
U.S. Rep. Jackie Rosen (D)- 50.6% ✓
Senator Dean Heller (R)*- 48.1%

However, Chuck still wasn't quite calm. The last three races were very tight, and it looked like the future of his political career was balanced on the edge of a dagger. It seemed like as the minutes went by, the tension just grew impossibly higher. He could see Kirsten's leg fidgeting. It was officially her night, her watch party, considering she was running for reelection. But no one doubted that she would win- her night, or so she hoped, would come in November 3rd, 2020. Tonight, it was Chuck's night. Tonight he might finally become Majority Leader. He jumped as another alert came on the TV screen. CNN were calling another race.

"We have another call, Wolf, and it's a historic one- Phil Bredesen has won the Senate race in the state where he once served as a popular Governor. I repeat, Former governor Bredesen has defeated Representative Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee's Senate race, and will succeed the retiring Senator Bob Corker in the U.S. Senate, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since Al Gore in 1990."

Tennessee U.S. Senate Election (97% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC GAIN
Fmr. Governor Phil Bredesen (D)- 49.8% ✓
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R)- 49.1%

Cheers filled the room again, and this time, Chuck joined them. In 2016, no one expected the Democrats to actually win Tennessee's Senate seat in 2018. Hell, even when Phil announced in 2017, they gave him very slim chances. But Blackburn's gaffe-filled campaign and Bredesen's popularity did her in. Now, Chuck would almost certainly become Majority Leader, he thought...

Another alert interrupted his wistful thoughts. And this time, with bad news.

"We can now call another race..." Anderson Cooper's voice boomed forbodingly. "Missouri State Attorney General Josh Hawley has won the Senate race there, unseating incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill..."

Missouri U.S. Senate Election (98% Reporting): REPUBLICAN GAIN
State Attorney General Josh Hawley (R)- 49.3% ✓
Senator Claire McCaskill (D)*- 49.1%

Chuck's heart sank. Claire was a good, loyal Senator, and a useful asset. Now she would be replaced by a Republican, and Chuck once again felt anxiety. He looked at the numbers for the last race, in Indiana, and got a major scare.

Indiana U.S. Senate Election (99% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Fmr. U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita (R)- 48.76%
Senator Joe Donnelly (D)*- 48.74%

Rokita is leading?! He cursed under his breath. This was bad news. Very bad news. if Joe Donnelly lost reelection, Mike Pence's tie-breaking vote would keep Republicans in the majority. Not good, not good, not good... Suddenly, the numbers changed again. The last prescints were finishing their reports, and soon there will be nothing left. The first state to report its results would be the last state to call its Senate race.

Indiana U.S. Senate Election (99% Reporting): TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Senator Joe Donnelly (D)*- 48.765%
Fmr. U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita (R)- 48.763%

"This is it, folks, the compositon of the Senate will be decided in the coming minutes..." Wolf Blitzer declared dramatically. Chuck held his breath. The entire fate of the Senate, in the end of a few Hoosiers.

And then the alert came.

"We can now call Indiana's Senate race... Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly has won re-election, by a few hundred votes! I repeat, Democrat Joe Donnelly won re-election in Indiana, and with this result, we can make a key call- Democrats will hold the majority in the next Senate!"

Indiana U.S. Senate Election (100% Reporting): DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Senator Joe Donnelly (D)*- 48.766% ✓
Fmr. U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita (R)- 48.762%

The cheering in the room was deafening now, and everyone flocked to Chuck, hugging and congratulating him. "Now you can smile, Chuck," Harry told him, "never smile before the enemy is crushed and you know you've won the battle. You've won."

Chuck Schumer allowed himself to smile. He was the Senate Majority Leader.

()

Composition of the U.S. Senate:

Democratic Majority: 51 Seats (Leader: Chuck Schumer)
Democrats: 49 Seats () (+3, -1)
Independents (Caucusing with the Democrats): 2 Seats () (+-0)


Republican Minority: 49 Seats (Leader: Mitch McConnell)
Republicans: 49 Seats () (+1, -3)

Claire.....
()

Recount in Indiana? The vote percentages indicate a margin of 100 or less.

yeah we are at recount territory for Indiana also I really hope election night goes like that in november

Yes, there will be a recount and Donnelly will win it. I won't cover it since it's more of a "broad strokes" TL- I won't get much into the more intricate details, that's reserved for FMY.

Governor-Elect Gavin Newsome was satisfied.

He was finally, after all these years, the Governor of the most populated state in the country, and possibly one of the most powerful men in Amercica. After Jerry's return frustrated his ambitions, and after he waited 8 whole years in the dullest job on earth, he could finally assume the position he so craved.

Oh, and the Democrats picked up 9 Governor's mansions. Gavin turned to look at the screen again, where the very eye-pleasing results were displayed.

()

State of the U.S. State Governorships:
Democratic Party- 27 () (+11)
Republican Party- 22 () (-11)
Independents- 1 () (+-0)

Results of the 2018 Gubernatorial Elections

Alabama Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Governor Kay Ivey (R)*- 51.7% ✓
Mayor Walter Maddox (D)- 47.1%

Alaska Gubernatorial Election: INDEPENDENT HOLD
Governor Bill Walker (I)*- 52.0% ✓
State Rep. Mike Chenault (R)- 44.4%

Arizona Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Governor Doug Ducey (R)*- 50.3% ✓
State Senator Steve Farley (D)- 49.1%

Arkansas Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Governor Asa Hutchinson (R)*- 61.4% ✓
Fmr. Exec. Director Jared Henderson (D)- 37.5%

California Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom (D)- 67.6% ✓
Fmr. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D)- 32.4%

Colorado Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC HOLD
U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D)- 53.3% ✓
State Treasurer Walker Stapleton (R)- 45.4%

Connecticut Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Businessman Ned Lamont (D)- 49.8% ✓
State Rep. Prasad Srinivasan (R)- 48.9%

Florida Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
Fmr. U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham (D)- 50.7% ✓
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam (R)- 49.1%

Georgia Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Lt. Governor Casey Cagle (R)- 51.0% ✓
State Rep. Stacey Abrams (D)- 48.4%

Hawaii Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Governor David Ige (D)*- 60.4% ✓
State Rep. Andria Tupola (R)- 37.8%

Idaho Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Lt. Governor Brad Little (R)- 60.7% ✓
State Rep. Paulette Jordan (D)- 38.2%

Illinois Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Governor Bruce Rauner (R)*- 41.6% ✓
Venture Capitalist J. B. Pritzker (D)- 40.8%
Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (G)- 12.9%
State Sen. Sam McCann (C)- 4.0%

Iowa Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
Union Leader Cathy Glasson (D)- 50.2% ✓
Governor Kim Reynolds (R)*- 48.4%

Kansas Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
Sec. of Agriculture Josh Svaty (D)- 42.7% ✓
Sec. of State Kris Kobach (R)- 36.9%
Businessman Greg Orman (I)- 20.3%

Maine Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
Attorney General Janet Mills (D)- 38.2% ✓
Fmr. Health Commissioner Mary Mayhew (R)- 36.6%
State Treasurer Terry Hayes (I)- 16.5%
Mayor John Jenkins (I)- 6.4%

Maryland Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Governor Larry Hogan (R)- 50.1% ✓
Fmr. NAACP President Ben Jealous (D)- 48.9%

Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Governor Charlie Baker (R)- 58.6% ✓
Fmr. Mayor Setti Warren (D)- 40.7%

Michigan Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
Fmr. State Senator Gretchen Whitmer (D)- 52.5% ✓
Attorney General Bill Schutte (R)- 46.5%

Minnesota Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC HOLD
U.S. Rep. Tim Walz (D)- 54.2% ✓
County Commissioner Jeff Johnson (R)- 45.4%

Nebraska Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
State Senator Bob Krist (D)- 49.6% ✓
Governor Pete Ricketts (R)*- 49.1%

Nevada Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani (D)- 50.9% ✓
Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R)- 48.5%

New Hampshire Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
Author Stefany Shaheen (D)- 50.2% ✓
Governor Chris Sununu (R)*- 49.1%

New Mexico Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D)- 55.0% ✓
U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce (R)- 43.9%

New York Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Governor Andrew Cuomo (D)*- 57.4% ✓
State Assemblyman Brian Kolb (R)- 38.3%
Mr. Larry Sharpe (L)- 3.2%

Ohio Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
Fmr. CFPB Director Richard Cordray (D)- 50.1% ✓
Attorney General Mike Dewine (R)- 49.7%

Oklahoma Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Mayor Mick Cornett (R)- 53.2% ✓
Fmr. Attorney General Drew Edmondson (D)- 46.4%

Oregon Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Governor Kate Brown (D)*- 58.6% ✓
State Rep. Knute Buehler (R)- 41.0%

Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Governor Tom Wolf (D)*- 52.8% ✓
State Senator Scott Wagner (R)- 46.7%

Rhode Island Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC HOLD
Fmr. Governor Lincoln Chafee (D)- 49.7% ✓
Mayor Allan Fung (R)- 48.9%

South Carolina Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Governor Henry McMaster (R)*- 53.7% ✓
State Rep. James Smith (D)- 46.1%

South Dakota Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R)- 57.6% ✓
State Senator Billie Sutton (D)- 41.8%

Tennessee Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
U.S. Rep. Diane Black (R)- 50.4% ✓
Fmr. Mayor Karl Dean (D)- 49.2%

Texas Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Governor Greg Abbott (R)*- 52.9% ✓
Fmr. Sherriff Lupe Valdez (D)- 46.6%

Vermont Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
Governor Phil Scott (R)*- 70.9% ✓
Middle School Student Ethan Sonneborn (D)- 27.3%

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election: DEMOCRATIC GAIN
State Superintendent Tony Evers (D)- 52.5% ✓
Governor Scott Walker (R)*- 47.2%

Wyoming Gubernatorial Election: REPUBLICAN HOLD
State Treasurer Mark Gordon (R)- 53.3% ✓
Fmr. State Rep. Mary Throne (D)- 46.4%

The results definitely painted a rosey picture for Democrats, the Governor-Elect pondered. Sure, there were some blunders J. B.'s embarrassing loss in Illinois or Stacey's inability to win a key race in Georgia, but mostly, Democrats exceeded expectations- they created two new Alaskas in Nebraska and Kansas, they won a surprise victory in Iowa, they finally won the Governor's Mansion in Florida, and they unseated a hated incumbent in Wisconsin. Things were looking good for 2020. Maybe too good.

Sure, Gavin didn't want Trump to win four more years. But still, he had an uneasy feeling that a Democrat winning in 2020 would seriously harm his ambitions... 2024 would be out of the game, and then in 2028 he would be running for a third Democratic term, and maybe even a third Californian term. He briefly pondered running in 2020 himself, but that would go nowhere. Californians would be furious at him and voters would see him as opportunistic.

Gavin sighed. Whatever the case, he might as well get himself in a good relationship with the next President, maybe it would help him in 2028. He pressed the office phone's button. "Get me on the line with Kamala Harris, please."

Good stuff

I could always tell that Governor-Elect Matthew McConaughey saw himself as president

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

You forgot one thing, David Ige won’t be the Dem nominee in Hawaii. Colleen Hanabusa is the presumptive nominee.

:P


He's running, isn't he? That means that he could be the nominee in an alternate Timeline.

"Future Minority Leader Paul Ryan has said this morning that he 'congratulates' future Speaker Pelosi for her victory", Dana Bash proclaimed on the office's TV screen, "and that Republicans are ready to keep working for the American people in a bipartisan, but principled manner."

Minority Leader Paul Ryan. Minority Leader Paul Ryan. Minority Leader Paul Ryan. "Dammit, that title sucks," Paul cursed aloud to no one in particular. The office was empty anyway- the Speaker's office, he was reminded again, that he would have to give to Nancy soon enough.

()

Composition of the U.S. House of Representatives:
Democratic Party: 243 () (+49)
Republcian Party: 192 () (-49)

New House Leadership:
House Speaker: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
House Majority Leader: Tim Ryan (D-OH)
House Majority Whip: Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
House Minority Leader: Paul Ryan (R-WI)
House Minority Whip: Steve Scalise (R-LA)

Paul sighed. So be it- at least now he could lead from the opposition, rally Republicans and generally just blame Democrats for the dysfunction. Mitch seemed to be enjoying it until 2014. Let Trump and the Democrats drown in each other's mud- he's probably going to lose in 2020 anyway, and then they'd have their fun combatting the new Democratic President, and come 2022 he'd be Speaker again.

Who knows, maybe they could elect an actual conservative in 2024, and then start ushering in true change. Fantasies of privatizing medicare and social security ran through his mind, and brought a smile to his face. Something good might come out of this terrible election after all.

This is great.

Cory Booker was staring at the TV screen, and he was getting increasingly annoyed.

"And this is why, today, I am announcing that I will be a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 Presidential election? For all the women who felt sidelined in the past four years and showed immense bravery coming out with their stories. For all the DREAMERs and immigrants who felt that their government, their country which they know and love, is threatening their very place in the world. For members of the LGBTQ community, who felt an increase in rhetoric against them under a President who doesn't care about them and a Vice President who expressed frightening views about them. And for all the hard-working Americans and small business owners whose healthcare was threatened and whose hard-earned money went to tax cuts for corporations and billionaires. This is why I'm running for President! For our Country, for our People, for America!"

As cheers erupted in the televised Manchester, New Hampshire rally, Cory closed the TV and looked at his aide angrily. "How did she manage to announce before us?!"

She just shrugged. "I don't know, Senator, they haven't told us anything about it.

The Senator from New Jersey huffed. He wanted to be the first serious candidate to announce, to get his name out there and Kirsten somehow managed to beat him to it. It's March 12th, for God's sake, it's so early. She was shrewd, he had to admit, very shrewd. He sighed. "Fine, whatever. Start preparing my speech. We'll make the announcement in Iowa, to counter her. And give me this poll."

The aide nodded and handed him a bunch of papers with an inside poll conducted by his team. It had the candidates they thought were most likely to announce, and it brought mixed news.

Of these candidates who would you vote for if your Democratic Primary\Caucus was today?
Elizabeth Warren- 22%
Kamala Harris- 11%
Cory Booker- 9%
Kirsten Gillibrand- 8%
Amy Klobucher- 5%
Andrew Cuomo- 4%
Jason Kander- 4%
Eric Garcetti- 3%
Terry McAuliffe- 3%
John Hickenlooper- 2%
Deval Patrick- 2%
Seth Moulton- 1%
Jay Inslee- 1%
Julian Castro- 1%
Tulsi Gabbard- <1%
Martin O'Malley- <1%
John Delaney- <1%
Other\Undecided- 32%

Cory sighed. Kirsten was probably going to surge after her annoucnement, but it didn't even matter that much. The race just started now- it was going to be a long year.

Oh, come on. Sonneborn may not be able to vote for himself, but he could get way more than 27%.

"...And this is Washington's Governor Jay Inslee, announcing his bid for the Democratic nomination. Today, he once again said that if Donald Trump attempts to 'throw away the Americans', meaning DREAMERs, in his state, he will use all legal means to stop him and protect 'good and loyal Washingtonians'. He has recently gained some steam in the race because of his tenure as Chair of the DGA during the successful 2018 midterms and his opposition to Trump:"

The television screen now showed a familiar scene- a sunny rally in Olympia, Washington. "And I am running," Jay heard himself proclaiming, "because these four years have proved to us that it's time for sane, competent leadership, compassionate towards all Americans and aiming for bettering everyone's life, not for mere political gain! Join me, and let us bring these values back to our nation's government!"

The Governor smiled in satisfaction and turned off the TV. It was going better than expected- he was the last candidate to announce, so he was getting the final polling boost of name recognition from it. And with Hickenlooper and Bullock declining a Presidential bid to run for Senate, while McAuliffe and Patrick also decided not to run, he was the only one to have experience actually governing a state, and a deep one at that, of almost seven years. Well, no, he had to remind himself, Andrew and Martin have that too. But they're jokes.

He was also popular in his state, and his actions against Trump made him popular in the party. The polls reflected that:

Democratic Primary- National
Sen. Elizabeth Warren- 21%
Sen. Kamala Harris- 11%
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand- 11%
Sen. Cory Booker- 10%
Sen. Amy Klobucher- 5%
Gov. Jay Inslee- 5%
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander- 4%
Mayor Eric Garcetti- 4%
Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold- 3%
Sen. Jeff Merkley- 3%
Gov. Andrew Cuomo- 2%
Mayor Bill de Blasio- 2%
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard- 2%
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro- 1%
Rep. Seth Moulton- 1%
Fmr. Gov. Martin O'Malley- 1%
Fmr. Gov. Brian Schweitzer- <1%
Rep. Adam Schiff- <1%
Rep. John Delaney- <1%
Other\Undecided- 12%

Democratic Caucuses- Iowa
Sen. Elizabeth Warren- 19%
Sen. Cory Booker- 12%
Sen. Amy Klobucher- 9%
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand- 8%
Gov. Jay Inslee- 8%
Sen. Kamala Harris- 5%
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander- 5%
Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold- 5%
Sen. Jeff Merkley- 4%
Fmr. Gov. Brian Schweitzer- 2%
Mayor Eric Garcetti- 2%
Fmr. Gov. Martin O'Malley- 2%
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard- 1%
Gov. Andrew Cuomo- 1%
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro- 1%
Mayor Bill de Blasio- <1%
Rep. Seth Moulton- <1%
Rep. John Delaney- <1%
Rep. Adam Schiff- <1%
Other\Undecided- 14%

Democratic Caucuses- New Hampshire
Sen. Elizabeth Warren- 22%
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand- 13%
Sen. Kamala Harris- 11%
Sen. Cory Booker- 10%
Gov. Jay Inslee- 5%
Mayor Eric Garcetti- 5%
Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold- 4%
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard- 4%
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander- 3%
Gov. Andrew Cuomo- 3%
Mayor Bill de Blasio- 3%
Sen. Amy Klobucher- 2%
Rep. Seth Moulton- 2%
Sen. Jeff Merkley- 2%
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro- 1%
Fmr. Gov. Brian Schweitzer- <1%
Fmr. Gov. Martin O'Malley- <1%
Rep. Adam Schiff- <1%
Rep. John Delaney- <1%
Other\Undecided- 8%

He was doing well, Jay reflected. Sure, the numbers would get down a notch soon, but he'd still be pretty much guaranteed access to the high league debates. Suddenly, the office door opened. "Um, Governor," his campaign aide said in an uncertain tone, "you might want to turn on the TV." Jay frowned and did ad he was told.

"We now go to Dana Bash in Richmond, Virginia, where we're told Senator, and 2016 Vice Presidential nominee, Tim Kaine will be announcing a surprise bid for the White House. This brings the Democratic field to a historic amount of 20 candidates, truly a chaotic battle..."

Jay Inslee cursed under his breath. "Ugh, seriously?!"

"What do you mean, she doesn't want to be Secretary of State this year?!" John Kelly asked his aide on the phone, outrage filling his voice.

"She said it's not the time for her yet. The aide answered somberly. "She wants to, um, see what happens in 2020."

The Chief of Staff groaned in frustration. Both he and Nikki Haley knew exactly what would happen in 2020- Donald Trump would lose reelection, more likely than not. She just didn't want to be too associated to the Trump administration- the UN provided a safe distance, he assumed.

Fine, John thought angrily for a moment, let Donald have that crazy torture-supporting Pompeo if he wants him so much. But he knew that Mike Pompeo would not do- he was just too controversial, and would see too much scrunity by useless Senators like Rand Paul. He needed to look for an alternative, even if Haley was not up to the task. With nothing else to do, he opened his laptop and checked his emails.

Big mistake.

"CNN did a summary of Dems by order of their announcements," the Email said, "would recommend watching." John sighed- he didn't want to see the ones who will probably unseat his boss. However, the retired General was always a dutiful man, and now he shall be a dutiful plot device.

()
July 28th, 2017: Maryland Congressman John Delaney announces early, longshot bid for the Whitehouse, citing bipartisanship and a moderate record

()
March 12th, 2019: New York's junior Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, announces her formidable bid for the Democratic nomination, propelled by the #MeToo movement and a strong campaign start

()
March 15th, 2019: Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) announces that he will run for President, adding another heavyweight to the Democratic field

()
March 20th, 2019: Another House member, Seth Moulton (D-MA), announces a run, appealing to veterans and "mavericks"

()
April 3rd, 2019: Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles' popular mayor, joins the fray with the message that a Mayor can lead even better than a Congressman

()
April 5th, 2019: Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley announces his second Presidential lead with a positive message, once again a longshot

()
April 27th, 2019: Former HUD Secretary and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro says on live television that he will be a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2020

()
May 1st, 2019: Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard announces her own bid in a Worker's Day speech, appealing to the progressive Democrats

()
May 6th, 2019: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo joins the fray in a NYC rally, directly targetting his state's junior Senator as "an opportunist"

()
May 6th, 2019: In the same day and a few streets from his Governor's rally, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his campaign and attacked Cuomo as "the machine's candidate", immediately setting off a nasty battle in which Cuomo accused de Blasio of "obstructing his rally" and de Blasio attacked back, calling him a liar

()
May 10th, 2019: Former Montana Governor and blue-dog Democrat Brian Schweitzer announced a longshot campaign for the Presidency

()
May 14th, 2019: Minnesota Senator Amy Klobucher, long expected to run for President, announced her campaign in a crowded rally, but then immediately critisized for Fmr. Sen. Al Franken's reported attendance of the rally

()
May 27th, 2019: Kamala Harris, the Senator from California, finally announced her widely-expected bid for the White House, immediately becoming a major contender

()
June 1st, 2019: Massachusetts Senator and progressive champion Elizabeth Warren announces her Presidential bid, immediately becoming the de-facto frontrunner in the Democratic primary

()
June 10th, 2019: Surprising many, former Missouri SoS and Senate hopeful Jason Kander, a popular rising star, announced his longshot bid

()
June 12th, 2019: Adding another Progressive into the mix, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), who endorsed Sanders in 2016, joins the big field

()
June 12th, 2019: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who gained renown as ranking member and then Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, announces his quixotic bid for the White House

()
June 20th, 2019: Twice-defeated Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold from Wisconsin announced a surprising run for the Democratic nomination, pulling the number of Progressive favourites up to 4

()
August 3rd, 2019: Jay Inslee, the popular Washington Governor, joined the huge Democratic field in a successful campaign start

()
August 17th, 2019: Shocking the political world, Hillary Clinton's 2016 running mate and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine announced that he will run for the Democratic nomination, becoming one of the major contenders

God, this is a huge field, Kelly though, but someone will definitely emerge from there. This party hates Trump, they'll unite against him, and then we're doomed. They might as well run some has-been like Evan Bayh. Suddenly, an idea entered his mind. This day might produce something useful after all. John Kelly dialed his secretary. "Get me Dan Coats."

My top 5 for the democratic nomination (which happens to mirror real life):
1. Kirsten Gillibrand
2. Kamala Harris
3. Jay Inslee
4. Tim Kaine
5. Julian Castro
6. Anyone but Gabbard

Jesus Christ. Go Jason, but like, jeez. There are so many candidates.

1. Kander
2. Feingold
3. Harris

Not surprising they mirror real life, considering pretty much everyone other than Biden, Sanders and the billionaires is running :P
Also, it'd be great if you can replace my (very long) post in your quote witn a "snip" or anything else, like I did here :) It makes the threat harder to scroll through.

Hm... Not sure who I'd support between Kander, Klobuchar, Warren, Harris, Feingold and Merkley. Great field.

Hillary Clinton was sitting in her home's living room, watching the Democratic Primary Debate. Unlike four years ago. Or twelve years ago. She really should've run this year, the former nominee reflected, maybe it would've cleaned up this clonecar a bit. Biden should've run, at least. Hell, even Bernie would be preferable to... this.

She watched on as Elizabeth Warren attacked Cory Booker for his "ties to the pharmaceutical industry". How surprising. She also watched as Booker defended himself in a passionate voice, claiming to work for all Americans. Yawn. Gillibrand managed to come in between them and talked about how dividing the party into two camps was damaging. Surprisingly, she managed to come out of this unbruised, and then the debate went on.

Inslee kept talking about his experience. Kaine said that it was turn to return to normalcy and was immediately attacked by both Merkley and Garcetti, who accused him of being part of a failing ticket that let the country fall to Trump. Bleh, as if any of them would've done better with a media witch-hunt spanning decades. Tim retorted that attacks should be directed at Donald Trump, not fellow progressives, and claimed again that he had the broad support and experience to put the country in safe hands after Trump. Kamala started talking about policy and was interrupted by Feingold, who asked her about taking money from Super PACs. Booker tried to passionately appeal to the "unity" of the party and turned out looking fake (the irony of this thought did not escape Hillary). Kander managed to say something about voting rights that looked charismatic and sounded appealing. Hm. Castro talked about the DREAMERs. Of course, Hispanic support is all that separated between him and <1% in the polls. Then Merkley and Warren started fighting over who is more progressive, with Merkley questioning why she didn't endorse Bernie Sanders in 2016. Damaging, Hillary thought. Elizabeth was a pretty lousy frontrunner. Then Feingold swooped in, touting a progressive record of decades and sounding like a has-been immediately afterwards, when Inslee, with his fresh face, spoke about true progressive reforms enacted in Washington.

Then, Gillibrand was asked about her flip flopping when she went from the House to the Senate. Hillary cringed- this was not going to be pretty. Kirsten gave a surprisingly good answer about the fact that with the years, one's views evolve, especially about social issues. She claims that no one asked this question of Barack Obama after he changed his views on gay marriage, alluding sexism. And, she added, she represented a rural conservative district and had to represent her constituents. This set off Jeff Merkley, who proclaimed that he's also from a rural part of Oregon and never had to flip-flop. Gillibrand answered that her district was different than him and that she did not really "flip-flop".

The debate kept going on and on, and Hillary had to keep herself from falling asleep. It was a mess, really. They'd be lucky if some candidate managed to emerge from the pack before the convention. She didn't even know who to support- Tim was her running mate, sure, but Kamala, and Cory, and Eric, and Jason, they were all good too. She just shrugged and kept watching.

Well, she thought suddenly, at least it was better than the undercard debate, broadcasted right before the main one. There, everyone below 2% in national polls was forced to participate, leaving 13 for the main debate and 7 for the undercard. This basically meant a huge brawl between Cuomo and de Blasio, who just battered each other again and again to the amusement of the audience. From time to time, you could hear Tulsi calling the process rigged, Seth Moulton trying to say something that sounded tough and Martin O'Malley trying to say something. Anything. Schweitzer was less of an entity than he was four years ago, Schiff was boring as hell and Delaney was just... Delaney.
Merkley won the main debate. Warren, Castro and Booker performed poorly, while Harris, Garcetti, Klobucher and Feingold were just meh. In the undercard debate, if anyone could be considered a winner it was Gabbard and Moulton. Meanwhile, Cuomo and de Blasio took each other down while Schweitzer, Schiff and Delaney didn't do anything to improve their situation.

Sighing, the former Secretary of State turned again to look at the polling averages that determined the debate composition. And got a jolt of horror again. The field was really, really, really a mess.

Democratic Primary- National
Sen. Elizabeth Warren- 17%
Sen. Tim Kaine- 14%
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand- 10%
Sen. Kamala Harris- 9%
Sen. Cory Booker- 7%
Gov. Jay Inslee- 5%
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander- 4%
Sen. Amy Klobucher- 4%
Mayor Eric Garcetti- 4%
Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold- 4%
Sen. Jeff Merkley- 3%
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro- 3%
Gov. Andrew Cuomo- 2%
Mayor Bill de Blasio- 2%
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard- 2%
Rep. Seth Moulton- 1%
Fmr. Gov. Martin O'Malley- 1%
Fmr. Gov. Brian Schweitzer- <1%
Rep. Adam Schiff- <1%
Rep. John Delaney- <1%
Other\Undecided- 7%

Democratic Caucuses- Iowa
Sen. Elizabeth Warren- 14%
Sen. Tim Kaine- 14%
Sen. Cory Booker- 9%
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand- 8%
Gov. Jay Inslee- 7%
Sen. Amy Klobucher- 7%
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander- 6%
Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold- 6%
Sen. Jeff Merkley- 5%
Sen. Kamala Harris- 4%
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard- 2%
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro- 2%
Fmr. Gov. Brian Schweitzer- 1%
Mayor Eric Garcetti- 1%
Gov. Andrew Cuomo- 1%
Mayor Bill de Blasio- 1%
Fmr. Gov. Martin O'Malley- <1%
Rep. Seth Moulton- <1%
Rep. John Delaney- <1%
Rep. Adam Schiff- <1%
Other\Undecided- 10%

Democratic Caucuses- New Hampshire
Sen. Elizabeth Warren- 20%
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand- 14%
Sen. Kamala Harris- 11%
Sen. Tim Kaine- 8%
Sen. Cory Booker- 7%
Mayor Eric Garcetti- 6%
Gov. Jay Inslee- 5%
Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold- 4%
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard- 3%
Rep. Seth Moulton- 3%
Gov. Andrew Cuomo- 2%
Mayor Bill de Blasio- 2%
Sen. Jeff Merkley- 2%
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander- 2%
Sen. Amy Klobucher- 1%
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro- 1%
Rep. Adam Schiff- <1%
Fmr. Gov. Martin O'Malley- <1%
Fmr. Gov. Brian Schweitzer- <1%
Rep. John Delaney- <1%
Other\Undecided- 7%

This is probably what's gonna happen. Good job so far!

Four progressives who runining and spliting the progressive base is bad,i hope that is not what going to be in 2020

Well, it's done, isn't it?

The former Senator from Wisconsin stared at large screen, where the results from the Iowa Caucuses were staring back at him. It was a tough battle between many contenders who had appeal in that state, so his place wasn't that bad, but it was not good either. Not good enough to stay in, as most of the other beating him probably will. When he entered the race, a decision neither he nor anybody else thought he'd make just a year prior, there were high hopes that he would be able to energize the progressive base, which wasn't very happy with Elizabeth Warren. Many pundits speculated that he could be that one star to rise up like a phoenix and be crowned as the party's nominee. But the field grew bigger and bigger, and his star waned more and more, until he became just another also-ran.

Yet, while others- Martin O'Malley and John Delaney, more specifically- dropped out even before Iowa, he decided to give it his all in the state and attempt to energize the grassroots. He failed, though, and the identity of the winner just made his mood worse:


"...This is definitely one of the wildest contests we've ever had here in Iowa," came the commentary from MSNBC, "and it definitely marks this entire primary as one of the wildest in history. So many candidates, and many of them aren't giving signs of dropping out soon- we've received word that Rep. Adam Schiff and Fmr. Gov. Brian Schweitzer will be dropping out today, but no word from the other campaigns. Senators Booker, Harris and Gillibrand, three of the major contenders in the race, will all continue to New Hampshire. We've reached out to the Feingold and Klobucher campaigns, but received no word on whether they'll be dropping out after their loss here..."

The former Senator frowned. Sure, he could still conceivably win a few states with this huge field, but was there any point? Iowa would, most likely, give Kaine a big boost, as well as Inslee, who performed surprisingly well after canvassing the state. Kander and Merkley were also winners here, reaching double-digits despite being considered underdogs. But not Russ. He was one of the losers, again. And another thought kept nagging at him- he was not just splitting the Progressive base and helping people like Kaine win, he was also splitting the entire vote, and contributing to the hot mess that was the 2020 Democratic Primaries. The field needed to consolidate, quickly, and he needed to help it consolidate.

"Sir," one of his aides approached, appearing stressed. "The press won't stop calling. They want to know if you're dropping out. And if you're endorsing anyone."

Russ sighed. "Yes, I am. Prepare my remarks- I'm going to endorse Senator Merkley."

Ugh, please no Beta Kaine.

Go Merkley!

Damn it, was hoping he'd endorse Kander.

I met someone today who told me she worked in some "small city in Indiana." I asked her what city, she said it won't sound like anything to me, and I said it might. As you might've guessed, she said "South Bend", and got really excited that I know the city and am familliar with the identity of its mayor. She said she met him once, and agreed with me when I said that he should be President someday. Apparently, he's been an amazing Mayor, developing the city a lot and bringing in many young people. She was extremely impressed with him. Looks like it's happening- #Petementum, folks :P
Obviously didn't tell her I'm writing an election timeline centered around him, that'd make me sound like a weirdo (which I'm quite obviously not... right? RIGHT???)

You are an Atlas poster. Membership in the weirdo cult in mandatory. :P

Two losses in a row. And big ones, at that. This was not the way Kamala Harris had imagined her Presidential campaign going. As she looked at the results in display on her computed screen, Kamala pondered what they meant for the nation, for the Democratic Party, and mostly, for her future.


Kirsten was obviously going to enjoy the lion's share of momentum here. It was a big victory for her, one which might just be the decisive factor in the race. Warren received yet another blow from voters, but she'd probably stay in the race- national polls still had her up, narrowly. Jay Inslee will keep gaining steam after coming third again, as would Kaine, damn him, who passed her and came forth. Kamala was expected to do much better here, so her results would be a blow, especially as her fellow Californian, Eric Garcetti, managed to come very close to her. Merkley did much better than expected in the state as well, and might just have spoiled Warren's victory, while Booker did even worse than her. At least I've got that to comfort me, she thought. Still, his strength in the south is probably going to prompt him to continue.

The rest were all much less consequential. Moulton and Gabbard did solidly compared to their Iowa wins, but both have already announced that they were leaving the race- they needed to do much better here, especially Seth. Neither Cuomo nor de Blasio, bizarrely, agreed to drop out. These feuding bloated egos are pathetic, and are just making us look bad. And worse, they still get donations from New York's financial sector, so they can keep running as much as they want. Meanwhile, Amy Klobucher, who surprisingly kept going after Iowa, said that she will wait for states more favourable for her to vote. Castro said the same. Kamala sighed- this was going to stay a messy field.

A knock on her door woke her from her thoughts. "Yes?" She asked gloomily.

An aide's head peaked inside. "Senator? The press is calling again. They're insisting to know whether you're going to be dropping out."

The junior Senator from California nodded. "I see. Nosey people, they are, but I should get used to it... No, I'm not dropping out. Tell them that we still have a path." She stood up to give more strength to her words. "We're going to win California, and from there, we're going to win the nomination." And let Garcetti, or anyone else, try to stop me.

I think Let America Vote's on-the-ground presence in Iowa, NH, Georgia, Tenn, and Nevada would greatly help Kander in his campaigns in these states. Also I love Kamala's resolve

Jason Kander was pretty satisfied.

He was only a former Secretary of State in Missouri and a failed Senate candidate, and already he managed to win a fifth place in the Iowa Caucuses, and now, a second place in a contest, very close to first. The results of the Nevada Caucuses flashed on the TV screen before his eyes, both mocking him with the closeness of his loss and encouraging him for the contests to come:


Pundits dubbed this result as a surprise, an upset. They thought that Kirsten Gillibrand would ride on her momentum and triumph in Nevada, or that Kamala Harris would use her regional advantage to win, or even that one of the Hispanic candidates could succeed. Instead, the big winners of the night were the Progressive Merkley and Kander himself.

While Eric Garcett, Julian Castro and a few others split the Hispanic vote, Jeff and Jason ran a strong grassroots campaign in Las Vegas and elsewhere, fighting for union support. In the end, Merkley edged him out, and would probably be the one to gain the most momentum from the state. But it was close, and Kander was confident that it could boost his campaign in such a messy field. Still, it wasn't as close as the South Carolina Primary a few days earlier:


Once again, the black vote was split between Harris, Gillibrand, Booker and others, allowing Tim Kaine to emerge victorious over Harris by a very narrow margin. The result boosted the Kaine, Harris and Gillibrand campaigns, and further sank Booker, who only barely came ahead of Jason in a state he was initially expected to win, but only Klobucher dropped out, saying that there was just no path forward for her. And she was right. Now, after Nevada, Jason was worryingly not hearing any chatter of anyone dropping out . The press expected the field to winnow after the early primaries, but it was just not really happening- neither of the top candidate was willing to let his or her chances go with such an indecisive field, while in that situation, many of the lower-level ones kept running, thinking that a miracle could happen to boost them. Such were the campaigns of Garcetti and Castro. Cuomo and de Blasio were something else- just two bloated egos fighting each other. No one really noticed them.

It was going to be a tough road, but Jason eyed Tennessee, Oklahoma and, especially, Missouri and reached a decision- he was going to fight for it. It's not like his chances were much lower than those of the others. This was his life's opportunity, and he wasn't going to miss it.

Go Jason!

Great TL, Parrotguy!

what are the current delegate counts?

I'm not going to bother with delegate counts in this primary, since there are too many unknowns about the 2020 Presidential election and a few other reasons which I don't want to spoil.

Warren should step down and endorse Merkley

Well, that went about as bad as expected, Los Angeles' Mayor thought as he looked at the final results from Super Tuesday. It wasn't particularly good for him, but it's not like anyone gave him much of a chance. He had hoped for some miracle giving him a victory or at least a tight race in California, but it was for naught- Harris won it handily. Still, he overperformed, and did not completely embarrass himself. He was young, and had a bright future ahead of him- he needed to secure it by exiting graciously now.

Still, the results were interesting- while Harris and Kaine won the most delegates, no one really managed to distinguish themselves. As much as six candidates have now won races, surely a historic number. Eric Garcetti felt a bit bitter that he wasn't one of the six, but oh well. He will win states in a future primary, he was certain. Even with him leaving the race, the primary remained messy and the threat of a contested convention was looming ever-closer, sending panic through the DNC. Eric had no wish to be part of that mess, especially since he doesn't have any chance anymore.

With Julian Castro, having failed to win Texas, leaving the race too, there were now zero Hispanic candidates. At least now they'll have work to work hard to earn our votes, Eric mused to himself as he drafted his endorsement of Kamala Harris.

Really loving this TL. Also, go Kander! Probably has the best chance of those who I like.

(p.s., that lady from South Bend was totally right - Pete has transformed South Bend from a basic rust belt city to a kinda trendy, cool place. He's doing well.)

"How's the situation in Ohio?" Jeff asked his pollster, leaning forward and looking at the computer screen. It full of county maps and predictions, the material of political nerds' wet dreams.

She pointed at the Ohio map. "We're doing well, Senator. The grassroots campaign seems to be resounding there. Kander is going all in there too, as does Warren- it's crucial for her- but it seems like we're more effective. They like our... erm, folksy attitude."

"Good," Jeff said in satisfaction. "What about Illinois?"

The pollster clicked a few links and opened a map of the state he asked for. "It's... alright. We're running very well in the rural areas, but Chicago isn't friendly to us. We'd have to get lucky to win this."

"I see." Jeff thought for a moment. "We'll concentrate all our resources on Ohio."

"Are you sure, sir?" The pollster raised her brows at him. "We can win quite a few delegates if we do well in Illinois and Missouri."

"Missouri is Kander's, and in Illinois we have no chance. Optics are important, and we need to win a big state." He spoke confidently. "We're going to win Ohio."

When he started the campaign, he was almost certain that he was going to have to drop out and endorse Elizabeth at some point. But as the time went, she flopped while he rose, gaining endorsements from both Feingold and Gabbard, and winning states. He wasn't going to drop out now- while she won Massachusetts, Vermont, Democrats Abroad and Maine, he won Nevada, Wyoming, North Dakota and Nebraska. They were balanced. Now he needed to win another state in Mini Tuesday, and get himself an advantage over her. If he becomes the Progressive candidate, Jeff thought, he could win the nomination. And most importantly- Elizabeth was a fine person, but he was certain that she was a bad candidate for a general election, a progressive Hillary who won't be able to implement her agenda. He needed to be the nominee, and maybe then he could make her Secretary of the Treasury.

The date was close now- they had to put all of their weight on Ohio and win it. A flashing screen caught his eyes, where the results of the states leading from Super Tuesday to Mini Tuesday were conveniently displayed. The primaries seemed to be getting only messier and messier.

Come on, Merkley.

Go Jason!!!!!! Omg this is so tense with so many candidates

"It's going to a contested convention now, isn't it?" DNC Chair Tom Perez said gloomily as he stared at the Mini Tuesday results flashing on the screen. "No way to stop it."

"Most likely," Keith Ellison agreed. "Normally, this would be a disaster for the Democrats. Well, it still might be. But at least Trump is still deeply unpopular, so whoever we nominate should have the clear advantage."

"Who are we going to nominate, though?" Tom asked and turned to look at his former rival. "I know your people want Merkley or Warren, but would anyone else be alright with you?"

Keith just shrugged. "I don't know yet. Progressives obviously wouldn't want Kaine, but anyone else... well, it'll depend on the platform, on the running mate. They won't accept another ClintonKaine kind of ticket, though."

Tom Perez sighed and turned back to the results. Everything indicated to a bloody and chaotic convention battle- they must have been opening champagnes at the White House.







"Sir," a staffer approached him as he looked at the results, holding a cellphone. "We've received some messages from the Booker campaign. He'll be dropping out tonight."

Tom nodded in satisfaction. At least something positive happened tonight. "It's about time- he hasn't won anything save for that narrow win in Guam. Anything from Cuomo or de Blasio?"

She shook her head carefully, probably knowing how furious Tom was about the failing candidacies of the two brawling New Yorkers. "We've heard nothing, sir."

That's it, the DNC Chairman thought. They've crossed every red line. "Set me a meeting, Melinda. With both of them. They're going to be dropping out this week, or I swear, I'll see to it that they never win any office even if that's the last thing I do in my life." He could see Keith nodding in approval as the staffer went off to do Tom's bidding. It was time to bring at least some sense of order to this mess of a campaign.

DRAMA!
And Jeffmentum takes OH! <3

America's Heartland (and her heart) are with Jason!! Kander 2020!

P.S. Go Tom Perez!!!!

President Jeffrey Alan Merkley when

The Senator from Massachusetts was tense as the results from the northeastern states were coming. This was her most decisive moment in the campaign- if she didn't manage to win enough states, she'd have to drop out.

As the primaries got messier and messier, her status as frontrunner became null, Elizabeth started regretting ever getting into the race. She didn't want to be President- she just wanted to improve America, make its economy more equal. She considered dropping out and endorsing Merkley, her rival for the Progressive base, several times, but each time reached a conclusion that it wasn't logical- they were just too balanced, with a slight delegate lead for Warren over the Oregon Senator. If she dropped out, her enthusiastic supporters would be disappointed and there was no guarantee that Merkley would win. At least now she still had a chance at the convention.

The results of the primaries leading from mini tuesday to that day weren't very good for her- Merkley won the plain caucus states that would normally go to her, and there weren't many areas where she could squeez wins. Until now.









But now, Warren thought, there was a chance for a breakthrough- if she could win enough states, specifically Pennsylvania and Maryland, she could once again assume her position as the leader of the Progressives. Then, the road was short until the convention- the field would probably not change much anymore, and the convention would be a bloody battle between either one of Merkley and Warren, and one or two of the other candidates, most likely amongst Gillibrand, Kaine and Harris. Only after that they could march against Donald Trump and the corporatist Republicans as a united party, and defeat them in November. Or so she hoped.

Hours later, when Elizabeth Warren stared at the television screen displaying the final results of the northeastern primaries, she had mixed feelings.

This timeline is really good.

I think its obvious whats happening, but I won't say in case someone else hasn't figured it out yet.

This timeline is great, keep going!

You can tell me your prediction in PM, I'm curious :P

"Let's do this, New Jersey! We're going to win, and then we'll take the nomination and show Donald Trump just how wrong he was to disrespect us in November! Let's go!"

Kamala Harris descended the stairs of the stage to the noise of hundreds cheering in her Newark rally. It was a success- almost entirely full, and with an enthusiastic crowd. It even made Kamala feel a sense of optimism, despite the clearly grim situation.

Polls in the largest state still left showed Gillibrand and Warren fighting for the lead, but Kamala was a strong third, and hoped to stage an upset and win it. Merkley didn't even try here, concentrating on the west, as did Inslee and Kander, mostly. Kaine concentrated on both, hoping to gain as many delegates as possible. Kamala, on her part, ignored Montana and South Dakota, instead putting all her weight in New Mexico and New Jersey. If only Kirsten wasn't so strong with the black vote, the junior Senator from California reflected, I'd have this in the bag...

This was the final stage of the primaries, a mad scramble for delegates between the six candidates, a madly high number for that stage, still in the race. Already, most of the efforts of the various campaigns concentrated on the upcoming convention in Atlanta- they were contacting both pledged and unpledged delegates, trying to convince as many of them to support them. The chances were real that the nominating process could reach a second ballot, but the DNC, lead by Tom Perez and Keith Ellison, were putting heavy pressure on the candidates to prevent it and reach a conclusion before the second ballot. Thus, they were engaged in a brutal shadow primary for the support of the delegates.

"What's the situation?" She asked a staffer when she reached backstage.

"Well..." He replied carefully. "We're most likely not going to win New Jersey. Gillibrand and Warren are just too strong there, and we're bleeding support to Kaine."

The Senator nodded. She had expected that. "I see. It doesn't matter- we might lost that battle, but we're going to win the war. What's the count?"

"In pledged delegates," the staffer begun recounting, "we're projecting that Gillibrand will come first. Her wins in populous states like New York, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina and Maryland were just too much for us to outdo. Seems like we'll come second, with the California and southern delegates really helping us. If Eric keeps his promise, we'll have almost all of the delegates from our state. Then it's, er, Merkley or Kaine. It depends on how well they do in the last contests, but Kaine padded himself with the delegates from Virginia, Texas and Florida, while Merkley won lots of less populous states, as well as Ohio. After them it's probably Warren, thanks to Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, then, probably, Inslee, who didn't win much but had some good showings that netted him delegates. Kander is most likely last, but I think he has a shot to pass Inslee."

Kamala nodded again. "Thank you, Steve. We'll try to get support from both Kander and Inslee, that should give us an almost assured win. Maybe Vice President for Inslee and cabinet secretary for Kander?"

"Inslee isn't a good geographical choice," another staffer chimed in. "Kander would be better. He's popular and from the heartland."

"But he's too inexperienced," Stever retorted, "and Kamala is a Senator on her first term. She needs experience, and Inslee has that in abundance."

"Enough." The Senator raised her hand. "We'll discuss that later, depending on whether they're ready to make a deal. I'm sure Gillibrand is deep in discussions with them too."

As she walked off, Kamala saw the results of the recent contests conveniently displayed on one of their screens. It only made her mood worse, but she tried to ignore it. She was going to do everything she can to win that.

i see where this is going...

I would literally quit my job to work full time on a Harris/Kander ticket. That would be too good

Merkley! 3/4 in May!

Can't merk the Merk.

I just started reading this and support Inslee so bad, hope it’s Buttigeg/Merkley or Buttigeg/Inslee!

Even in his wildest dreams, Tim didn't think that he'd ever be in this situation.

After the loss in 2016, he completely ruled out, to himself and to the media, that he'd run for President in 2020. That seemed just too chanceless and too harming for his family and himself. Even a mere year ago he was pretty sure that he'd not run, but finally, after all the urging from Terry and Mark and after seeing polls showing him running strong, he jumped into the water. Then, after he won Iowa, Tim was optimistic that he could gain steam to become the frontrunner and win over the fractured field. And then he lost New Hampshire, and Nevada, and South Carolina, and the contest dragged on.

Now he was standing before what was perhaps the most contentious contested convention in modern history, and he realized the grim reality- he does not have a chance to win there, and even if he did, he shouldn't. After all, he won none of the final contests, and thus was pretty likely to come fourth in delegates, behind Kirsten, Kamala and Jeff.

Sure, he was one of the Big Five, with Inslee and Kander both pretty far behind him and Merkley not much ahead of him, but what did it avail him? He was just another politician with no chance who stayed in and made life harder for those who did. The party was a mess, the primary creating deep splits in the base and the convention making everyone confused and uncertain as to who will be the nominee. The final map of the Democratic primary was displayed on the screen before him, but it was engraved in his mind by now.








Tim sighed. At the same time they were so split apart, the Republicans easily nominated Trump, with the Kasich primary challenge being swept aside. Though the President had very low approval ratings, he was gloating at the "Democratic Mess" and confident that he could ride on the back of it for an easy reelection. Tim couldn't stand it anymore.

He thought deep and hard, discussed it with his family and advisors, and realized that there was only one path forward. He had only one path forward- he had to try and save the party's chances, unite it lest it stays divided. It was the right thing to do.

In the quiet of his Senate office, Tim took a deep breath and phoned the number of his campaign manager. When he answered, Tim uttered a simple sentence that he said in his mind dozens of times beforehand. "Hey. I made my decision- I'm dropping out and endorsing Gillibrand. Make sure all of our delegates vote for her."

"...And therefore I accept the nomination of the Democratic Party as your candidate for President of the United States! Thank you! Thank you so much, everyone! Thank you!"

Kirsten waved to the enthusiastic crowd, cheering for her nomination, and ignored the boos mixed in as she got off the stage. She took a deep breath and exhaled. Well, the speech went well...

It was a wild day. She had managed to win the nomination on the third ballot after Harris took herself out of contention and signaled her delegates to support the junior Senator from New York. Then came a media firestorm, with Merkley supporters attacking the process as rigged and threatening to rebel. Jeff, on his part, released a quick tweet endorsing her and gave a speech in which he tried to legitimze the process, but it only did so much. Uniting the party was going to be even harder than it was four years ago.

The weeks leading up to the convention were her most exhausing yet- after Tim surprisingly dropped out and released his delegate for her and Kander did the same, it seemed like she was going to cruise to victory. But then, Warren endorsed Merkley and made the convention a battle. And if that wasn't enough, Harris and Inslee gave a speech together where they announced a joint ticket, and Inslee sent his delegates to the California Senator. There was also a mad dash to gain endorsements of more minor former candidates: Booker, de Blasio, Castro, Klobucher, Moulton and Delaney endorsed Kirsten; Feingold, Gabbard and Schweitzer supported Jeff; and Garcetti, Cuomo, Schiff and O'Malley announced support for Harris. Then started a bloody war for the superdelegates. The first ballot had mixed results for her:

Results of the Democratic National Convention, 2020- First Ballot:
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: 1654
Senator Jeff Merkley: 1342 Delegates
Senator Kamala Harris: 1335 Delegates
Senator Elizabeth Warren: 122 Delegates
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander: 87 Delegates
Senator Tim Kaine: 73 Delegates
Governor Jay Inslee: 38 Delegates
Senator Cory Booker: 29 Delegates
Mayor Eric Garcetti: 25 Delegates
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro: 18 Delegates
Governor Andrew Cuomo: 13 Delegates
Mayor Bill de Blasio: 12 Delegates
Senator Amy Klobucher: 8 Delegates
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: 6 Delegates
Fmr. Senator Russ Feingold: 1 Delegate

After these results came in, there was a lot of uncertainty. The Merkley camp claimed that him edging out Harris meant that this was a two-person race, but Harris said that the results were too close to mean that and started fighting to keep her delegates in place and gain the support of others. Gillibrand, meanwhile, tried her best to convince everyone to unite behind the clear winner of the first ballot, but to no avail:

Results of the Democratic National Convention, 2020- Second Ballot:
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: 2055
Senator Jeff Merkley: 1506 Delegates
Senator Kamala Harris: 1089 Delegates
Senator Elizabeth Warren: 35 Delegates
Senator Tim Kaine: 21 Delegates
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander: 17 Delegates
Governor Jay Inslee: 14 Delegates
Mayor Eric Garcetti: 9 Delegates
Governor Andrew Cuomo: 6 Delegates
Mayor Bill de Blasio: 4 Delegates
Senator Cory Booker: 4 Delegates
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro: 2 Delegates
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: 1 Delegate

After the second ballot, the floodgates opened. Kamala Harris realized how fast her ship is sinking and dropped out to salvage her reputation. The minor candidates that still received delegates started whipping their supporters hard, and everyone knew that the nomination was on the line- either Gillibrand secures it on the third ballot, or Merkley manages to prevent her from doing it and gains another chance. The progressives started running hard for Harris' delegates, with Merkley announcing that he'd make her his running mate, but it wasn't enough in the end:

Results of the Democratic National Convention, 2020- Third Ballot:
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: 2714 ✓
Senator Jeff Merkley: 1823 Delegates
Senator Kamala Harris: 211 Delegates
Senator Elizabeth Warren: 5 Delegates
Senator Tim Kaine: 3 Delegates
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander: 2 Delegates
Governor Jay Inslee: 2 Delegates
Governor Andrew Cuomo: 1 Delegates
Mayor Bill de Blasio: 1 Delegates
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: 1 Delegate

Thus, Kirsten became the nominee. Now, the New York Senator thought as she entered backstage and became surrounded by staffers and supporters patting her on the back, it was time to unite the party and head on to defeat Donald Trump. It wasn't going to be easy- polls were showing a tight race, since the Democratic process was heavily damaged by the contested convention despite the President's unpopularity- and the first step on that road was going to happen today. Choosing a running mate.

Right in that moment, Gillibrand's campaign manager, Jim Messina, approached her with a list. "Senator, we need to choose a running mate..."

Kirsten took the paper and looked at the list of names. Of course, they had already started the vetting process weeks ago, but now was the time to make a final choice, and she did not have much time to do that. "From this list, I like Tammy Duckworth... Kamala too, she was a great asset in the third ballot."

Jim shook his head. "Those would normally be solid picks, but this election is tight. We need someone who will be able to appeal to the progressive base and to working class folks..."

"So a white guy." Kirsten sighed deeply. She was expecting it. "Very well. Who do you suggest?"

"Merkley," Jim answered immediately. "He brings a solid geographical balance, no one can doubt his progressive credentials, and that would do a lot to unite the party."

She thought about it for a few moments. She obviously considered Merkley for a long time, but... "I understand the reasoning, and he'd be a solid pick. But Oregon is a safe state, we're both Senators, and... well, I just think that there is a better option. Equally progressive, with a more diverse experience, and hailing from a swing state."

Jim Messina raised his brows. "And who is this magical saviour?"

"Him." The Democratic Presidential nominee pointed on a name in the bottom of the list. Jim stared at it for a few moments before looking back at his boss and nodding in approval.

A day later...

()
"Thank you! This is a great honour! Let us follow Senator Gillibrand, and lead this country to a progressive future and away from the failure of the last four years! For our country, for the American people!"

The Major Tickets for the 2020 Presidential Election:
President Donald Trump (R-NY)\Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)\Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)
Businessman Austin Petersen (L-MO)\Consultant Larry Sharpe (L-NY)
Physician Jill Stein (G-MA)\Activist Darryl Cherney (G-CA)
Fmr. CIA Agent Evan McMullin (R-UT)\Entrepreneur Mindy Finn (R-TX)

CORDRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quitting my job to volunteer full time for this ticket.

Lol, nice

"Let's do this, Pittsburgh! Let's flip Pennsylvania and win this election, for the American people and for our country! Let's elect Kirsten Gillibrand and Rich Cordray in November! Thank you!" Bernie Sanders left the stage to a roar of applause from the rally's crowd. The moment he reached backstage, he sighed- this was a tiring campaign.

Of course, once Gillibrand won the convention, he immediately endorsed her. Everyone else who supporter Merkley did the same- Warren, Feingold, Markey, Wyden, Brown, Jeff himself, even Gabbard. But this wasn't really enough, as the most leftwing part of their base felt betrayed, despite Gillibrand running on a platform very similar to Merkley's anyway. It was a battle of personalities, progressives against establishment, all over again. Bernie felt bitter that his candidate didn't win, of course, but he campaigned hard for Gillibrand, and against Trump. Once they elect her, he knew, they'd have a lot of clout in the Senate to force her to enact progressive reforms.

But they had to elect her first.

It was a tight race, worryingly, tighter than it was 4 years ago when Clinton was leading handily for most of the campaign season. Republicans were fairly united, and Democrats were scrambling to preserve their own image of unity after the contested convention. It was a mess, that primary- Bernie regretted his decision not to run. He would've cleaned the field and prevented this fiasco.

On one of the screens backstage, CNN was on, replaying key parts of the first Presidential debate yesterday, in New York City. "You're just like crooked Hillary, Kirsten." Donald Trump was repeating one of his favourite lines. "A corrupt woman from New York. You're no different, believe me. America will re-elect Trump because they don't want Crooked Hillary!"

Kirsten, of course, gave a blistering response. "I am not Hillary Clinton, Donald, and I have never been. You cannot distinguish between two blonde women from the same state, but the American people can, and they know who I am! They also know who you are- a corrupt billionaire, a failed President who got nothing done. A fraud..."

At this point, the Democratci nominee was interrupted by Donald Trump who started shouting his nonsense again. By all accounts, Kirsten Gillibrand won the debate- more than 50% of the debate watchers said she won, in some polls over 60%. And yet, the thought nagged Bernie's mind- Clinton won her debates, too, and lead the polls by more. And yet she lost.

But Gillibrand was not Clinton. He shook his head- she doesn't have the email problem, for example. Or these disgusting Wall Street Speeches. And her polling numbers received a bump after the debate:

()

2020 General Election- National:
Kirsten Gillibrand (D)- 46.9%
Donald Trump (R)- 42.8%
Evan McMullin (I)- 3.4%
Austin Petersen (L)- 1.7%
Jill Stein (G)- 0.6%
Other\Undecided- 4.6%
GILLIBRAND +4.1

As he thought about the party's future prospects in this election, a staffer approached the Vermont Senator. She looked distraught. "Senator... Wikileaks..."

Bernie immediately felt dread clutching him when he heard that word. He quickly turned to her. "Oh god, what now?!"

She sighed. "They leaked a bunch of DNC emails. Again. Some staffers, talking about how much they don't want Merkley to win. It's not rigging, these staffers seem independent and don't have much of a say in the process, but this will definitely be damaging..."

Senator Bernie Sanders couldn't help but curse. "Crap, not again."

"This is why we need to elect Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, folks." Richard Cordray said in his slow, steady voice. "We need change from this administration, which only cared about the top 1%- I will bring my expertise in helping the people, the American consumer, and will work together with a President Gillibrand to start bringing real progress, and real change, to this country. Thank you."

And thus, the Vice Presidential Debate ended. Wolf Blitzer gave a few closing remarks, Mike shook Richard's hand, and headed backstage while their surrogates spoke to the media in the spin room. It was the usual bunch- frevent supporters such as Giuliani and Christie, and some administration figures.

The Vice President of the United States sighed. It wasn't the most interesting debate in the season, he knew. It was the least watched, because Trump wasn't in it. And yet, Mike hoped to deliver a solid win like he did last time against Kaine, and it didn't materialize.

It wasn't a rout, but he was smart enough to know that Cordray had the edge. He managed to deflect criticism on Gillibrand like Pence oculdn't do about Trump, and he spoke about the issues working class voters care about. This was sure to make him even more popular in the Democratic base.

It was disappointing, because Donald and Mike needed every advantage they could get- sure, Wikileaks did the good work again, but rumours that Mueller had an indictment ready for Donald Trump Jr. and was holding it until after the election hurt them, too, as well as Donald's erratic performances in the two debates. It was a tight race, and Mike hoped to make it a little more tighter by doing better in the debate. Alas, it didn't come to pass, and now it all came down to Donald's performance in the second and third Presidential Debates and the final few weeks of campaigning.

()

2020 General Election- National:
Kirsten Gillibrand (D)- 45.3%
Donald Trump (R)- 43.4%
Evan McMullin (I)- 3.4%
Austin Petersen (L)- 1.8%
Jill Stein (G)- 0.6%
Other\Undecided- 5.5%
GILLIBRAND +1.9

Great updates, Parrotguy. The tightness of the race has me on the edge of my seat.

It was done. He had cast his ballot, straight Democratic as always- Kirsten Gillibrand for President, Cheri Bustos for Senate, Democrats on every other level. Now, all that was left was seeing the results. Of course, Kirsten would win his state of Illinois. That wasn't a question. The election, though...

In recent weeks, the gap between Gillibrand and Trump grew wider- Trump botched both debates, as Kirsten grew better in countering him and managed to perform strongly, Wikileaks stopped releasing emails, presumably because they no longer had any, and Trump continued digging his grave with his erratic tweets and controversial statements. Barack and Michelle, Joe, Bernie, Elizabeth, Hillary, Jeff, Kamala, Tim, Jay, they all campaigned fiercely, as did, of course, the nominees, Kirsten and Rich. Finally, Barack was satisfied to see, it felt like the Democratic party was united to stop Trump. Thus, they came into election date confident and spirited, with polls showing a pretty wide lead for Gillibrand:

()

2020 General Election- National:
Kirsten Gillibrand (D)- 48.1%
Donald Trump (R)- 44.7%
Evan McMullin (I)- 2.5%
Austin Petersen (L)- 1.2%
Jill Stein (G)- 0.4%
Other\Undecided- 3.1%
GILLIBRAND +3.4

And yet, the worry that Trump would, once again, stage an upset in enough key states nagged in his mind. It happened four years ago, and it could happen now. Barack couldn't imagine four years of the same- a dysfunctional government, an outrageous and hateful President, and his legacy being trampled.

"Calm down, Barack," Michelle told him as they climbed into their vehicle. "Kirsten is leading. She's not Hillary, Democrats are enthusiastic. We're going to win this."

Barack tried to calm down. She was always right, after all. "Yeah... I suppose I don't need to worry that much."

---

Coming soon: 2020 Election night and Senate races coverage... Sorry if I didn't show enough of the campaign, but I didn't really feel like it's important and interesting enough :P

*sigh*

Sh*t

This can't end well.

We're gonna need a better cliche

Cautious optimism.

That is what Chief of Staff John Kelly was feeling as he watched the returns flashing on the TV screen. Pundits were warning of a tough battle for Democrats, and Trump had a real chance to win re-election. That was something nobody expected after the midterms. With that, not only would Kelly get a lot of credit for leading that mess of a White House to relative order, but he'd finally be able to leave that dreary role and assume a better role at Defense, especially since Mattis was very eager to quit by now.


"...And this is official," Wolf Blitzer proclaimed in his annoying voice, "we can now call Indiana for President Trump. I repeat, Indiana will once again go for Donald Trump. An expected win, but an important one for Republicans."

But John Kelly wasn't interested in Indiana- that was a safely Republican state. No, John was more interested in the returns from Florida, which were showing Trump leading there even more than he did four years ago at that point. It was a good sign, he decided. He could already dream of the Pentagon, where he wouldn't have to deal with the squabling staffers of the White House, each one more stupid than the other, and with the do-nothing congressmen who talked more than a narrator in a movie and did less than him.

Speaking of the do-nothing congressmen, John Kelly had to watch how their elections in the Senate were going now:



So far, the Senate races were looking not as good as the Presidential race, Kelly reflected. The Democrats had strong recruits all around the nation- Bullock in Montana, Hickenlooper in Colorado, Foxx in North Carolina, even Nunn in Georgia was decent. And the early call in Virginia, where a lot of hope was put on the moderate Comstock, was worrying. Whatever, the Chief of Staff mused, it's not like Tillis or Daines or Gardener were particularly helpful.

Suddenly, Wolf Blitzer appeared again, dramatic music playing. Kelly looked at his watch. Ah, 8 P.M.

"We have another large batch of projections to make now, folks. At poll closing, we can call Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kansas and Oklahoma for President Trump. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Illinois, Maine's 1st Congressial District and Washington, D.C. can be called for Democratic nominees Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Governord Richard Cordray. Missouri, Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania are right now still too close, or too early, to call."

Love this TL! Keep it up

The atmosphere in Kirsten Gillibrand's New York City election night watch party was tense as the returns from the 10 P.M. states started pouring in. "At poll closing," Anderson Cooper proclaimed, "we can only call Idaho and Montana for President Trump. Iowa, Nevada and Utah all remain too close to call at the moment. So do the Senate races in Iowa and Montana. However, we can already call the Idaho Senate race for U.S. Representative Raúl Labrador, the Republican running for the seat of retiring Senator Jim Risch."

So far, so good. Nothing out of the ordinary. Richard was actually afraid that, with the polls so close, Democrats would be having an especially disastrous night right now, but as more and more results came, it was looking like the base was actually turning out for them. It made sense- Gillibrand had fairly low unfavourable ratings, and the base was excited to defeat Trump.


Still, he knew  that it wasn't going to be easy. Trump was still narrowly leading in Florida and, despite Cordray's presence, in Ohio as well, and the situation seemed impossibly tight in key states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. On the other hand, Kirsten was doing well in a few surprising states, too- Texas was within 2 points and Trump was leading in Georgia and North Carolina by less than 1%, while she was actually leading Arizona. There was a chance- a real chance- that he would be Vice President-Elect come dawn.

And if he does win that post, which also served as President of the Senate, Cordray was pretty sure that he'd have a Democratic Senate to preside over.

Wouldn't encephalitis hinder Hagan's campaign?
Only Jeff can fix...

Whoops, wasn't aware of that fact, thanks. The new candidate for that seat is Anthony Foxx (D).
Look to Jeff's coming at first light of the 8th day... At dawn, look to the north (carolina)

What?

SoonTM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXQuOKzw5lA)

Jason Kander was aware that his candidacy was, in part, at fault for the current situation. The Democrats came into this election energized and enthusiastic- they were ready to defeat Trump and the Republicans. Then, a divisive primary with six, seven, eight popular candidates, followed by a contested convention, threw much of this unity to the dustbin and tore the enthusiasm of many party activists, especially progressives or young people or African Americans, to shreds.

It was the least he could do to help the party by running for a prime pickup opportunity in Missouri. And indeed, the state's Democratic party quickly convinced their nominee, Chris Koster, to drop out after polling close to the deeply unpopular Eric Greitens, and replaced him on the ticket with Kander. Since then, there wasn't a single poll where he wasn't leading against the Governor, who was knee-deep in legal problems. The same was true in other Senatorial or Gubernatorial races- at least there the Democratic enthusiasm was still visible. Because of their low amount, all of the Gubernatorial races were already called, with Indiana the closest one:



It looked pretty good- not only did Jason finally win a major office, but two Democratic LGBTQ politicians won office in the form of South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who beat the popular Indiana Governor in what many considered a huge upset, and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan who replaced Jason's former Presidential rival, Jay Inslee. Meanwhile, Stefany and Roy easily won reelection in their swingstates, while that traitor Jim Justice, who lost the Republican primary for Governor and  then ran as an independent, was defeated, albeit by a Republican. The only bad part was that they didn't manage to hold Montana's Governorship after the Bullock era, despite a strong recruit, and that, once again, they couldn't beat Scott in Vermont.

But as Kander was contemplating these results, an alert came from the TV screen. sh*t, the Governor-Elect thought as he saw what was going to be announced.

"We can finally call the state of Ohio, whose Governor is Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand's running mate." Anderson Cooper, appearing more exhausted than usual, announced. "It will vote for President Trump once again. Richard Cordray, Governor of Ohio, failed to deliver his state for the Democratic ticket."


"But while it's past midnight, we still cannot call the Presidential race- and we cannot even say who's favoured. President Trump is currently leading in the key states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and New Hampshire, while Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand holds narrow leads in Maine, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota and Arizona, with the narrowest of leads in Wisconsin. This is definitely going to be a tough battle. Right now, we have 216 electoral votes for the Democratic ticket, and 189 for the Republican one. Tune in after a short break, we'll have more to report."

GOVERNOR KANDER

Kander 2024! and/or Buttigieg/Kander 2024!

Oh, yeah, you now reminded me that I forgot to include him in the 2020 primary :P But if it doesn't make sense, I can change that- like I said in the 1st post, it's not an extremely serious TL like my first one, but mostly something to do when I was resting between exams (though I do plan some powerful moments in the latter parts).

"And after North Carolina, we can now finally call Georgia too for President Trump. It has been tight, much tighter than four years ago, but we can now say for certain that it'll remain in the Republican column. This remains a very tight election."


This was, by far, the tensest night in Kirsten's life. The election was tight, probably closer than any other election since 2000. Months ago, she imagined winning by a landslide, basking in the enthusiasm and cheers as she cruised to victory and to the role of first woman President. Now, she was knee-deep in mud and dirt, scrambling with Trump for any win. They kept exchanging wins- she won Maine, thankfully, faster than Hillary did. Then he won Florida, which was a blow. Then, she won Michigan with high African American turnout, which caused a surge of enthusiasm for Democrats before Trump won North Carolina, and now Georgia.

How did this happen? She had the enthusiasm of Democratic activists wishing to see Trump defeated. She had a very strong ticket with Cordray. She had no major scandals. Then what did she lack, why was it so hard to win? She could only think of one reason, one thing that was wounded in the primary- unity.

The New York Senator sighed and turned to look at the Senate map, where all the races were already called. Maybe that would reassure her a bit- most of the downballot Democrats were doing better than her.



Still, Kirsten had the feeling that they could've done better in these races if they did better in the upper ballot. Former Senator Begich was thinking about running in Alaska, but decided against it in light of the messy Democratic primary. Their recruit- Mayor Berkowitz from Anchorage- was still strong, and could've won, but he didn't. Same went for Chet Culver in Iowa and Mark Eves in Maine. And then, of course, there was the painful Doug Jones loss in Alabama. Well, she thought, a net gain of +2 wasn't bad.

"Stand by, we have a major projection to make!" Wolf Blitzer shouted on the TV screen, interrupting her thoughts, and the watching party immediately grew tense in anticipation. "We can now say for certain that Democratic nominee Kirsten Gillibrand has won the state of Minnesota! I repeat, Minnesota will remain in the Democratic column!" The room was filled with cheers of activists and campaign staffers. "This is definitely a relief for the Gillibrand camp, and shows that they're holding their own in the upper midwest, so... Wait a moment, I'm being told that there's another projection we can finally make. Kirsten Gillibrand has won the state of New Hampshire, and thus will certainly win every Clinton state from 2016 plus Michigan! This is another piece of good news for the Democrats, and... um, wait, it looks like we can make yet another projection now. Seems like we're having a barrage of projections, and this is a major one which will definitely put an even wider smile on the faces in Kirsten Gillibrand's camp- the Democratic nominee has won the state of Arizona! I repeat, Arizona has been won by New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and goes for the Democrats for the first time since 1996! Very good news for Gillibrand, who now leads the delegate count 259-249 and will now only need to win the state of Pennsylvania to be elected President, or, alternatively, win only Wisconsin, which will throw the election to the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives..."

Cheers erupted in the room again, this time louder and more enthusiastic, and Kirsten smiled as she looked at the screen. Maybe there's still hope.

???

Omg!

Yeah, fixed. It's Alaska.

Do Democrats control a majority of a majority of the states Congressional House Delegations.

Can't say for sure, but I guess so. In any case, I can tell you it won't go to the House.

Doug Jones never catches a break.  :'[

Well this time he didn’t go against a man who is creepy around people half his age.

Mitch McConnell was supposed to be having a good night. After all, his party was doing pretty well in the Presidential race- an unpopular incumbent who was considered very likely to lose in a landslide was now keeping it very close, and had a real chance to win. They also kept the Senate losses minimal compared to what they probably could've been. But these were still losses, and they were likely to lose a few House seats as well. And the future wasn't looking really good, either- if Trump won, not only would they still have an incompetent Republican tarnishing the party's brand in office, but the 2022 midterms were sure to be brutal for them, especially since the map was not as favourable as it was in 2018.

Oh well, this won't be Mitch's problem. He tried helping the party. He tried fighting for it. He blocked Garland and lead to Gorsuch's appointment, and yet no one gave him any credit. He fought Obama tooth and nail, but people praised idiots like Cruz and Paul. Now, he was retiring. Let them handle the mess created by the Trumpists and populists. They betrayed him, and they'll pay the price. And as if to add insult to injury, replacing him, of all people, was that a**hole Bevin.

"We have another projection, folks- a major one-" Chris Wallace said in the Fox News election night broadcast, and Mitch listened in mild interest. "President Donald Trump will win the state of Wisconsin! The Badger State will stay in the Republican column this time around, folks. Now, it all hinges on Pennsylvania."

As the Pennsylvania results slowly trickled in, Hillary was feeling anxious and dreadful. It was close, within a few thousand votes, but Kirsetn was still leading. If the former Secretary believed in God, she'd be praying right now.

Sure, the Democratic nominee betrayed them by going after Bill. But in all fairness, he did deserve it, and much more was in line right now- Hillary couldn't stand to see Trump gloating on TV screens for four more years, and she definitely didn't want the second-in-a-row female Democratic nominee to lose. She could already imagine those crazed people who seemed to be obsessed with her shouting in blogs, internet forums and TV shows- 'Gillibrand lost because she was too similar to Hillary'. Bullsh*t. Hillary didn't have much in common with Kirsten, she frankly never really liked her that much, but right now, she hoped with all her heart that her successor in the Senate will win the Presidency.

"This is looking tighter than ever," Anderson Cooper was saying in a serious tone. "We're now getting reports that President Trump has officially passed Senator Gillibrand in the Pennsylvania vote count. Right now by a few hundred votes, but will the gap widen...?"

God damn it. Hillary remembered the results in 2016- Trump gained on her in Pennsylvania after passing her. But this was when her loss was a sure thing, so it didn't really matter. Now, though... The fate of the country hinged on it.

About half a hour passed in tense silence. The returns from Pennsylvania trickled in, slow and frustrating. 98% in. 99% in. And then it came, and Hillary's heart sunk.


"We have a major projection, our biggest of the night- Donald Trump has won the state of Pennsylvania! I repeat, the Republican nominee, President Donald J. Trump,  has won the key state of Pennsylvania. And thus, we can finally project the race for the Presidency- President Trump will be re-elected!"

 блять

I don't know what I expected.

Govanah Pete 2024!

This, too.

Heck.

Frick.

Actually Hillary is a fairly devout Methodist, (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/30/us/politics/some-in-iowa-surprised-by-hillary-clintons-ease-with-faith.html) a fact she didn't really accentuate all that much on the campaign trail because 99% of the people who care about what religion the President is are the same people who think she's a Satan worshiper.

She even quoted John Wesley's rule (a rule I quite like and that all people of any religious affiliation or lack thereof would do well to live by) in her DNC acceptance speech.

Oh, and oh God Trump won... I guess it's necessary for Pete to win in 2024...

Hm, I actually thought that she's one of these "I'm devout in public but I'm too cynical to believe in God" people like Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu :P Guess I'll change that, though I'm still not entirely convinced she actually believes in God.

Like all Democrats, Pete felt bad in the morning after the election. Donald Trump, that incompetent buffoon who kept damaging America domestically and worldwide not just with his sheer stupidity, but with his racist rhetoric and support for dangerous movements, was reelected. They were going to have to suffer his narcistic face glued on TV screens until 2024, and probably beyond that. How could they allow such a terrible President win reelection?

The blaming game was going to start, Pete knew that well. Democrats would blame Gillibrand, they'd blame Merkley and Kaine and Warren and Kander and Harris and Inslee, they'd blame Hillary and Bernie, they'd blame Biden for not running, they'd blame Russia and fake news, some of them would even allege a corrupt process, but the truth was there- they lost the election. Now, they had to go forward.



And that night wasn't all bad- Gillibrand won the popular vote by more than even Hillary did, about 2.4% to be precise, and thus Trump didn't get much of a mandate, and the Democrats gained three seats in the Senate and only lost Alabama. They also won a few upsets in the Gubernatorial races. For one, Pete was Governor-elect of Indiana now.

Governor-Elect Pete Buttigieg.

Now that sounded weird. He was just a Mayor of a fairly small city, and now he was going to become the first gay Governor in Indiana history. An unsurprising statistic, considering it was a staunchly conservative state. At first, he didn't even plan on running for Governor, but they kept calling him-everyone from Keith Ellison and Tom Perez to Jay Inslee and Tom Wolf, who replaced him as Head of the Democratic Governors Association, from Kirsten Gillibrand to Richard Cordray. When Barack Obama, one of his personal heroes, called him and asked him to run, he decided that not doing it would be an insult to all the people who trusted him. Chasten, his partner, supported him in the decision, and so did his parents, and thus he announced his campaign. He won the Democratic primary easily against State Senator Karen Tallian, and went on to a hard election campaign against a popular Republican Governor in a Republican state, touting his record and distancing himself from federal politics.

He remembered what he told the people in one of his biggest rallies, held in a fairly rural area: "We're going to do for Indiana what we did for South Bend. We're going to revitalize this state's economy, restore the infrastructure, give a push to the industry and job market, bring in new opportunities in clean energy and high tech, and make this state appealing to our young people once more!"

And he was adamant that he was going to do just that. He would keep his campaign promises, unlike most politicians, because this was the reason he entered politics. But he was already planning to help Democrats in the entire country to oppose Trump's policies. The 2022 midterms were looking appealing, but they had to work hard like in 2018 and not squander it. Then, their next President, hopefully elected in 2024, would have a strong start. Indeed, people were already calling him, politicians who wanted his endorsement for their future midterm campaigns. They were also asking him to run for... something else. To run for President in 2024.

Pete was well-aware that he was very popular with many Democrats accross the country. There was no avoiding that fact. Still, he was only just elected Governor. In 2020, he'd have less than 3 years experience, and there were a few obvious frontrunners who seemed like giants- runner-ups from 2020 like Harris, Merkley and his fellow Governor-Elect Kander, Gillibrand's running mate and popular Ohio Governor Richard Cordray, and other rising stars who won office before him and had more experience. Sure, with so many people asking him to run, Pete couldn't say that giving America a first gay President wasn't appealing, but the entire notion of campaigning against a fearsome field of fellow Democrats and then, if he somehow won, serving as target for Republicans quickly soured the idea on him, especially after the hot mess that was the 2020 Democratic Primary.

"Sir," one of his loyal staffers approached him in his South Bend office as he contemplated all that. "You have an, um, phone call. It's from Governor-Elect Kander."

Pete raised his brows in surprise. Kander? Now that's unexpected. He wondered if Jason was just afraid of him running in 2024 against him. "Pass him on to me," the Mayor said, ready to reassure the future Missouri Governor that there was nothing to fear from his side.


As he picked the phone, Jason's voice came from the other side. "Hey, Pete? Congratulations. You won a big upset tonight."

"Thanks, Jason," the Mayor answered politely, "and congratulations to you as well. You've won by even more than me."

"Eh, that's because my opponent was an absolute disaster." Jason chuckled. "But thank you. Of course, I'm sure you're just as disappointed as me that we didn't manage to put Kirsten in the White House."

Pete sighed. "Definitely. Now we'll have to tolerate Trump for four more years, our entire first terms."

"Exactly," Kander said, sounding satisfied. "Which is why we need to be united. You know, the two of us were elected Governors right now, in rustbelt states. But there are also others in other states- Wolf, Whitmer, Walz, Evers, Glasson... Cordray. The Democrats control the midwest, and we can use that to resist Trump. He'll obviously have interest in these states. Well, we can unite together and stand against him. And the two of us are young and dymanic, in Republican states- we should stand at the forefront."

Pete liked the idea more and more as his fellow Governor spoke. A front of midwestern governors, fighting to defend their people from Trump's policies... it sounded good. "So you're proposing some sort of alliance. I like that."

"Yes, and it won't hurt that it will give us the publicity and recognition to promote one of us in the party... to win the Presidency in 2024 and bring some real change, you know?" Kander's tone was casual.

The Mayor smiled to himself. He knew that it was going to come up. "Sure, I'll support you if you run in 2020. You have potential to be a great President."

"Me?" Jason laughed. "Oh, no, I don't think I'll be running again in 2024. I was already critisized for being an opportunist after running with little experience and then jumping on the Gubernatorial race. Hell, if not for how awful Greitens was, I'd probably have lost, and I'll lose reelection if I try that again in four years and fail to win the Primary. I'm going to give a Sherman-esque denial soon enough, and clean the stage for you. Wait, wait, I know what you're going to say, you don't want to run so soon. Well, just think about it. You're young, you're wildly popular in your city and soon in your state, you're unique. Just give it a thought. I gotta go now, talk to you later. Bye!"


And just like that, the call ended and Pete was left speechless. Well, that was something. Now, the idea seemed much more real than before, and it scared him.

But he remembered a line from some 2008 movie, Milk, about the first gay politician to win major office in America, the assassinated San Fransisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. "A homosexual with power- that's scary!"

Maybe it was time for a homosexual to have power in America.

Yes!!! You pretty much captured how honest and casual I think Kander is in real life from the interactions I've had with him, which only makes your TL even more realistic. Sad that Trump won but that happening was obvious, just by narrative standards. Also, forget Pete '24 or Kander '24, how about Impeachment '21?!

Plus if Trump is removed from office before his second term expires, having an openly gay governor beat President Mike "pray the gay away" Pence in a landslide would be cathartic.

I think Gillibrand winning AZ is a sign that the sunbelt is tilting D, which could be foreshadowing an absolute Democratic landslide in 2024. Possible that Texas goes D too, since Gillibrand (and Beto, for that matter) only lost by a little.

Merkley would have won!

Donald Trump won.

And not just the election- that didn't matter to him as much as his ultimate victory. He won against all the haters and losers, who doubted him for his entire life. They called him stupid, they called him incompetent. They said he's never going to be the Republican nominee, or President of the United States, or a two-term President. But he won. He was going to be a two-term President, just like Obama and Reagan and Washington. And deep in his heart, Donald knew that he was going to be remembered as a great President, one who changed everything. Greatest of them all, perhaps. He smiled as he thought of his face etched on Mount Rushmore. Maybe when Mike or someone else succeeds him he can commission the work on that mountain to put up Donald with the rest of the greats.

But he wasn't a fool. He knew that he had to work hard for that- the Democrats controlled Congress, with some... um, what, 50 something seats in the Senate? Someone told him 53. Whatever. They'll try to obstruct everything he does, but he was great at making deals. He'd be able to make deals with them. He'll be remembered as the great dealmaker President.

Deciding that he'll be productive today, Donald looked down at the papers they gave him. List of possible names for Cabinet endorsements in the DONALD TRUMP administration, it said. He smiled and started reading the short, simple list. State: Secretary of State Dan Coats, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. Donald wanted Pompeo, but he knew that they were going to advice him against it and for Haley. She was good for getting them pro-Israeli conservative donations, he knew, but he wasn't running for reelection, and he didn't want her to take away all the attention like she did in the UN. Eh, we'll see. Defence: Chief of Staff John Kelly. A fine choice. Treasury: Director Gary Cohn, Representative Steve Womack, Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Meh, he'll let whoever can win in the Senate be chosen, though he preferred to replace Steve. Justice: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Fmr. Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Fmr. Governor Chris Christie. Trump wanted Jeff out and Scott in. He knew that. He also knew that it would be hard in the Senate, but whatever. Let these red state Dems squirm. Chief of Staff: Advisor Stephen Miller, VP Chief of Staff Nick Ayers, Director Mick Mulvaney, Advisor Kellyanne Conway, Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Director Gary Cohn, Jared Kushner. Hm... He was going to think hard about that, but he didn't want Mike's used staffer, he wanted someone he could trust.

For other offices, because the Democrats in the Senate were going to be very, very vicious, they were mostly sticking to existant secretaries- Zinke in Interior, Perdue in agriculture, Wilbur in Commerce, though Linda McMahon was an option, Acosta in Labour, Azar, or maybe Carson, in HHS, Chao in Transportation (though Donald itched to replace her and annoy Mitch even more), Perry in Energy, DeVos in Education, Shulkin in VA, and if she wasn't chosen Chief of Staff, Nielsen for Homeland Security.

Donald shook his head. All these names tired him, so he decided that he worked hard enough and flicked on the TV. NBC was on, and annoyingly, they were talking about how hard the 2022 election was going to be for him. The President switched to Fox News, where they discussed his big election victory.

Better.

Great Updates!  I really like how you're writing Trump, though I hope it's not accurate. (Most likely is sadly :()

I can't believe it's 2020 and both Donald Trump and Wilbur Ross are still alive

Looks like the electoral college is beginning to shift... Sun Belt moving left while Rust Belt moving right. 2024 could be a whole different electoral battle. Really loving this TL! Keep it up!

Hmm.. looks like Gillibrand and Cordray kept Trump below 50% in Ohio. That's promising at least

The Democratic Party was undergoing a changing of the guard. Schumer wouldstill be Senate leader for the years to come, and he was effective in the job, but other positions of leadership were changing. After both Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer retired, the race was on to succeed them. The usual suspects announced quickly- Joe Crowley, Linda Sánchez and Tulsi Gabbard were all unsurprising candidates. Seth Moulton's entrance shook the ground a bit, but he was unpopular in the caucus. From the start, though, Ben was one of the frontrunners, and it looked like a battle between himself, Tim Ryan and another surprising contender, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI). In the end, Ben and Debbie struck a deal- she would support him for Leader, and he'd support her for Whip. Thus, all the stars aligned. He won.



And two weeks prior, a new Democratic National Committee Chairman was elected to replace the retiring Tom Perez- Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, whose win sent much-needed enthusiasm through the progressive wing of the party. They lost in 2020, yes- but with congressial majorities, there was a feeling of enthusiasm and energy in the base that wasn't felt for a long while. They were ready to fight Trump in congress and elect someone fresh in 2024. There was a lot of work to be done for the new Democratic leaders.

A week ago, they were provided with the perfect opportunity to make a first show of strength- Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the Sepreme Court. They knew that Trump was going to face pressure to replace him with a more conservative judge, and that they would face pressure to obstruct whoever Trump nominates, just like McConnell did to Garland. However, waiting for four years would be problematic. He and Chuck were ready to force a compromise that would put a moderate judge in the court, possibly even to Kennedy's left. One candidate emerging in their minds was Former Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, who was pro-choice, pro-gay and anti-gerrymandering. If they managed to make Trump nominate him, they could present it as a victory to the base.

Then there was the election in 2024. Jennifer was adamant on two main courses of action for the DNC- they weren't going to interfer and support any candidate, so there was no accusations of favouritism, just like Tom's DNC- and even more so. However, they would monitor the situation closely and work very hard to prevent a disastrous contested convention like in 2020. It was a hard mission, almost a double-edged sword, but Ben trusted that Granholm would succeed. In fact, she already sent him and Chuck the first poll conducted by the DNC to test the waters for the next primary, and it included some interesting and some expected results. Obviously, Cordray, who was popular with progressives and a good running mate, was leading, but he wasn't going for a coronation. The big losers of the poll, meanwhile, appeared to be Warren and Booker, who Democrats were quite tired of, while Merkley, Harris and Kander could smile. To Ben, though, the most interesting prospects were Kennedy III and Buttigieg.

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Democratic Presidential Primary?
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 25%
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)- 14%
Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA)- 12%
Governor Jason Kander (D-MO)- 10%
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)- 8%
Fmr. Governor Jay Inslee (D-WA)- 5%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 4%
Senator Joe Kennedy III (D-MA)- 3%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 3%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 2%
Senator Amy Klobucher (D-MN)- 1%
Other\Undecided- 14%

LETS GO CORDRAY!

I hope that in this TL 2022 going to be the democrat's 2014.
Democrats winning many senate seats including in states like Kentucky.

Yeah, it'll feel like 1978 did for the Republicans going into 1980.

The first push of the Trump administration wasn't going very well, the Chief of Staff reflected as he read the new Washington Post headline. Kander, Buttigieg lead rustbelt Governors in call against Trump policy: 'We won't be complicit in racist attacks on our constituents'.

Mick Mulvaney scoffed. They were just doing this to gain publicity and further their 2024 ambitions, it was clear. All of them were rumoured candidates- Kander, Buttigieg, Cordray, Glasson, Whitmer, even the less publicity-seeking Evers of Wisconsin and Wolf of Pennsylvania. All the Trump administration wanted to do is to increase the amount and intensity of ICE forces in rustbelt, midwest and applachia states- nothing else. Sure, they framed it as an effort to remove illegal immigrants who are stealing jobs in areas with already-high unemployment, but it was just a way to get to their base- kill two birds with one stone by appealing both to immigration hardliners and to their white working-class midwestern base. The Democrats made it sound like they were sending in forces, and it looked like the backlash they created was going to be more than was worth it.

But whatever. Mick had more important business to attend to than some uptight governors- cabinet confirmations. The Trump cabinet was slowly taking shape, but it was much harder than before to actually confirm all of Trump's choices, many of which were controversial and had a strong Democratic front against them in the Senate. Right now, the situation looked like it was getting better, after Trump agreed for some compromises.

For State, Trump insisted on Pompeo, but the Democrats formed a united front against him, and to them joined Paul, Murkowski, Collins, Romney, Cindy McCain and Sasse. Pompeo was denied by the Senate 59-41. They wanted to replace him by Haley, naturally, but Trump insisted against her, so instead they nominated the one who held the office most recently, Dan Coats, and he was narrowly confirmed 49-51 with Manchin, Bredesen, Heitkamp and Donnelly breaking from the Democratic front. For Defence, it was much easier- Mick's predecessor, John Kelly, was easily confirmed 63-37. For Treasury, they started with Gary Cohn but met strong opposition, so instead switched to Rep. Steve Womack, who was confirmed 50-50 with Manchin, Heitkamp and Bredesen supporting him, and Pence broke the tie.

The worst part was, or is, Justice. Pruitt was their first candidate, but not only did all Democrats fiercely oppose him, Collins, Romney and McCain joined them. He was denied 56-44. Trump was furious, and sent Giuliani to the Senate. But when Rudy flopped at the hearings by saying that he "might" act against Mueller's investigation, he was quickly denied with an even worse score, 57-43, Murkowski breaking away. Then they tried Luther Strange, but the controversy of his Senate appointment rose and he, too, was defeated, 52-48, with Manchin and Heitkamp voting for him and Collins against. It was a disaster now- they were scrambling to find a worthy replacement and finding no one. Christie, their third option was too controversial with Bridgegate, and red-state Democrats signaled that they won't vote for him. The possibility of choosing Joe Lieberman rose, but Rand Paul sounded the alarm and Bredsen proclaimed that the people of Tennesse didn't elect him to confirm "a warmonger from Connecticut". They even offered it to Haley, but she refused, saying that her time with the administration was over after they "betrayed" her in the State fiasco. Now a consensus was emerging- Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the same one who initiated the Mueller investigation. Trump didn't want it at all, but it was looking increasingly necessary.

The New Trump Cabinet
Secretary of State- CIA Director Mike Pompeo, denied 59-41 Secretary Dan Coats, confirmed 51-49
Secretary of Defence- Chief of Staff John Kelly, confirmed 63-37
Secretary of Treasury - Rep. Steve Womack, confirmed 50-50
Attorney General- EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, denied 56-44 Fmr. Mayor Rudy Giuliani, denied 57-43 Fmr. Senator Luther Strange, denied 52-48
Secretary of the Interior- Fmr. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, confirmed 51-49
Secretary of Agriculture- Secretary Sonny Perdue, confirmed 54-46
Secretary of Commerce- Secretary Wilbur Ross, confirmed 50-50
Secretary of Labour- Administrator Linda McMahon, confirmed 56-44
Secretary of Health and Human Services- Secretary Ben Carson, denied 52-48 Secretary Alex Azar, confirmed 51-49
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development- Fmr. Mayor Rudy Giuliani, confirmed 51-49
Secretary of Transportation- Fmr. Senator Dean Heller, confirmed 53-47
Secretary of Energy- Secretary Rick Perry, confirmed 50-50
Secretary of Education- Fmr. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, confirmed 82-28
Secretary ov Veterans Affairs- Secretary David Shlukin, confirmed 78-22
Secretary of Homeland Security- Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, confirmed 54-46
Ambassador to the UN- U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, confirmed 53-47
Administrator of the EPA- Fmr. Governor Rick Scott, denied 51-49

McCain's still alive?!

Ducey appointed his wife to replace him- in 2022 the seat will be, most likely, open.

Ah. Didn't see that. Carry on.

Governor Northam's legacy was secure, just like McAuliffe's legacy before him. The heir of Virginia's Democratic Governor had once again defeated the Republican running against him, and their party will now rule the state, which was indeed getting more and more friendly to them, for twelve consecutive years. They also easily flipped the House of Delegates, winning a majority in both chambers of the Virginian legislature.

Of course, this came as a surprise for no one- it was one year into Donald Trump's second term, and it was looking just as bad and messy as the first one. He was getting nothing done and flailing to do anything productive, which only made it worse because of backlash for every controversial executive action. And Bob Mueller kept sending indictments and appeared to be getting closer and closer to concluding his investigation. The conclusions were actually awaited every single day, now, and it appeared like Trump was, most likely, not getting indicted. The Democrats were disappointed by that fact, but it didn't matter that much- the President was still deeply unpopular. For now, they could be happy seeing the 2021 results:




Now, with his legacy secure, Ralph could start thinking about the future. After Tim Kaine's success in the last Democratic primary, many Virginia politicians started thinking about trying to stage a similar, but successful bid. Amongst them were, primarily, the two Governors- Terry McAuliffe and Ralph himself. They had a good relationship, and didn't want to run against each other, but were now engaged in a shadow primary for support from their state's establishment. Terry was a better machine politician, but Ralph had some marked advantages- he was fairly popular with the base because of his progressive tenure, and he wasn't tainted with the Clinton machine. Now his legacy was secure too, and even more successfully than he himself secured Terry's legacy. It was looking good for Ralph.

Suddenly, an aide barged into his office. Without knocking. Annoyed, Ralph prepared to give her a good scorning, until he saw her face. "Governor... You'd want to turn on the TV right now."

Ralph Northam nodded and flicked on the screen with the remote. CNN was giving out some breaking news. "...Special Counsel Robert Mueller has just announced his latest, and apparently last, indictment- Donald Trump Jr., the President eldest son, and Special Advisor Jared Kushner, his eldest daughter's husband, have both been indicted for money laundering and obstruction of justice. This is the biggest bombshell to come out of Mueller's investigation, and though expectations were initially high that the President would suffer the same fate, it appears as if the investigation was concluded, 'with no sufficient evidence to prove that President Trump was, in any way, involved with his son's actions and dealings with Russia.' Mueller has officially announced that his investigation was concluded, and Attorney General Rod Rosenstein thanked him, calling him 'a true patriot whose work was untainted and without bias.'

"President Donald Trump", Wolf Blitzer continued, "released a series of Tweets condemning Mueller's actions, calling it "a pathetic witchhunt against me and my family' and added that 'I'm too innocent and cleant for them to even fabricate anything about me!' He asserted his son and son-in-law's innocense, calling them 'the most honest men I've ever known'.

Wow, Governor Northam thought to himself. This trial is going to go way into the midterms, huh? "I bet Donald is regretting naming his eldest son after himself," the aide said, and Ralph laughed in response. "And Don Jr. is probably regretting that his father ever ran."

Will love watching the 2nd term of Trump unfold... keep it up!

"Thank you. It's been a great honour to serve and represent the people of Missouri for these past decades. The greatest honour of my life." And that was it. To the sound of some polite clapping, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt went down from the stage and quickly escaped backstage.

His mood was morbid, as was the mood of all his staffers and campaign operatives. He wanted to run for re-election, he truly did. Missouri Republicans urged him to do so, as did Senate Majority Leader Cornyn and Tim Scott, Chairman of the NRSC. And at first he prepared to run, but then Nicole Galloway entered, and... nope. That woman was Kander all over again, with the added benefit of a disastrous midterm shaping up for his party. He was already mocked for almost losing in 2016- Roy wasn't going to go through the mockery of actually losing. Nope. No way. Not after their internal polling had this conclusion:

Who will you vote for in the 2022 Missouri Senate race?
State Auditor Nicole Galloway- 46.5%
Senator Roy Blunt*- 38.3%
Undecided- 15.2%

He was fully aware that it meant even more of a chance that the Republicans would lose his race. Serious candidates like Ann Wagner have already indicated that they weren't willing to run for the seat in 2022, and thus there was a good chance that a joke candidate like Courtland Sykes or Austin Petersen won the nomination. But this is what they got for letting Trump win in 2016 and then in 2020, isn't it? This... disaster.

Trump continued to inflict damage on himself in an alarming pace. Without a majority for his party in even one chamber of Congress, he was spiraling down, trying to get anything resembling a win done- immigration executive orders causing backlash, attempts to make environmental de-regulations, even one desperate attempt to make an effort against abortion and rile up the base. It was all for naught- the White House couldn't think of anything that wouldn't cause huge backlash or just fail to get through the courts. And all of this was in the shadow of the Trump Jr. and Kushner trials. So why would Roy sweat so much to give them one more seat in the Senate, and likely fail and humiliate himself?

Of course, he wasn't the only red-state Republican who was in trouble- Jason Carter was running strong in Georgia, Stephanie Murphy's campaign against Rubio was very troubling for the ambitious Florida Senaro, North Carolina State Senator Jeff Jackson, a rising star in the state, declared his own run, and that was just some of the problems. Even in ruby-red Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards was giving Senator Kennedy a rough race, and in Kentucky Andy Beshear was proving to be a tough challenge to Rand Paul. In fact, it was going to be tough for all of them, and Republicans in other states like Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania and who even knew where else.

Roy Blunt sighed. It was a bad time to be a Republican.

Nikki Haley yawned as she watched the results of the French Presidential election being reported on her TV screen. It was an important election, she knew, with huge consequences, but it just paled in comparison to something which was, to her, way more important.



Emmanuel Macron was re-elected, and by a convincing margin, too. Both the left and right were severely split in the first round, the left especially so, and thus Macron won easily. But that also meant that nothing will really change, and though she tried to pay attention to foreign affairs, it didn't have much of an impact on Nikki. And sure enough, her mind quickly drifted back to U.S. politics, in which she was preparing to get heavily involved. The former Ambassador played nice for now, but in truth, she was an exile plotting her return. She dribbled in criticism of the Trump administration here and there, on immigration and foreign policy, enough to buy the loyalty of the mainline conservatives but not enough to lose the Trumpists. After all, if she was going to be the 2024 nominee, she'd need both.

As she watched the Trump administration spiral down, the former UN Ambassador couldn't help but feel some satisfaction- he promised her the State Department back in 2016, and now was going back on it because he was afraid she'd steal the show? What a pu**y. He deserved what he was getting now. Besides, if Trump was seen as a failure, it would hurt the one she was expecting to be her biggest problem in the primary, Pence, and that was a bonus as well. But of course, this was a double-edged sword. If Trump failed too much, she had to reluctantly admit, a Republican winning in 2024 would be almost impossible. She believed in her ability to win against all odds by appearing as an independent star, but not with the country in tatters after the last Republican administration.

Nontheless, she tried to ignore all that noise. She had to run, in any case- with both Scott and Graham showing no signs of retiring, there was no other way for her to stay in the spotlight, and even if she failed to win the primary, she could run in 2028. It was a necessary gamble. And so, she slowly started gathering information, talking to donors, testing the waters to gain a headstart against her likely opponents. The polls conducted by the RNC and secured by her people were showing an unsurprising lead for Pence, but she could still build on that result:

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Republican Presidential Primary?
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 31%
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)- 10%
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 8%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 7%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 6%
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 4%
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)- 4%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 3%
Fmr. Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)- 3%
Fmr. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)- 2%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 1%
Other\Undecided- 21%

Love it, love it, love it

Gosh, I hope Portman goes down. He deserves it. "Independent voice for Ohio," my ass.

"Thank you! Thank you, my friends, my fellow Ohioans! Let's get out together tomorrow and vote to make our voices heard and show President Trump, and Senator Portman who never made one brave stand against him, that we-are-here! Now, let's give a warm welcome to a good friend of mine who also happens to be my boss, one of our state's best, Governor Richard Cordray!" To the sound of cheering, Lieutenant Governor and Senate nominee Betty Sutton descended from the stage and made a show of hugging and joking with the Governor on her way down.

"Thank you, Betty, it's a honour to speak here today," Rich proclaimed to the audience. "My friends, I want to join Betty here in asking you- come out to vote tomorrow! Let's show Senator Portman that the people of Ohio don't like all-talk-and-no-action Senators, and elect a true woman of the people to represent us! And, well, there's a certain Governor running for re-election..."

As the audience laughed at the jest and Richard kept speaking, the Lieutenant Governor smiled to herself. The midterms were just around the corner, tomorrow, in fact, and Democrats were feeling a wave building up in the air. They already had congressial majorities, of course, but soon... they'd have even larger ones. Republicans were scrambling to defend seats they thought safe, and popular incumbents were quickly losing popularity. Portman was just one of them, but he ran an admirable and strong campaign, which caused the race in Ohio to be considered amongst the closest in the nation, along with nations in much more Republican states like Louisiana and Kentucky:

Who will you vote for in the 2022 Ohio Senate race?
Senator Rob Portman*- 47.4%
Lieutenant Governor Betty Sutton- 46.6%
Undecided- 6.0%

And despite Portman's narrow lead, Betty was confident that she could pull it off- they could just feel the excitement in the air, the Democratic voters were ready to turn out in record numbers to reject President Trump's agenda for the second time. And then, after the midterms were done... it was on to 2024.

And the frontrunner for that race was right before her eyes, speaking on the stage. "Let's do this, my friends! Let's bring a bold, progressive vision for America, starting right here in Ohio!" He said in the most exciting voice he could muster, which admittedly wasn't that exciting. But it did the job- the crowd cheered. She wondered if it would be enough for the entire country.

🙏🏻

What about little Marco Rubio? How is he doing in the Florida 2022 senate polls? Is King José Javier Rodríguez his opponent?

Who will you vote for in the 2022 Florida Senate race?
Senator Marco Rubio*- 47.5%
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy- 47.3%
Undecided- 5.2%

"We can still not call the Senate races in Indiana and Kentucky," Anderson Cooper said dramatically, "but it appears that Republican Senator Todd Young is currently leading in Indiana, while the race in Kentucky is especially close, with Democrat Andy Beshear very close behind Republican Senator Rand Paul..."

Chuck felt satisfied. He was obviously going to stay Senate Majority Leader, but even more importantly- he was going to have a much-extended majority. The 2022 midterms were looking very good for them and very bad for Republicans, and the results coming from Kentucky, a deep-red state, were a proof for that. They didn't even dream of ever toppling Rand Paul back in 2020, but now it looked more realistic than ever. Of course, if Rand fell, it'd probably bring at least some satisfaction to Cornyn, who sees him as a trouble-maker, but another seat for the Democrats was, nontheless, always good.

He was also quite excited for the next races- they netted top-quality recruits in virtually every contested state, and the Republicans would be hard-pressed to get lucky and win in all of them. In fact, their internal polling indicated that it was going to go the other way, with the Democrats being just much more enthusiastic.

"And as we reach the 7 P.M. poll closings, we can now call our first two races- incumbent Republican Tim Scott will keep his seat in South Carolina, and State Senator Tim Ashe, a Sanders-ally running as a Democrats, won the open Senate seat in Vermont which will be vacated by the retiring Patrick Leahy! We cannot, at the moment, call the races in Florida, Georgia and New Hampshire." So far unsurprising, Chuck thought- they didn't really try to challenge the popular Scott, and Ashe was guaranteed victory in Vermont. He hoped that the new progressive Senator won't cause too much trouble.

Go Beshear!!

The Governor of Ohio was excited tonight. The midterms looked like they were going just as well as he expected them to go, and it was particularly important for his future prospects. Not even to mention the fact that he looked likely to be reelected by a large margine. Indeed, they waited for Ohio's gubernatorial race to be called, very soon after the polls close. The Republicans didn't even bother to present a proper challenge against him, and sent Jim Renacci, who failed against Sherrod Brown back in 2018, after politicians like Jon Husted, Mary Taylor and Josh Mandel refused to join the race. And Republicans in Ohio poured most of their resources on defending their dear Senator, Rob Portman.

"Alright, folks, and now that the polls have closed in a number of states, we can make a few projections... or rather, non-projections. In the Ohio Gubernatorial race, we can right now say that it's too early to call the elction, while the Ohio Senate race between incumbent Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Betty Sutton, as well as the North Carolina Senate race for retiring Republican Richard Burr's seat between Republican Patrick McHenry and Democrat Jeff Jackson are too close to call right now. Tune in soon for a large batch of poll closings in 8 P.M."

So far, not surprising. No one expected Richard's race to be called right at the start, and of course the two Senate races would be too close to call. Betty's race particularly interested him- if she, his Lieutenant Governor, won it while he was reelected, it'd prove his effectiveness and popularity in Ohio. He would look like a winner, which would help come 2024, when the Democratic Presidential Primary, in which Rich was most likely going to be a candidate, is held.

Initially, he didn't really want to run for President. It wasn't in his blood, all this vicious politicking. But when Kirsten chose him as running mate and lost, he started rethinking. Quickly enough, people started pressuring him, encouraging him to run. He'd be a clear frontrunner, they said. He'd get support from Progressives like Warren and Merkley, who were unlikely to run again, and from establishment figures as well. He'd clear up the field and win, and then he'd become a President by a landslide. It was a image, Rich had to admit, and he also had to admit that it was possible. Of course, he wan't under the illusion that the election would be that easy, but there was no denying that he had everything going for him. He just hoped that Betty would win tonight, or the optics would be bad.

The anchor's voice from the TV startled him from his thoughts. "And now, with poll closings in many new states, we can already call a few Senate races. In Alabama, we can say for certain that Republican Bradley Byrne was elected to the seat of retiring Senator Richard Shelby, while incumbent Republicans James Lankford, John Thune, John Hoeven and Jerry Moran have been reelected in, respectively, Oklahoma, South Dakota, North Dakota and Kansas. Meanwhile, a bunch of incumbent Democrats have been reelected- Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, Chris Van Hollen in Maryland and Richard Blumenthal in Connecticut. The Senate race in Pennsylvania is currently too close to call, while in Missouri, where conservative vote is deeply split between Republican nominee Courtland Sykes and Libertarian 2020 Presidential nominee Austin Petersen, the race is too early to call, but Democrats see it as a very likely pickup. And we can also make another important call- Senator Maggie Hassan was comfortably reelected in New Hampshire. This is astonishing, considering that Former Senator Kelly Ayotte was regarded as a top-quality recruit by Republicans and was thought likely to make this race competitive." Richard Cordray smiled. This was, indeed, looking like a great night to be a Democrat, especially one running for President in 2024.

---

NOTE: In states I call right at poll closing, treat the early margin as close to the final one. For example, in Connecticut Blumenthal faced a surprisingly strong challenge, while Duckworth easily dispatched Ives in Illinois. And, yes, Hassan stomped Ayotte by double digits in the rematch.

ANOTHER NOTE: I've changed the results for the Nebraska and Kansas Gubernatorial elections in 2018 to account for a few changes:


That means that Dems have 27 Governorships after 2018, and 28 following the 2020 election (where they gained IN and MO and lost MT). Sorry, independents!

"And as the 9 P.M. hour arrives at the east coast and the polls close in a bunch of more states, we can make a few more calls. In New York, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer won reelection handily, while in Colorado, Democratic incumbent Michael Bennett has also won reelection, with Republicans barely making an effort to challenge him. The Senate races in Arizona, Louisiana and Wisconsin are too close to call. Additionally, after a little scare for Republicans when we were unable to call the race after the polls closed half a hour ago, we can call the Arkansas Senate race for Republican incumbent John Boozman."

The Indiana Governor was so busy these days, working on his infrastructure bill and on the high tech industry reform, that he barely found time to sit down and watch the results of the midterms. But so far, it was totally worth it, like watching a movie with a good ending. The Democrats were in for a clearly historic night- as returns were coming from more and more states, the folks at the national party started talking about gaining 12, 13, 15 seats. They were almost guaranteed a fillibuster-proof majority, and some activists were even dreaming of a veto-proof one, 67 seats in the Senate and 290 in the House, but that was clearly not going to happen.

The only cavaet for Pete- his own favorite candidate, Mayor McDermott, seemed to be losing the Indiana Senate race to Todd Young. Pete tried to help finding a better recruit, but concentrated most of his energy on gubernatorial duties, so it slipped out of his hand. Now, they were telling him that this was a mistake- while Cordray in Ohio got his Lieutenant Governor to run for Senate and seemed likely to achieve victory on that front, Pete was probably not going to gain a loyal Hoosier in the Senate. Why did it matter? Why, the reason was the one that seemed to be on the mind of every halfway-popular Democrat these days- 2024.

And just then, he got a Whatsapp message. Unsurprisingly, it was Governor Kander. Unfourtunate Thomas is losing IN. But dw, we've got this. It won't have much of an effect. Pete smiled- ever since that phone call two years ago, Jason has been his biggest ally ahead of the next election, right next to the more unsurprising ones like Senator Donnelly from his homestate, along with Senator Baldwin, Governor Polis and other LGBTQ Democrats. He texted back: Yeah. What matters is we're having a wonderful night. More than 60 seats... who would've thought?

Of course, Pete still hasn't decided that he was going to run, but seeing the election today, and seeing all the activists encouraging him, he leaned increasingly in that direction. If he could become President with more than a 60-vote majority in the Senate... he would be able to bring change, real change. He didn't want to miss the chance. I guess I'll see if we really do as well as expected tonight.

His thoughts were interrupted by Anderson Cooper. "And we have two big calls to make right now, our first major calls of the night. In Missouri, Democrat Nicole Galloway has won the race for the Senate seat vacated by the retiring Republican Roy Blunt, a gain for the Democrats, while in Indiana, popular Republican incumbent Todd Young managed to hold onto the seat, an important win for Republicans." Pete felt some disappointment from the call- he liked Thomas- but he already knew that it was going that way. He just hoped that it was not a sign for a worse-than-expected night.

---

Note: I changed two races. Richard Burr promised to retire in NC, so Rep. McHenry is running to replace him as a Republican, while Toomey will also retire in this TL due to very bad odds for him and Cawley won the Republican nomination. Ron Johnson also retired, and Roy Blunt as you already know.

Mike wasn't having the best night, to say the least.

Sure, they expected it to be bad. They even thought it could be worse. But this was approaching worst levels. They won Indiana, sure, but almost everywhere else it looked pretty bad. They didn't call most of the races yet, but as the prescint reporting reached critical levels, they braced for a shower of unpleasant calls.

"As the polls close in a few states now, folks ,we can make a few calls." Mike checked his watch as the TV startled him. 10 P.M... it's getting late. Sean Hannity kept announcing the results. "In Idaho, Republican Mike Crapo won reelection, while in Utah Republican Mike Lee also won reelection. As for the bad news, we can call the Nevada Senate race for incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto... at poll closing. The Republicans didn't really try with this seat, just like in Colorado. Lastly, the Senate race in Iowa is too close to call right now. And... and we're getting news that we can now call the Senate race in Pennsylvania, for retiring Republican Pat Toomey's seat. Democratic State Attorney General Josh Shapiro has won the race. This is a gain for Democrats."

As they listened to the Fox anchors discussing the results in grim voices, the woman sitting beside him (his wife, of course, Mike would never breath the same oxygen that a different woman breathed) looked just as tense and disappointed as him.

It wasn't that they cared much for Trump- no, none of them liked him too much. They cared about their own future, and if Trump was perceived as that much of a failure, Mike would have a slim chance to win in 2024. It was going to be a tough race- first he'd have to win what was sure to be a hard primary, and then he'd have to win an even harder general election. But as they showed in 2020 and, to a larger extent, in 2016, it was always possible, so Mike owed it to himself to run. He contemplated running back in 2016, but decided that the chances were too low, and now he had a much better chance. He was also not getting younger, already 63 years old, and to be 65 by the time of the 2024 election.

As he sat there, deep in thought, Fox News startled him with their "major call" theme. He looked at the screen tensely, waiting to see where the lot would fall.

"We can now, unfourtunately, call a major race. In North Carolina, Democrat Jeff Jackson, a rising star from the state legisleture, has won the race to succeed retiring Republican Richard Burr. This is another gain for Democrats, and definitely good news for th... Oh, god. We've just received news that there's another call we can make. We can say for certain now that Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a big name in the list for the 2024 Presidential election, has lost his reelection bid to Democratic Representative Stephanie Murphy. This is a major, major call, and very bad news for Republicans." Mike stared at the map with shock. They knew that this was a possibility, but... Marco losing reelection? With this call, the reality hit them like a hammer in the face. It was a truly disastrous night.

:DUSA:

I just punched the air over Jackson winning IRL. I honestly don't feel too bad over looking like an idiot over this TL.

Don't worry, I just did the exact same over the idea of Senator Ruben Gallego.

Yesssss, Jeff Jackson. Glad Betty is beating Rob at the moment, even if she's not my favorite.

"And as we close the polls in the Pacific Coast, we can already call a few key races..." Gavin Newsom leaned in, ready to bask his ears in the result everyone knew would happen. "In the Senate, we can already confirm that Senator Kamala Harris was reelected in California, Brian Schatz was reelected in Hawaii, and Ron Wyden was reelected in Oregon. To replace retiring Senator Patty Murray in Washington State, Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib won the race, becoming the first Iranian-American and the first fully blind Senator in American history. And for Gubernatorial races, incumbent Gavin Newsom was reelected in California, Kate Brown was reelected in Oregon, and in Hawaii, term-limited David Ige will be succeeded by Democratic Lieutenant Governor Alan Arakawa. And there's another race we can call right now- in Wisconsin, Democrat Ron Kind has won the race to replace retiring Republican Ron Johnson by a relatively comfortable margin. Very good news for Democrats."

The Governor of California smiled in satisfaction. Of course, it was an expected result, but it was still fun to hear that he trounced Thiel at poll-closing. Now, he could turn his attention to the next target. Four years ago, when he was first elected, he thought that he was trapped- he was tied in 2020, the Democratic President would run for reelection in 2024, and in 2028 the year would be favourable for Republicans and, on top of that, would have a Democratic Vice President running. Well, turned out that Gavin got lucky. Trump's reelection was a blow to everyone, sure, but when life gives you lemons...

As he contemplated the way forward, the 'key projection theme' played on CNN and Gavin leaned in again, ready to hear what was going to be announced. "And we have a major, major race to finally call now. In Kentucky, a usually solid Republican state, Attorney General Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has won the race, dethroning the very visible libertarian-leaning Republican Senator Rand Paul. This is a huge pickup for Democrats. And, there's another race we can call at about the same time- in Georgia, Democrat Jason Carter won the race to replace retiring Senator Johnny Isakson, another key pickup for Democrats in what's looking like a historic night for them. And with that we can also say that the Democrats will have at least 60 seats in the upcoming Senate, a supermajority that, if they hold to that number of seats and win the White House in 2024, would let them pass bills without a filibuster."













Just then, the phone rang. He smiled, knowing what the call would include, and picked it up. "Governor," his secretary informed him dutifully, "Senator Kamala Harris is calling."

"You know what to do," he said simply.

A few moments later, he heard the junior Senator's voice. "Governor, hi. Congratulations on your reelection, I'm glad you've beat Peter so thoroughly."

"Thank you very much, Senator," Gavin replied, "and I was just intending to call you as well. I want to congratulate you for your successful reelection- beating Ose couldn't have been very hard for a great woman like you."

"That's very nice of you, Gavin," Kamala said. "There is another reason I called you tonight, though, other than our successful reelections. I still remember that you kept your word and endorsed me more than two years ago, immediately after I entered the Democratic primary."

"Don't sweat it, Kamala. I didn't do it just as a Californian, but also as someone who geniuenly believes you would've made a great President, the best of the bunch. Rest assured- if you run again in two years, I'm going to endorse you just as fast." Gavin smiled to himself. He knew what was going to follow.

"Oh, that's not why I called, Governor. I'm not running in 2024- I don't think it would be right for Democrats to have to choose between the same old faces, and frankly, that 2020 race was enough for me." She stopped for a few moments. "I called to promise you that I remember what you've done for me, and I'm going to return the favour."

YEET

Did I mention how much I love this timeline? :)

Awww why'd you have to take Rand Paul out? :(

Thanks, it means a lot! :)


Yeah, it was a tough choice since he's such a unique Senator, but oh well, he's probably gonna have a much more prominent role in the other TL if I reach that point :P

Well, Rand, that's karma for voting for Jeff Sessions.

Kinda wish you would have made Doug Jones re-capture a Senate seat in 2022, though. :(

That's a confirmed supermajority! Georgia is the 7th gain with only GOP held seats left and 53 prior to the election! They would probably mention that when they call the race, right?...

Oh, yeah, it confirms that they'll have 60 seats. Will mention that, thanks! These gains sure will come in handy when they need to face the 2018 map again in a Presidential year :P

I love this TL.
Carry on.

"And now, we can call the Arizona Senate race- Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego has won the open seat, vacated by the retiring Cindy McCain, who was appointed as a caretaker of the seat held by her husband, the deceased Senator John McCain! That's an expected gain for Democrats in a state trending in their direction and won by Senator Gillibrand in 2020, but good news for them nontheless."

Kyrsten smiled- with her and Ruben, Arizona would now have two Senators from the Democratic party. A big change from four mere years ago, when it had two Republican Senators. Now, with this done, Kyrsten planned something else- she planned Arizona to have its first Presidential nominee since 2008. Herself. She had everything going for her- popularity in the base, she was moderate enough for the establishment and progressive enough for the grassroots, and she was unique. Millenials would be crazy for a bisexual, irreligious Senator. She just hoped that she could capture this exploding energy in the base, which was clearly visible in the midterm results, and ride it to victory.

Meanwhile, the results kept flowing in. "In Iowa, we can finally project that U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer will win the election for the Senate seat vacated by the retiring Republican Terry Branstad, defeating the Senator's grandson for another important gain for Democrats. At the same time, the polls have closed in Alaska, where former Senator Mark Begich is running against Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. Right now, we cannot call this race."

Kyrsten looked over the results in her laptop. In Louisiana, John Bel Edwards had an insurmountable lead over Senator Kennedy by now, but the only question was now whether he'd avoid a runoff and win more than 50%. And Ohio was proving to be the closest Senate race in the nation, as Portman and Betty Sutton were virtually tied. This night was still not over.

What felt like a hour passed before CNN's anchors came to life again, proclaiming another projection. "This is it, folks, we can finally call the race in Louisiana! The state's popular Governor, John Bel Edwards, has won the Senate race, unseating Republican Senator John Neely Kennedy in the first round. This is big news for Democrats, a victory in a ruby red state."

SINEMA/BUTTIGIEG 2024!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cmon Betty!!!

It was utterly depressing. John wondered if Mitch felt the same four years ago, but at least back then, the losses weren't so disastrous. Now, as Senate Minority leader for the last two years, he presided over little to no accomplishments for Republicans and now lost a double-digit amount of seats for his caucus. Good, loyal Senators like Rubio and Kennedy. Hell, even the often-annoying Rand Paul was a big loss to them. The final results that came only in the morning didn't make John Cornyn very happy, either:



Sure, Begich losing was good- he wasn't the best recruit for the Demcorats, a bit of an Evan Bayh who was bogged down by all the lobbying he did. But it wan't like Murkowski was of any use to him- she voted with the Democrats quite often these days. And losing Portman, another loyal Senator, was a huge blow. And now he'd have to deal with the reprecussions of that night, and they seemed quite severe.

Already, it was looking like John was facing a revolt. Moderate Senators were screaming that the obstructionism and refusal to make any compromise with the Democrats is what caused the huge loss of 2022, and there were whispers of a group of Senators lead by Mitt Romney trying to unseat him as Senate Leader. Meanwhile, from the right, Senators were protesting too, saying that Cornyn was too weak, and some wanted to replace him with fellow Texan Ted Cruz. Even from the middle, there were whispers that Senate Minority Whip John Thune was planing a coup.

And President Trump, that a**hole, was joining the charade, of course, trying to shift the blame to everyone but himself, even though he was so obviously the one to blame. He tweeted every hour or so, blaming not just Cornyn, but, even moreso, Minority Leader Ryan, who was facing severe fire too for the big losses in the House. But Trump wouldn't escape blame now. No, he couldn't, John wouldn't let him. He was the one to blame, the only one because of whom the state of Congress looked like that after the 2022 midterms:




Cornyn planned to retire in 2026, but until then... Until then, he'd have to keep suffering Trump, for two years, and then his replacement. John hoped that it would be Pence- working with the Vice President was every Republican leader's wet dream- but he had some very, very serious doubts that it was going to be the case, especialyl after the midterm disaster. "Senator," one of his staffers peeked into the room then. "The press is waiting."

The Minority Leader nodded and stepped outside, approaching the stand prepared for him and positioning himself before the nosey members of the press standing before him, with their microphones and cameras. "Good afternoon. This night, I think that it cannot be denied that we, as a Republican Party, had a very bad night. We lost many seats in both houses of congress, as well as governorships. And for these losses, someone has to take responsibility. Yes, all of us share some blame, but there is one person whose share in that blame is bigger than anyone else's. First of all, I'm here to announce that as of today, I'm resigning my position as leader of the Republican Party in the Senate. But let me be clear- I'm not resigning because I believe that this blame is on me. I'm resigning because working as congressional leader became toxic and ineffectionate work. And that is not only because of our Democratic fellow- this is because of the President sitting in the White House, who, for nigh on eight years, did very poor work in congress and did not manage to gain almost any legislative achievements. This scandal-plagued President is, I believe, the biggest reason for my party's losses in congress, and I'm sorry that these eight years had to go like that, instead of them being the eight years of conservative reforms for the American people that they could've been. Thank you."

Wow, Murk actually wins a majority this time.

I wonder how Tramp will manage to handle with 64 Democratic Senators,he can barely handle with a Republican Congress and Senate.

Yep- Republicans got panicked by Begich's entrance, so independent conservative candidates like Miller were heavily discouraged from running. Democrats did the same to independent progressives who could hurt their chances, though as you can see by 2.6% voting for a third party, the Libertarians and other third parties still managed to get a fairly strong performance.


In this TL he has a Dem majority in both houses since 2018- most of the times, he tweets and shouts that the Democrats are obstructing progress and not letting him #MAGA, but from time to time he attempts a deal, which the Democrats (other than a few moderates who, until 2018 and even 2022, sometimes even managed to form a majority with Republicans) usually opposed. A small infaustracture package was passed in 2021, though, for which both sides tried to take credit (Paul, Cruz, Lee and others opposed from the right while Sanders, Warren, Booker and others opposed from the left- do take notice of this step from Booker), but as you can see in the results it didn't really help the Republicans.

It was now or never, John realized. Run in 2024, or not run at all.

Ever since 2020, the then-Governor of Colorado wanted to run for President. He thought that he had the skills, ideas and experience to turn the nation around after Trump and, yes, he wanted the job. But back then, as a rain of serious Democratic candidates jumped into the field and polls made it clear that he had little to no chance at the nomination, John realized that running for the Senate from his state was a better, and much safer step. Now, he wasn't only a popular former two-term Governor, but also had four years in the Senate under his belt. It was a protfolio as good as anyone's. And even better- he didn't need to give up on his seat to run, because his term wouldn't expire until 2026.

Still, Senator Hickenlooper knew that he wasn't getting older. He was 70 years old already, and come inaguration day in 2025, he'd be a few wees from 73. And so, he started preparing a run, regardless of who else enters the field. This was his last and only chance, and he was going to take it. What did he have to lose, after all? He'd gain name recognition and influence, that was for sure, and in 2026 could run for a second and, likely, last term in the Senate.

And of course, the great results in 2022 emboldened him- if he pulled off the primaries, he would almost certainly win the general election. Everyone talked about the Senate, and about how Dems won 11 seats in an amazing performance. But John, while certainly happy that they expanded their majority, also took notice of the Gubernatorial results, which he knew were important, as a former Governor. Given that so many fresh Democrats were elected four years ago, it didn't look like as much of a sweep as the Senate, but it was still a good result. The biggest one was Texas- Castro's win was huge news for the Democrats, who finally achieved victory in that state.

Texas Blue!

I KNEW Hickenlooper was immortal!

Good timeline BTW, not thrilled with Gov. Perez but better than Barry Glassman or even Rutherford

Oh god no (Note: I absolutely want Democrats to gain the GA governorship, but I'd take a lot of Republicans over Kasim Reed.)

I like the other results though, and the rest of the timeline has been great so far. Keep it up; I'm excited to see what'll come of the 2024 election!

Did Nikki Haley just call Trump's leadership 'extremely damaging'? Jason read the WaPo headline where the former UN Ambassador's comments in some fundraiser were reported, raising his brows in surprise. She has more balls than any of the Republican men. Haley had been intensifying her rhetoric against the Trump administration ever since the midterm disaster, Jason knew, but this was a new high. And it showed just how interesting would the 2024 Republican primaries be, a clash between Trumpists and the establishment, trying to regain strength. And Trumpists, after the midterms, seemed to be losing their hold of the party.

Speaking of 2024, Jason was pretty busy with it in the last months. He was working hard as Governor, true, maintaining approval ratings as high as 60%, but he also kept an eye on the upcoming Presidential race. He couldn't deny that he kinda wanted to run- if he won the nomination, he'd win the general in a landslide. But it wasn't his time- he needed to concentrate on his duties as Governor after failing to win the nomination four years ago. Instead, he worked to help his handpicked candidate- Pete Buttigieg, who looked increasingly likely to run, at least from their conversations. He sincerely believed that Pete would be the best guy for the job, and thought that it was time for a President like him, especially with big majorities for the Democrats. Besides, in President Pete's second term, Kander would be assured an important cabinet job.

Thus, he always kept an eye on the recent polls, and told his aides to bring as many internals as possible to him. On the Republican side, it looked good for them- a chaotic battle in which Vice President Pence, who was virtually running already, would try to keep opposition from the left and from the right at bay. A key figure was already out- Rubio said that he would not run for President after losing the Senate. However, Rand Paul kept the option open, saying that he was "concerned" with the direction of his party. It looked like it was going to be a bruising primary between opposing ideologies- Nikki Haley was poised to take the establishment mantle, Tom Cotton attempted to take the Trumpist one, and Pence balanced both. Then there were other factors like Cruz, Paul, the anti-Trump Sasse, the young Senator Hawley, moderates like Hogan and Kasich, and a recent candidate who started to make noises and surge in the polls, radical Senator Bevin.

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Republican Presidential Primary?
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 29%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 11%
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 10%
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)- 6%
Senator Matt Bevin (R-KY)- 6%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 5%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 4%
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 3%
Fmr. Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD)- 2%
Fmr. Governor John Kasich (R-OH)- 2%
Fmr. Administrator Scott Pruitt (R-OK)- 2%
Fmr. Senator Jeff Flake- 1%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 19%

The Democratic primary, on the other hand, was looking entirely different. Surprisingly, it looked like the many strong contenders who participated in the 2020 convention were slowly drifting away from a run- Jason himself was the first to rule it out, and he was since joined by Gillibrand, Warren and surprisingly, Harris, who gave a sherman-esque denial that many believed. It opened up an interesting race, with many fresh faces emerging. And the best part- the establishment-progressive differences were growing increasingly blurry, especially with figures like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders starting to fade. Thus, it looked less like an ideological, bruising battle. At least, Jason hoped so. The polls were interesting, too:

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Democratic Presidential Primary?
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 27%
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)- 15%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 7%
Senator Joe Kennedy III (D-MA)- 6%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 6%
Fmr. Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA)- 4%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 4%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 4%
Senator John Hickenlooper- 4%
Governor Cathy Glasson (D-IA)- 3%
Fmr. Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 3%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 2%
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 1%
Senator Amy Klobucher (D-MN)- 1%
Other\Undecided- 13%

Pete has recently been climbing, but it still looked like a battle between two well-known faces- Gillibrand's running-mate, Cordray, and runner-up Merkley. But the one who worried Jason most of all was Cathy- her lips were sealed about 2024, but it was clear that if she ran, she could sweep Iowa and become a favourite. But if she didn't, Jason knew, her endorsement would be extremely valuable- and could well go to Buttigieg, who worked closely with her as part of their newly-created League of Midwestern Governors.

These two next years were going to be very interesting.

---

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Now that the 2024 primaries are getting into gear, I have a question for y'all. For obvious reasons, I'm going to cover these primaries much more closely than the 2020 ones. So with two fairly crowded fields on both sides (none as crowded as the 2020 Democratic one- both parties learned), there'll be a mass of some very interesting and unique candidates to cover. So my question is- should I consistently keep to the PoV format, and just constantly throw in the good ol' "convenient articles\news reports" that present the candidates announcing, or should I add news article formats to more easily present the various candidates? Tell me what you think\would prefer.
Also, if anyone could kindly send me the likely electoral map after the 2020 census, I'd be grateful.

Eeeenteresting.

I highly prefer this system, it's just normal this way

Whichever system you find works best for your writing. I'll trust the artist on this one. In the end, we'll always come back to keep reading.

P.S. I dont wanna be that guy, but I've noticed that you keep misspelling Amy Klobuchar.... Just an FYI ;)

This is new to me- thanks, I'll take note! :)


Alright, I'll just keep using PoVs then, thanks!

"People of Michigan, my friends and my fellow Americans, I'm so happy to be here today!" Gretchen flashed the rally crowd her brightest smile. "This is such a beautiful, sunny day today. And, let me tell  you, this sun signifies the start of something new!"

After the crowd's cheering quieted down, the Governor continued. "For the last five years, I've had the great honour of serving as Governor of this beautiful state. When I took office, Michigan was suffering many woes- the unemployment ratings were going up, our education system was failing, our industry was suffering, and my predecessor let a humanitarian crisis brew in Flint, a truly wonderful city. In the last few years, we've fixed so many of these problems- our education system is doing much better than before since we started helping our public schools, and the water in Flint is finally clean and drinkable."

"But there were some problems that, with the man sitting in the White House, we haven't been able to fix. We kept unemployment stable, we invested in our industry, but there is one change we truly must make if we want Michigan, and the entire country, prosper again. Under the leadership of the Trump administration, our economy stagnated from the era of growth under President Obama, and President Trump did not fulfill any of his promises to working class folks here in Michigan and elsewhere. Well, it's time to change that! It's time to elect someone who cares about the American people, someone with the progressive plans to help our working class and with the experience to implement them. This is why, today, I'm announcing my campaign for President of the United States!" Cheers erupted, and, riding high on their waves, Gretchen continued. "Because it's time to elect someone with the governing experience, someone who can finally implement universal healthcare for everyone, someone who knows how to bring new jobs industries to help the suffering working class of our country, someone who knows how to implement an environmental agenda to save our world from an impending disaster! Join me, and we can win this, and finally bring change to America!"

The Governor of Michigan grinned and waved to the audience as she spoke. She was the first serious candidate to announce on every side, she knew, but it was necessary- she needed to get her message out, announce before all the Governors, and especially Midwestern ones, who were likely candidates this year, and garner attention and support. She was going to take the mantle of Midwestern Governors, not Richard or Pete or Cathy. It was going to be a hard battle, but she knew she could do that- and announcing early didn't hurt. After all, Kirsten Gillibrand did that four years ago and it worked out quite well for her.

Senator Cotton took a deep breath, listening to his wife giving a speech introducing him. It was a moment long in the making- for years, ever since he was elected to the Senate, Tom was planning to run for President. His 2020 plans were upset by Trump winning reelection, but now was the time- Pence, Haley, Cruz, Sasse and other likely to run would be hard to beat, but Tom believed that he could do just that- energize the Trumpian base and emerge over all the boring ones and the has-beens. He was young, after all, a rising star. All the pundits gave him high chances. He could win.

Of course, he was aware that keeping Republicans in the White House for a third time was going to be hard, especially since the one sitting there had very low approvals. But hey, Tom thought, there was always a chance- after all, weirder things happened. Like four years ago. Or eight.

Soon, he knew, candidates would start announcing one by one. He was one of the first ones of any party, following Democrats Whitmer, Gabbard and Booker and Republicans Perry and Flake, both men having zero chances. So Tom hoped to capture the soul of the base and start moving towards the inevitable clash between him and Pence, hopefully leaving the others behind. Of course, it wasn't clear who exactly would announce, as folks like Kasich, Cruz, Sasse, Hawley and Paul were still thinking, but they were pretty confident that at least Pence and Haley were going to announce. Whatever the case, polls were already coming out in a fast pace:

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Republican Presidential Primary?
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 28%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 10%
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 9%
Senator Matt Bevin (R-KY)- 7%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 5%
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)- 5%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 5%
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 4%
Fmr. Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD)- 4%
Fmr. Senator Jeff Flake- 2%
Fmr. Administrator Scott Pruitt (R-OK)- 2%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 1%
Fmr. Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)- 1%
Other\Undecided- 17%

"So let me introduce to you my husband, the man of my life who I love so much and am so proud of... the next President of the United States, Tom Cotton!" All smiles and grins, the Senator stepped towards the stage, hugging and kissing his wife before standing near the podium and looking at the enthusiastic crowd of the Arkansas rally. Game time.

"My friends! My supporters! Fellow Americans! I'm so happy and honoured to stand before you today. For the last eight years, we've been struggling to get accomplishments through and make our country great again. An unholy alliance between the corrupt media, the crooked establishment of our own party and the globalist liberals was treating our President, our very own President, unfairly. Well, no more! It's time to take America back and fight for it, at home and abroad! This is why today, I'm announcing that I'm running for President! Let's work together, and finally bring change to our country, despite all the forces being against us!"

* puking noises *

Odds are impossibly low but let's go Rauner!

Also:  Can you please tell us what Rauner's approvals were when he left office?

Hmm... I'd say something like 41% approve, 56% disapprove. An improvement over the current situation but still underwater. He's running as the moderate, and considering Kasich's weakness (he didn't even decide to run yet), might be able to take this mantle in the primary. From there... who knows? The conservatives are split.

Edit: Rauner replaced with Hogan in August 2018

"And we're sick of this! Yes, we're sick of this! For the past eight years, the American worker was hurt by the man sitting in the White House. The Republican Party constnatly tried to take away our healthcare, hurt our education system, refused to do anything to help discriminated minorities and stop murderous people from shooting up schools. They've refused to bring any progress, and instead, all they did is giving more and more benefits to big corporations, big pharma and oil, the gun and weapon industries. And we're sick of it! That's why today, I'm announcing that I'm running for President of the United States! To finally bring about change and progress, for a new era in American politics! An era of peace and advancement, an era of fairness and equality! I hope you join me on this journey! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Basking in the cheers, Governor Cordray waved and smiled to the large crowd of the Colombus rally, the first official rally of his campaign for President. It was an announcement long coming, everyone knew he was going to run- a former running mate, a popular midwestern Governor elected to two terms, it was clear to everyone that he wouldn't miss the chance. But what did surprise the media was how comparably early he announced. They thought he'd take his time, just like he did years ago in the Ohio Gubernatorial race. Well, they were wrong. He was ready to hit the ground running early and clear the field, making himself an undoubted frontrunner.

It also didn't hurt that they received some very good news a week ago, the Governor thought as he left the podium and hugged the woman coming towards it, Senator Elizabeth Warren who was ready to make a speech endorsing him. The campaign only just started, and already he had a high-profile supporter. He also had the support of the majority of Ohio's Democratic delegation, Senator Betty Sutton, and soon enough others would follow, most likely including Senators Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown.

The reason for Warren's endorsement and the aforementioned good news coincided. Richard smiled faintly as he recalled Anderson Cooper announcing it on CNN- "Jeff Merkley, Oregon Senator and runner-up from the 2020 primary, announced today that he will not run for President in the 2024 election. Merkley explained that he believes it's time for a new and fresh generation of leaders to rise, and that it was time to leave the divisions of 2016 and 2020 behind."

That was followed by an announcement from former Governor Jay Inslee that he's not running for President, and just like that, none of the original six major contenders for the nomination in the 2020 DNC were in. With Jeff out of the game, Rich was practically guaranteed to become the Progressive champion in the race, with his only competition being Tulsi Gabbard, practically a joke by now. And then another one dropped out of consideration- Joe Kennedy III, deterred by the many attacks against his potential candidacy on the grounds of inexperience and dynastic politics, announced that he won't be running for President this year. This cleared much of the youth vote lane for Richard. A few others, like Buttigieg and Glasson, worried him a bit, but he was sure he could overcome them. With this progressive and establishment support, he could cruise to the nomination.

His announced competition, Rich thought, wasn't anything to sweat about. Gretchen was the first. She was running on her record of a progressive Governor, but it's not like this was something Cordray couldn't offer. He didn't worry about her too much- she already proved to be a pretty bad campaigner. After Whitmer made her early announcement in March, Booker followed just like he did four years ago, announcing in Manchester, New Hampshire. Honestly, it was pitiful- the New Jersey Senator was polling among the last after being considered a rising star years ago, but his ambition drove him to run again despite the very low chances. Then Tulsi Gabbard announced, trying to sound fiery and progressive, but no one really cared.

Lastly, a few days before Richard, a semi-serious candidate announced- Ralph Northam, former Virginia Governor, was running as a relative moderate. Cordray didn't really mind, since their primary supporters wouldn't really overlap anyway. Ralph had a decent announcement, advocating for liberal reforms and competent administration. But it didn't matter. The polls were looking increasingly good for Richard, and he was going to win.

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Democratic Presidential Primary?
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 35%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 14%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 8%
Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 8%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 5%
Senator John Hickenlooper- 5%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 4%
Governor Cathy Glasson (D-IA)- 4%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 3%
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 2%
Senator Amy Klobucher (D-MN)- 1%
Other\Undecided- 11%

Just noticed that you had Maryland listed twice on the 1st page of Gubernatorial races.

bump

Don't worry, this shall continue in due time, I'm not abandoning it in such an interesting point :)


Oh, one of them is supposed to be Massachusetts. Fixed this, thanks for the catch!

It was time.

Vice President Mike Pence knew that his chances to win a third Republican term were slim- the Democratic nominee, whoever they ended up being, was heavily favoured. But nontheless, Mike was also confident that it was his last and only chance. If he waited for 2028 or 2032, he'd be an old face in a party rapidly moving on. He'd be a has-been, someone who'd remind the party of an ugly past. But now... now he was frontrunner, the flagbearer of conservatives and party leaders. Barring any unprecedented events, which he planned to work hard to prevent, he was going to be the Republican nominee. And from there... well, Trump won against all odds twice. Mike Pence could, too.

As the Vice President prepared to take the stage of the well-organized announcement rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he pondered the opponents he was going to face in the Republican Party. They were a fairly weak bunch, luckily- Cotton and Haley were young and formidable, sure, but Tom could easily be painted as a hawk and a lightweight and Nikki became too anti-Trump for the base to elect her. They looked like Marco Rubio and John Kasich from 2016- hyped up by the media, but in the end, all for nothing. Speaking of the devils, both Kasich and Cruz announced that they were not running, removing an opponent who could drain from Mike's base.

The rest were even less scary- Bevin, who announced his run just last week, had some potential, while Perry, Flake, Hogan, Hawley and Pruitt were all inconsequential. Some pundits were speculating that Senator Hawley, who announced a month ago, could use his fresh face to appeal to voters, and even that Scott Pruitt could emerge as the Trumpist favourite, but it was all wind. Mike was not afraid of them. The polls were a reassurance that this would be fairly easy, with Mike's opponents fighting each other and leaving him to win confidently.

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Republican Presidential Primary?
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 31%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 12%
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 8%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 7%
Senator Matt Bevin (R-KY)- 6%
Fmr. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 6%
Fmr. Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD)- 5%
Fmr. Administrator Scott Pruitt (R-OK)- 5%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 3%
Fmr. Senator Jeff Flake- 2%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 2%
Other\Undecided- 14%

Finally, his wife's words invited Mike to take the stage. "And I want you all to welcome my husband, the man of my life, your Vice President and the next President of the United States- Mike Richard Pence!"

Mike walked to the stage, all smiles and grins, and gave his wife a huge and a modest kiss before taking his place before the podium. "My fellow Americans. People of Iowa. Welcome to the beginning of something new- of a movement that will bring the new conservative revolution to our great country!"

"Governor Brown, Senator Harris, Mayor Garcetti, great people of California and my fellow Americans." Gavin Newsom smiled at the large crowd of the Sacramento rally, hoping he looks handsome and charismatic enough. "For the past eight years, we've been ignored by Washington. The White House was controlled by a corrupt man, unstable and incompetent, surrounded by special interests and greedy advisors. Now, it's time for change!"

The current Governor of California grinned and basked in the cheering of the crowd. "Thank you. Thank you. For the past five years, I've been leading this amazing state. I've seen what California can be capable of- what America can be capable of. We've promoted alternative energy, making our state largely reliant on renewable sources of energy rather than the environmentally damaging, finite fossil fuel that President Trump and other Republican billionaires are trying to promote. We've passed a revolutionary single-payer healthcare system in our state, and finally made sure every Californian's health is covered. We've ensured fair and equal voting rights, drastically lowered tuition costs for college students, created hundreds of thousands of jobs, protected innocent immigrants and their children who are persecuted by the administration in Washington, and made our economy one of the biggest in the world alone. And what we've accomplished her in California, we can transfer nationwide!"

Gavin continued grinning as more cheering erupted from the crowd. Behind him were standing Senator Kamala Harris, former Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Governor Jerry Brown and congressmen Ro Khanna, Eric Swalwell, Hans Keirstead, Ted Lieu and Linda Sánchez. His first endorsers, and, Gavin hoped, the first on a long list of names that will support his campaign. "So this is why I'm here today, my friends. To ask you all- join me! Join me, and let's bring our experience, our energy, our progress, from California to Washington! I'm running for President, because we're sick of the tired old faces! Because it's time for something fresh, something new, a progressive with results! I am Governor Gavin Newsom, and I'm running for President!"

As the crowd erupted in cheers, louder than before, Gavin smiled again and waved at them, looking at the faces darkened by the light projected around him. He was surrounded by large pictures of himself, his campaign slogan written above them in blue letters. Gavin Newsome 2024: Energy. Progress. Results. They wanted to create a contrast with the frontrunner, Cordray- Gavin's youth and his progressive results as a blue-state Governor were supposed to be what gives them the advantage against the less-than-charismatic Ohio Governor. And the polls were showing that, indeed, Gavin was in the best position to challenge Rich- his competitors, like Whitmer, Northam, Booker, Gabbard and the yet-to-announce Hickenlooper did not worry him too mcuh. They were either too boring, or too old, or both. Sinema could be threatening if and when she ran, he supposed, but not much to sweat about. Klobucher recently said that she would not run- not that she was a threat- and Lincoln Chafee's announcement wasn't much to fear either, with him making one last futile attempt to revive his Presidential ambitions after (impressively, Gavin had to admit) successfully primarying former Governor Raimondom, winning the Gubernatorial race and then winning a second consecutive, third overall term as Rhode Island Governor in 2022.

The only ones that actually worried the California Governor were the couple of young rustbelt Govenors- Buttigieg was charismatic and would probably beat Newsom for the lgbtq vote, while Glasson was essentially guaranteed an Iowa victory if she ran and could gain a lot of steam with her charisma and progressive credentials afterwards. But both were far from certain to run, so Gavin could still hope he'd not have to handle them. And if they ran- well, he'd dispatch them too.

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Democratic Presidential Primary?
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 30%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 16%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 10%
Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 7%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 6%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 4%
Senator John Hickenlooper- 4%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 4%
Governor Cathy Glasson (D-IA)- 3%
Governor Lincoln Chafee (D-RI)- 2%
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 2%
Other\Undecided- 12%

This race is gonna be CRAZY

#StillRanding

SoonTM :P

Please continue :)

No worries- once I'm done with the midterms in my other timeline, this will take the center stage again :)

Don’t let this die

;)

In all honesty the most surprising thing about this timeline is that Trump is still alive as of the summer of 2023

Is this dead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MYAGyZlBY0

()

So, since I'm restarting this TL after quite a long time, there are a few changes I have to make due to events happening IRL:

1. Nate Boulton is no longer Iowa Governor in this TL. Instead, Cathy Glasson will be elected Governor in 2018, which means 2022 will see a different Democrat becoming Senator instead of her- U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer.
2. Due to his terrible reelection campaign, Governor Bruce Rauner will no longer be a 2024 Presidential candidate. He'll still be reelected, since my TL doesn't have to be 100% realistic, but he's much less popular and I'll add a 3rd party candidate (Chicago Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa) that makes his reelection more logical. Instead, Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD), who recently showed interest in the Presidency, will be his replacement as the "moderate option".
3. A minor change to the 2018 gubernatorial elections- Rep. Tim Walz will be elected Governor of Minnesota rather than Chris Coleman, lol.
4. A minor change in the 2022 gubernatorial elections- Mayor Kasim Reed is replaced by Stacey Abrams as the victorious Democratic nominee in Georgia, after she narrowly lost in 2018.

I generally refain from making these changes as long as they aren't sorely needed. Boulton obviously needed to go, Coleman was a hilarious choice for GA-GOV, Abrams fits the narrative as a victor in 2022, and Rauner needed to be replaced in 2024 for future plot reasons. Cagle\Kemp isn't really relevant.

Cagle makes more sense, anyway.  Maybe his scandals catch up to him?

()

I absolutely love Buttigeig. If nothing else he should be the next VP.

Everything was ready for tomorrow. They had his speech, and he knew it by heart by now. The rally stage was ready in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and there were enough confirmed attendants to easily fill it. It was all ready for the announcement of his Presidential run, and most importantly, Rand was ready.

This time, he knew, he'd get it right. He wouldn't get lazy and overconfident like in 2016; he was in it to win it this time. He'd work hard and canvass through Iowa and New Hampshire, using his maverick appeal, his bold stands, his unique ideology and his coziness with Trump to consolidate the paleoconservatives, budget hawks, Trumpists  and many other Republicans. He'd champion liberty, privacy and low taxes, three things Republicans love. And he believed that he had the perfect opportunity, what with this year's Republican field.

Cotton and Haley were warmongers, and both would clearly crumble under pressure. While the former was a Trumpist, he'd probably collapse the moment a slight pressure is applied, while the latter became an anti-Trump politician in the past months, which makes her much less of a danger. Hawley was a paper tiger, Bevin was a religious extremist and Hogan a liberal, both appealing to only a small sector of Republicans. Pruitt would probably appeal to only a small base too, while Flake, Perry and Sasse, who was still pondering, were afterthoughts. Pence would be the only real problem- he was formidable in debates and stayed loyal to Trump. However, with Bevin, Pruitt, Cotton and Haley all biting off his bases, and with how Republicans looked for a new face, he could conceiveably collapse. The former Kentucky Senator was polling fourth, so it looked like he could become Pence's alternative, and from there... victory was at reach. Or at least he hoped so.

"Sir, let's go over your speech one more time, okay?" The speechwriter approached him, holding the well-used pieces of paper.

"Sure," Rand replied, an affirmative response he wouldn't have given back when he ran in 2016. He was much more disciplined now. He went over the text quickly again, already remembering most of the lines. "The part about individual liberties coming before the part about survelience... do you think we should keep it that way? Maybe switch them and let liberty be the final issue on the speech? It's a more powerful word, I think, it'd give a stronger message before I make the final statements."

The speechwriter scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I think you're actually right, Senator. I'm on it, you'll get the final version in a bit."

As he walked off, Rand Paul smiled to himself. He had a good feeling about it this time. He felt like this time, he's on the right route to succeed.

"Senator..." a staffer quickly approached him, looking disturbed. "I think you should see this..." She lead him to a backroom of their campaign office, where the TV screens were all opened on CNN, with headlines blaring, signaling something major going on.

Senator Paul read the words on the screens again and again, shocked. "Oh, come on. Seriously?"

()
DEFENCE SECRETARY JOHN KELLY SET TO ANNOUNCE PRESIDENTIAL BID THIS AFTERNOON

Holy...

It was madness. For the past two weeks, all the media was talking about was John F. Kelly- the retired General, former Chief of Staff and current Defence Secretary running on a campaign of strong executive action and forceful reform. An American strongman if anyone ever saw one, and a much more competent one than Trump, and he was doing dangerously well. He had almost as much name recognition as Pence, after all, and had a surprising knack for sucking the media oxygen out of the air with controversies and so-called gaffes, while maintaining an image of a reasonable, competent statesman. It was a deadly combination.

And worse, a day after Kelly, Rand Paul announced his bid in a very combative speech, attacking Kelly as an authoritatian who wants to squash Americans' individual freedoms. Then Kelly responded that Paul was a do-nothing, posturing Senator, part of the corrupt congress that wasn't doing anything to help Americans, and so started the feud. They both ran hard against each other, each dubbing the other one as dangerous for America, and the media absolutely loved that. It put anything Mike was doing way out of the news cycle, and the rest of them suffered too, from Cotton and Hawley to Bevin and Pruitt. And Haley didn't even announce her bid yet, fearing it'd be swallowed by the Kelly vs Paul stories.

The Vice President had to keep himself in the news, and fast. Kelly was already leading him in the polls, despite the undecideds, and while many speculated that the General was simply a fad, Mike feared that he gave Trumpists a strongman to vote for, and that they'd rally behind him. And the race becoming a Kelly vs Paul affair would be disastrous. He had to do something to put out this fire.

"Karen, I think there's no choice." He approached the Second Lady, holding a draft of a speech written by his best man. "It's the only way to get us back into the right path."

The woman read it quickly and looked at him. Of course, she wasn't going to actually be part of the decision-making process, but he respected her views. "Are you sure this'll work, Mike? It's very negative..." She handed him back the speech.

"They say there's no other way." He held the piece of paper, with a speech full of Christian themes, appealing to the base and even hinting at opposition to same-sex marriage, as well as fierce attacks against Kelly for disloyalty to Trump and his restraining of the President, and, to a lesser extent, attacks against Paul too. He had to get negative and jump into the mud if he was to win, but there was another decision Mike had to make.

He quickly dialed Nick Ayers' phone number. "Mr. Vice President?" The voice on the other side answered after a few moments.

"Up our operation in Iowa as much as you can," he instructed quickly. "And withdraw everything from New Hampshire, leave only a shell operation. We need to bet everything on winning Iowa, it's the only way to stop Kelly or, God forbid, even Paul from snatching this."

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Republican Presidential Primary?
Secretary John F. Kelly (R-MA)- 27%
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 24%
Fmr. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 12%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 7%
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 5%
Fmr. Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD)- 4%
Senator Matt Bevin (R-KY)- 3%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 3%
Fmr. Administrator Scott Pruitt (R-OK)- 2%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 2%
Fmr. Senator Jeff Flake- 1%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 10%

Great TL!

"So we need to keep resisting the corruption, resisting the obstruction of the most basic laws and values of our nation, resisting the attacks and discrimination against minorities, immigrants, women and LGBTQ Americans! But resisting won't be enough- it's time for us to move to the future, to push FORWARD! To expand healthcare coverage to all Americans, to usher in a humane and empathic immigration system, to finally end the War in Afghanistan and to legalize marijuanna and reform our broken, racist criminal justice system!"

Kyrsten Sinema grinned and beamed, basking in all the cheering and hooting coming from her Phoenix rally crowd. Behind her, she knew, Senators Ruben Gallego and Martin Heinrich, as well as Governor Greg Stanton, were standing and giving credibility to her Presidential announcement. "This is why I'm here today, to announce that I'm running for President! Let's all work together and bring in meaningful reform, noticeable results and real change with our strong experiece, bipartisan cooperation with those willing on the other side, and let's not forget, our boundless energy! Let's go forward!" She stepped down with a smile, shaking hands with the politicians behind her again before disappearing backstage.

Kyrsten Sinema was going to announce her Presidential bid weeks ago, but they stole her thunder. Kelly and Paul, at first; their feud was dominating way too many news cycles. Then Pence made a controversial speech and that blew out any chance she'd announce soon as well. And to make things worse, along with it were speculations about a Presidential campaign by Governor Cathy Glasson, popular and progressive, which dominated Iowa newspapers, and the continuous buzz about a possible Buttigieg campaign, one Senator Sinema hoped wouldn't happen.

But now it was time- she had announced her run, and damn them all, because she'll win. On paper, she had many advantages- a bisexual woman would definitely add diversity to the ticket; she was very popular in swing state Arizona; and finally, she had a feeling Cordray would prove a weak frontrunnet- and Kyrsten, unique and interesting as she was, thought that could take it away from him.

She had a fairly progressive record in the Senate but also a moderate image, so she could unite both wings of the party, and the rest of the candidaes all had major flaws that she could exploit to overcome them- Newsom was disliked by many progressives and seen as an elitist, Whitmer and Northam were just boring despite being very popular Governors, Booker and Hickenlooper were has-beens and Buttigieg... well, he was a strong candidate but just not all that well-known, and they didn't even know if he was going to announce yet. Finally, Cordray was boring and uncharismatic, so she thought that she could take him. If Glasson announced and won Iowa, it could even be adventagous to Kyrsten.

They just had to run a strong campaign and get good results in the early states- the computer screens in her campaign office were already filled with maps of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, trying to find a state where her brand and message would be the most appealing. So far, Nevada, close to her homestate, looked the most promising, followed by the maverick-loving New Hampshire and then Iowa. South Carolina didn't have much of a chance for them- Whitmer was doing much better with African Americans than Kyrsten, as were Booker, Newsom and, to a lesser extent, Cordray.

So they were going to concentrate on New Hampshire and Nevada, and keep some operation in Iowa and South Carolina. Super Tuesday would pose a problem, but what was for sure, was that Sinema would fight to do well in the early states and then, stay at least until Arizona and hopefully win it all.

And damn all the polls saying otherwise.

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Democratic Presidential Primary?
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 31%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 14%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 10%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 8%
Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 8%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 5%
Governor Cathy Glasson (D-IA)- 4%
Senator John Hickenlooper- 3%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 3%
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 2%
Governor Lincoln Chafee (D-RI)- 1%
Other\Undecided- 11%

"People of South Bend, I'm here to recruit you!" Pete's voice boomed over the rally crowd that filled the area around the South Bend stage. "This is a line famously used by Harvey Milk, who was the first openly LGBTQ politician elected to office in California's history. He was a visionary, a man who carved a path for the rest of us. Since his murder by am assassin's bullet, we've made great progress in America- not just when it comes to LGBTQ rights, but also when it comes to civil rights, to healthcare, to making our society free, fair and inclusive for all. But there is still a tremendous work to be done. And in the past eight years, we've been ruled by an administration that constantly targeted racial minorities; that tried to stop transsexuals from serving their country in the military; that passed an unfair and regressive tax code that benefits the rich and leaves working Americans behind; that tried, again and again, to take away healthcare coverage from millions of Americans and force them to pay an unafforable sum for this crucial service; an administration that constantly lied to the American people."

The Governor made a pause to take a breath, and continued, his voice as confident as he could make it. "But let's not just talk about the failures of this administration. It hampered progress on the issues that matter, but it is the issues that matter we should be talking about; how we achieve results for the American people. My friends and colleagues running for President on the Democratic side, who I like and respect, are making this mistake- talking about Trump and his failures, talking about Russia. Russia is important. We should talk about it, call Trump out about the involvement of so many family members and associates in this that implicates him, too. But we should be talking more about the issues, healthcare and immigration and taxes and the environment and so many more, talking about how we get results."

"I believe, that I've demonstrated my ability to get results." He continued his speech. "As Mayor of this amazing city, I've worked hard with its hardworking and wonderful residents to completely turn it around, from a declining place quickly losing jobs to a prospering city, with youths pouring in to live here with many new opportunities opened up to them. Since I was elected Governor of Indiana four years ago, I've worked with its Republican legislature to the best of my ability, doing everything I can to improve the life of my fellow Hoosiers, expanding healthcare coverage for thousands, passing a bill that increased spending on infaustracture and fixed many of our broken roads and bridges, ensuring protections in housing and employment for LGBTQ Hoosiers, increasing spending on job training programs for those whose factories closed due to automation, and much more."

It was time for the words everyone expected. "So this is why today, in the city I was born and raised in, both as a person and as a public servant, I'm officially announcing that I'm running for President! Let's work together and bring this success nationwide- give all Americans free, quality healthcare, finally fix our infaustracture, move away from ineffective, polluting energy sources and lead the way on alternative, clean sources that keep our nation energy-independent and create many good quality jobs, reform our immigration and criminal justice systems to make them much more humane, and enshrine protections for LGBTQ individuals in our constitution, because the time has come for this change, and it's time for America to be that shining city on the hill again, just like South Bend! Join me, and let's start this journey!"

As the crowd's massive cheering overwhelmed him, Governor Buttigieg overlooked the many faces looking up at him. There were men and women, young and old, white and black, and in all of their eyes he could see enthusiasm. At that moment, Mayor Pete was glad he took the decision to run for President. He thought about it long and hard, mulling and leaning to both sides. Politicians like Joe Donnelly and Jason Kander were urging him to take the plunge, as did hundreds of constituents sending mail to his office. But on the other hand, he found it hard to believe that a mostly-unknown Governor of Indiana could win a primary over stars like Sinema, Newsom and, of course, Cordray, and he didn't want his family to suffer the heat of the campaign. But in the end, he decided that it was a chance he couldn't miss- a chance for bringing real change and leaving a positive mark on America, as well as making millions of youths around the world who suffer from homophobia understand that their life is worth living.

And since he was in it, he might as well do his best to win it. The strategy he and his team crafted relied on grassroots enthusiasm- he would use his unique image and his experience to excite the base and rise over the other candidates and challenge Cordray, the frontrunner. And if he could win Iowa, on which much of his campaign focused, he could strike a very strong blow to Rich and propel himself to the status of frontrunner. If everything worked out, they could elect the first openly gay President of the United States in November 2024.

Buttigieg/Kander 2024!!!!

After many delays caused by annoying circumstances, it was finally time for Nikki Haley to announce her Presidential campaign. For the past years, her strategy changed a lot but her final purpose was the same- she wanted to be the first woman President. At first she wanted to run as a conservative with star power, a unique background and experience in the UN popular with Republicans, not blatantly Trumpist but also friendly enough the the President she served under to appease the base. But after she was left out of the administration following the 2020 election, it was time to take a different angle- the Trump administration was increasingly unpopular, so she started criticizing it, hoping to gain support from all Republicans who dislike the Preisdent but also appealing to the rest with her conservative credentials, especially from her time in the UN. She was still very popular with mainstream conservatives, who loved her persona and foreign policy, and hoped it could avail her.

But the recent events put her candidacy in jeopardy. The 2016 GOP primaries showed that whoever managed to get the most media attention would do well, and so far, only three men were garnering most of the attention- Kelly and Paul with their feud, and Pence who had a strong platform to make his points and sparked more and more controversies. Being, most likely, the last Republican candidate to announce, Nikki hoped this would be enough to get her the necessary attention. Also, she planned to attack all three frontrunners- Kelly for his failed tenure as Chief of Staff and his authoritarianism, Paul for his disregard for American security interests, and Pence for his weakness as Vice President. This would probably help her, too. As for the others, she didn't see them as a threat- Cotton was too hawkish, even for her, and a paper tigger; and the rest couldn't attract anything beyond a narrow ideological scope in the modern Republican Party.

And, of course, there was the issue of New Hampshire- she planned to campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire and try to do decently there, maybe even win one of them if she catches fire there, but ultimately, she could be comfortable knowing that she almost certainly had one of the early states locked up. Still, she needed to keep an eye on that.

Her thoughts were interrupted by familiar words on the stage above. "And so I am honoured," Senator Tim Scott told the crowd, "to welcome the next President of the United States, Nikki Haley!"

She walked up to the stage, smiling, and embraced Tim before approaching the podium and overlooking the crowd below. "Thank you for being here, Columbia!"

Out of these candidates, who would you support in the Republican Presidential Primary?
Secretary John F. Kelly (R-MA)- 26%
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 25%
Fmr. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 14%
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 6%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 4%
Fmr. Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD)- 4%
Senator Matt Bevin (R-KY)- 3%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 2%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 2%
Fmr. Administrator Scott Pruitt (R-OK)- 2%
Fmr. Senator Jeff Flake- 1%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 11%

This is going to be great.  For some reason, I hope Pence is the one who faces Mayor Pete.  That way, the front headlines of every newspaper on the morning after Election Day can read

THE HOMO DEFEATS THE HOMOPHOBE

It would be the ultimate poetic justice.

Cathy Glasson had a choice to make.

She could potentially become the next President of the United States- if she ran, she had a very good chance of winning Iowa, and then, after locking up the labour vote and many progressives, she could very conceiveably have a path to the nomination. She could basically kill the campaigns of Cordray and Buttigieg, who put a lot of weight on Iowa, and that would let her become the sole progressive candidate- if you combine Warren's and Merkley's 2020 voters with many of Gillibrand's and Harris', it puts together a coalition very likely to buoy her to the nomination. She was also in her second and last term as Governor- expiring in 2027- so she felt ready to seek some other role for the future. And when she potentially won the Presidency, she could usher in a lot of positive changes and potentially bring back labour as a major force.

But there were two things that stopped her from going for it. First, she didn't even know if she wanted to be President. Sure, she had a shot, but did she really want a gruelling primary and even worse general election, facing the Republican Party's smear machine? Did she want all the pressure and international crises of being President? Sure, she wanted to have influence on people's lives and wellness, but being President was more than that, and Cathy wasn't sure she was cut out for that. Then there was the other issue- sure, she could win Iowa, but it didn't guarantee her victory in the primary, and another possibility could be that other candidates keep their support, and they could face a contested convention. After all, that was what happened after Tim Kaine won Iowa, and if she jumped in, it could only increase the chances of such a contested convention again.

And she had to make the choice quickly- time was running out, and basically anyone with a name who could run already announced their decisions. A hour later, after more consideration, she was finally ready to call her aid and announce her decision. No, she decided, it wasn't worth the risk. She wasn't cut out from the cloth that a Presidential campaign would demand, it was better to help another candidate win, someone who could prevent a convention. On the paper, Cordray was perfect- a labour advocate from another midwestern state. But he was too boring, a familiar face, even... uninspiring. There was another candidate who interested her, Governor Pete Buttigieg of the neighbouring Indiana, but he was polling too low right now. She had to see what happened over the next weeks.

The aide was finally there. "What is it, Governor?"

"Tell the press," she instructed him, "I'm not running for President. They can stop including me in their silly polls."

Democratic Primary Polling- National
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 29%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 12%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 9%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 9%
Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 8%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 6%
Senator John Hickenlooper- 6%
Governor Cathy Glasson (D-IA)- 5%
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 3%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 3%
Governor Lincoln Chafee (D-RI)- 1%
Other\Undecided- 9%

Democratic Primary Polling- Iowa Caucuses
Governor Cathy Glasson (D-IA)- 36%
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 19%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 9%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 7%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 4%
Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 4%
Senator John Hickenlooper- 4%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 3%
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 1%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 1%
Governor Lincoln Chafee (D-RI)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 12%

#Chafeementum

"No," Kirsten Gillibrand laughed, causing a chorus of 'awww' from the audience, "I'm not running for President, period."

This was what she told, and had to keep telling, the media and many Democratic activists and politicians. Of course, if she entered the race she'd be an instant frontrunner, especially after her narrow loss to Trump, winning the popular vote. Still, she was aware that she'd open herself and her family up to more attacks from the right and left- Democrats would chide her for losing to an unpopular President like Trump, and Republicans would continue their usual sexist attacks on her. No, she didn't want to go through that again.

"Is that because you want to uphold the Democratic tradition of messy primaries?" Colbert asked to the sound of laughter. "You know, let them fight it off. The best gladiator will emerge all bloodied up to face whoever the Republicans put up, just like in 2020."

"Obviously, if I stepped in I'd ruin the fun," she replied with a smile. "But seriously, Democrats need a fresh face. Someone who wasn't a Presidential nominee in the past, and can bring new ideas. I feel like this year, we truly have a slate of wonderful candidates who can provide this fresh face and bold leadership."

"Well," Colbert caught the new subject, "let's talk about this slate, then. Your endorsement, of course is coveted..."

Of course, she expected that question. Her endorsement was craved by many- she was still very popular in the base, and had a near-universal name recognition that could significantly boost one of the candidates. Unsurprisingly, many politicians and people in Cordray's campaign expected her to endorse her former running mate and were pushing in that direction, but she didn't really feel comfortable endorsing him this early with two very qualified and impressive women runnin in the top 5, and then there was Mayor Pete, as they started calling him everywhere, who was definitely intriguing with his charisma and unique background, and seemed to be gaining momentum. So she didn't feel ready to endorse, and had to be careful with her answer. "Well," she said, "obviously I'd like to contribute my voice to the conversation and participate in the debate. This is what democracy is about. But right now it's so early, and there are so many great candidates running... Rich is an amazing person who fights for the American worker and was a fantastic running mate, Gretchen and Kyrsten are two strong and immensely qualified women who I adore, John and Cory and Ralph and Gavin are all great candidates with a very strong record and significant experience who I'd definitely trust my country with. So there's really no candidate I can say is definitely better than the others right now."

After several more exchanges and jokes, their time came to an end. "Well, thank you very much fo being here," Stephen said, "let's give it to Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator from New York and 2020 Democratic Presidential nominee!"

She went backstage to the sound of cheering, waving and smiling to the audience. Sure, she wasn't running for President, but she still had to keep her voice in the conversation. It's not like she didn't have any other political ambitions- maybe a high place in the Democratic Senate leadership, or a high-profile position in a future Democratic administration.

So she was planning to make an endorsement in the primary, hoping she'd bet on the right horse. Just not yet- she still had to examine the candidates and how they do.

On one of the screens, MSNBC was playing. They were giving a summary of all the Presidential announcements up until now, as if they were trying to help her make a decision, or help some unknown invisible force summarize the candidates to its readers.

()
March 19th, 2023: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announces Presidential bid, becoming first serious candidate to do so and kicking off the campaign season

()
March 22nd, 2023: Former Texas Governor and Energy Secretary Rick Perry announces a longshot run for President, becoming the first Republican to enter the race

()
March 29th, 2023: Former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, a frequent Trump critic, announces Presidential campaign

()
April 3rd, 2023: Cory Booker, Democratic Senator from New Jersey and 2020 Presidential candidate, declares 2nd White House bid

()
April 5th, 2023: Tulsi Gabbard, a controversial Hawaii U.S. Rep., announces quixotic second Presidential campaign

()
April 8th, 2023: Rising Republican star Tom Cotton, Senator from Arkansas, announces Presidential bid and begins as one of the frontrunners

()
April 14th, 2023: Popular former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announces Presidential campaign as moderate in the mold of Tim Kaine

()
April 17th, 2023: Democratic 2020 Vice Presidential candidate and Ohio Governor Richard Cordray joins the fray, becoming instant frontrunner for Democratic nomination

()
April 24th, 2023: Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a moderate Republican, launches Presidential campaign with appeal to independents and claims of electability

()
May 2nd, 2023: Josh Hawley, freshman Senator from Missouri, announces White House bid, trying to tout himself as 'fresh face'

()
May 6th, 2023: After an amazing political comeback, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee mounts another longshot Presidential campaign

()
May 6th, 2023: Controversial former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announces anti-establishment, far right Presidential bid focused on anti-environmentalism and appeal to rust belt

()
May 14th, 2023: Former Governor and current Senator from Kentucky, Matt Bevin, declares Presidential campaign with appeal to Christian right and Trumpists

()
May 18th, 2023: Vice President Mike Pence, Republican frontrunner, finally announces Presidential campaign with hopes to appeal to all parts of the party's base

()
May 22nd, 2023: California Governor Gavin Newsom announces widely-expected Presidential campaign, immediately becoming establishment favourite

()
June 3rd, 2023: Former White House Chief of Staff and Defence Secretary John F. Kelly announces surprise Presidential bid, promising strong leadership

()
June 4th, 2023: Attacking Kelly for being anti-liberty and starting a weeks-long feud, former Senator Rand Paul announces second Presidential campaign despite 2022 Senate loss

()
June 18th, 2023: Kyrsten Sinema, popular freshwoman Arizona Senator, announces Presidential run with appeal to many parts of electorate

()
June 29th, 2023: Despite falling poll numbers, anti-Trump conservative Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse announces Presidential campaign

()
July 7th, 2023: Indiana Governor Pete Buttigieg announces Presidential campaign, drawing large crowds with strong progressive messege and unique background

()
July 15th, 2023: Former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley finally annpunces Presidential campaign, trying to get support from both conservatives and anti-Trump Republicans

()
July 26th, 2023: John Hickenlooper, realtively moderate Democrat, announces White House bid with a wide protfolio of experience as former Colorado Governor and current Senator

The former Marine Corps General overlooked his campaign's new signs. Genral Kelly- strong leadership for a strong nation. It featured a picture of him with a military uniform, drawing attention to his military service rather than his connection for Trump.

They tried to frame him as a new Eisenhower- a strong, capable leader who'll be able to lead the nation back to stability and prosperity. But obviously, on politics, Kelly was no Eisenhower- he ran a campaign with mainline Republican positions on economical issues, as well as a particularly hardline view on immigration. He touted his tenures as Secretary of Homeland Security, Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defence as proofs that he can bring order, get the job done and protect the country. And, he centered much of his messeging on something he truly believed in- the fact that congress was a bunch of do-nothing, lazy fools who did no good for America.

So he attacked congress, and all of that definitely didn't endear him to the media. And that meant more and more coverage, most of it negative, but still earning him a ton of attention. He disliked all that attention, but had to embrace it if he was to win. Then there was Paul- or how he mockingly referred to him, "junior", who tried to attack him for stupid, outdated concept such as liberty, ignoring the fact that by keeping America safe and strong, John would bring liberty to everyone. They attacked each other continuesly, making even more media waves, and in an attempt to save himself Pence jumped in with a right-wing assault, calling both of them "no true conservatives" and heavily courting the Tea Party base and the Christian Right. John could see right through this man's play, but the American people evidently couldn't, so he surged back up in the polls, making it a tight race for the top spot with Kelly, and leading in Iowa. It was definitely an annoyance- John hoped to swoop the primaries without having to deal with these pests too much.

Still, his messege was resounding. No one liked congress- they had atrocious approvals for a reason- and the negative attention from the "elitist media" endeared him to the base. He hoped that he could get rid of Pence soon enough, because the others were no threat- Paul certainly wasn't, Cotton was a lightweight typical congresscritter, and Haley was almost as bad as him. The rest were flies- even ones who looked like a threat early on, like Hawley, Bevin and Pruitt, got most of their votes sucked by Kelly and Pence.

So it was John against Mike, and the General was going to win. And then he could turn his attention to whichever raging, open-borders liberal the Democrats nominated. Hopefully someone like Newsom and Booker, he thought, but Cordray or the women or the gay one would be fine as well. Secretary Kelly knew he could make any of them look weak with the right campaign. "Secratary," an aide approached, his eyes down as he held a bunch of papers. "Here are the latest polls. Also some for early states." John F. Kelly grabbed the papers and took a look. It seemed dangerous, but still promising.

Republican Primary Polling- National
Secretary John F. Kelly (R-MA)- 25%
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 24%
Fmr. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 11%
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 8%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 6%
Fmr. Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD)- 4%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 3%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 3%
Senator Matt Bevin (R-KY)- 3%
Fmr. Administrator Scott Pruitt (R-OK)- 2%
Fmr. Senator Jeff Flake- 1%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 10%

Republican Primary Polling- Iowa Caucuses
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 28%
Fmr. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 19%
Secretary John F. Kelly (R-MA)- 12%
Senator Matt Bevin (R-KY)- 9%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 5%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 4%
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 4%
Fmr. Administrator Scott Pruitt (R-OK)- 3%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 3%
Fmr. Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD)- 1%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 0%
Fmr. Senator Jeff Flake- 0%
Other\Undecided- 12%

Republican Primary Polling- New Hampshire Primary
Secretary John F. Kelly (R-MA)- 21%
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 19%
Fmr. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 18%
Fmr. Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD)- 11%
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 9%
Fmr. Senator Jeff Flake- 4%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 3%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 2%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 2%
Fmr. Administrator Scott Pruitt (R-OK)- 1%
Senator Matt Bevin (R-KY)- 1%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 9%

Republican Primary Polling- South Carolina Primary
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 30%
Secretary John F. Kelly (R-MA)- 19%
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 12%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 10%
Fmr. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 6%
Senator Matt Bevin (R-KY)- 4%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 3%
Fmr. Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD)- 2%
Fmr. Administrator Scott Pruitt (R-OK)- 2%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 1%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 1%
Fmr. Senator Jeff Flake- 0%
Other\Undecided- 10%

Republican Primary Polling- Nevada Caucuses
Fmr. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)- 23%
Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)- 22%
Secretary John F. Kelly (R-MA)- 15%
Fmr. Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD)- 7%
Fmr. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)- 6%
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)- 5%
Fmr. Senator Jeff Flake- 3%
Fmr. Administrator Scott Pruitt (R-OK)- 2%
Senator Matt Bevin (R-KY)- 2%
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)- 1%
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)- 1%
Secretary Rick Perry (R-TX)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 13%

Go Pete and Hogan

"And so, I hope you will join me in bringing back sensible, reform-minded leadership for America, that fights for the people's interests like I did as Governor and that, instead of just shouting slogans, truly works for the American people! Thank you, Des Moines!" The former Governor of Virginia smiled and waved to the cheering audience before leaving the podium.

As he left, Senator Kaine went up to the stage and after they exchanged pleasantries, Tim went to the podium to make his speech endorsing Ralph. It was his first big endorsement, and from the candidate who won Iowa back in 2020 no less.

As Ralph sat on the chair and watched Tim talk about both of their successful tenures as Governors of Virginia, he contemplated the state of his campaign. He was polling fairly high, near the top of the pack, and was generally popular, with a strong record to tout. But something still didn't feel right- his numbers were lounging in the high single digits, sometimes low single digits, with Whitmer Sinema and, recently, Mayor Pete, always close to him, from ahead or behind. No matter how good were his ads, it just looked like they couldn't get a breakthrough, and it was frustrating. At the same time, Cordray kept leading, with only Newsom proving a relatively strong opposition in polling thus far. He had to hope that the Kaine endorsement will, at least, give him some boost, especially in states like Iowa and South Carolina that his fellow Virginian won.

In any case, there was a lot of work to do, but even if he didn't win the nomination... he hoped to do well enough, because someone like Whitmer and Sinema, or even Cordray, could choose him for running mate.

"So this is why I'm asking all of you to join me in supporting Governor Northam!" Tim Kaine was finishing his speech. "For our country, our children, our future! Let's help bring real change!"

To a round of applause, Tim left the stage, followed by Ralph. "Thanks, Senator," he told the former Vice Presidential nominee, "that's very appreciated."

"No problem, it's only natural I'd be supporting you." Tim smiled. "I hope this helps your campaign rise up. Anyway, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. You know I'm up for reelection this year, but I'm thinking about..."

"Sirs," an aide approached them, interrupting Kaine, "sorry for the interruption, but you told me to approach you immediately when I get the new polling." He held out a bunch of papers. "Here it is. And there's also a list tracking each candidate's endorsement, like you requested."

Democratic Primary Polling- National
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 31%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 14%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 10%
Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 9%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 9%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 9%
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO)- 5%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 3%
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 2%
Governor Lincoln Chafee (D-RI)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 8%

Democratic Primary Polling- Iowa Caucuses
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 41%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 14%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 11%
Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 9%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 5%
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO)- 5%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 2%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 2%
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 1%
Governor Lincoln Chafee (D-RI)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 10%

Democratic Primary Polling- New Hampshire Primary
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 23%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 19%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 15%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 10%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 7%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 4%
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 4%
Governor Lincoln Chafee (D-RI)- 3%
Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 2%
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO)- 2%
Other\Undecided- 11%

Democratic Primary Polling- Nevada Caucuses
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 43%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 14%
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 11%
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO)- 11%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 5%
Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 3%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 3%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 1%
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 0%
Governor Lincoln Chafee (D-RI)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 9%

Democratic Primary Polling- South Carolina Primary
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA)- 20%
Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA)- 18%
Governor Richard Cordray (D-OH)- 16%
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)- 13%
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)- 12%
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)- 6%
Governor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)- 6%
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)- 1%
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO)- 1%
Governor Lincoln Chafee (D-RI)- 0%
Other\Undecided- 7%

2024 Democratic Primary- ENDORSEMENT TRACKER

Governor Richard Cordray
Senator Betty Sutton (D-OH)
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Fmr. Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA)
Fmr. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Senator Abby Finkenauer (D-IA)
Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
Governor Chris Giunchigliani (D-NV)
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Fmr. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Governor Gwen Graham (D-FL)
Governor Arne Duncan (D-IL)
Senator Cheri Bustos (D-IL)
Governor Janet Mills (D-ME)
Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ)
Fmr. Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NY)
Governor Kate Brown (D-OR)
AFL-CIO
The entire Ohio Democratic U.S. House delegation

Governor Gavin Newsom
Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Fmr. Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA)
Mayor Eric Garcetti (D-CA)
Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY)
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro (D-TX)
Ms. Chelsea Clinton (D-NY)
Most of the California Democratic U.S. House delegation

Senator Kyrsten Sinema
Governor Greg Stanton (D-AZ)
Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)
Govenror Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM)
Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Senator Jenny Durkan (D-WA)
EMILY's List (co-endorsement)
The entire Arizona Democratic U.S. House delegation

Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI)
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Fmr. Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-MI)
Senator Tina Smith (D-MN)
EMILY's List (co-endorsement)
The entire Michigan Democratic U.S. House delegation

Fmr. Governor Ralph Northam
Governor Justin Fairfax (D-VA)
Fmr. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA)
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)
Senator Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)
The entire Virginia Democratic U.S. House delegation

Governor Pete Buttigieg
Governor Jason Kander (D-MO)
Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN)
Fmr. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Governor Josh Svaty (D-KS)
Senator Andy Beshear (D-KY)
Senator Stephanie Murphy (D-FL)
LGBTQ Victory Fund
The entire Indiana Democratic U.S. House delegation

Senator John Hickenlooper
Senator Michael Bennett (D-CO)
Fmr. Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO)
Senator Tom Udall (D-NM)
U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams (D-UT)
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA)
The entire Colorado Democratic U.S. House delegation

Senator Cory Booker
Senator Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Fmr. Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-MD)
The entire New Jersey Democratic U.S. House delegation

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
U.S. Rep. Ed Case (D-HI)
Ms. Linda Sarsour (D-NY)
Mr. Cenk Uygur (D-CA)
Justice Democrats

Governor Lincoln Chafee
Fmr. U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI)
No Labels

Noteable figures who did not yet endorse
Fmr. President Barack Obama (D-IL)
Fmr. President Bill Clinton (D-AR)
Fmr. Vice President Joe Biden (D-DE)
Fmr. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Governor Cathy Glasson (D-IA)
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Governor Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Governor Jared Polis (D-CO)
Senator Joe Kennedy III (D-MA)