In These Times — The Election of 2032 (user search)
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  In These Times — The Election of 2032 (search mode)
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WestVegeta
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 364
United States


Political Matrix
E: -0.52, S: -2.43

« on: January 29, 2018, 05:37:09 PM »

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WestVegeta
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 364
United States


Political Matrix
E: -0.52, S: -2.43

« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2018, 08:47:34 PM »



The new face of the Republican Party?
Young, queer and willing to stand up to ideologues on both sides, Governor Joanna Campbell leads the way for a new generation of Republicans

Joanna Campbell doesn't look like a politician, let alone Governor of one of the largest states in the union. If you walked past her near the Capitol, sipping a latte and looking at her phone, you'd probably assume she was a med student at Southern Illinois. She rarely has an entourage, eschews the tight security presence of her predecessors, and dresses casually.

"I guess I'm just a really down-to-earth person," she smiles as we sit in a Starbucks. "A rarity in Illinois politics."

The 26-year-old is the youngest Governor in the United States. As a matter of fact, she's one of the youngest Governors ever. She took office at 26 -- seven years younger than Bill Clinton when he took the oath of office in Arkansas, and two years older than Stevens T. Mason, the 23-year-old who became Governor of Michigan at 24 in 1830.

"I guess I've always been a trailblazer," she says, though she's selling herself short. Joanna Campbell is also the first openly trans Governor of any US State, and one of the few openly trans politicians in the world.

Her improbably rise from local activist to Governor have led some to speculate that she may just find herself in the Oval Office some day. She snorts in amusement at the idea.

"I've got a few years before I'm even eligible," she says. But she's not staying away from Presidential politics, though. She's one of Tom Cotton's harshest critics, particularly on LGBTQ rights issues. She has publicly stated that she will not support the President in his reelection campaign in 2032. That's led some Illinois Republicans to start looking for alternatives.

"I've never backed down from a fight. Those Republicans who want me off the ticket in 2030 didn't want me on it in the 2026. I won because two more conservative candidates split the vote. But I think I've more than earned my keep here. I lowered taxes and improved the economy -- Governor Pritzker and Governor Stratton didn't do anything about the recession of 2019. That's not an indictment on Democrats, that's an indictment on the people they were working for -- large corporations, not Illinoisans."

Some of Cotton's closest allies are looking to recruit Naomi Stevenson, an East St. Louis-based businesswoman, to challenge Campbell. Stevenson and Campbell had an extremely public spat when the Governor pulled a state contract from Stevenson's company after it was revealed Stevenson had donated to an anti-LGBTQ pressure group every year since 2005. If Stevenson were to run for Governor, it would be her first time as a candidate.

Despite her public feuds with members of her own party, she saves her most biting criticisms to "Machine Democrats." Illinois has a long history of political machines backing politicians and entrenching them. She's criticized longtime Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. "The Madigans are why I -- a young queer woman -- am a Republican." Political strategist Carl Traeger says that her criticism of Madigan and the Illinois Democratic establishment is what won her the race.

"Illinois is a liberal state, especially on social issues. But it doesn't like the Madigans, it doesn't like the establishment. Then here comes this young woman, a Republican but liberal on social issues, and she's so different from what everyone else has been offering Illinoisans for so long. She was so different, she won over traditionally conservative voters and progressives who'd never before voted for a Republican, and probably won't ever again."

Her independence has won her praise on both sides of the aisle; she's close friends with Democratic Maine Governor and possible Presidential candidate Blake Walsh. In an interview, Walsh said that Campbell "is one of [her] favorite people in politics."

"Jo Campbell out in Illinois. We don't agree on much, but she's extremely smart, extremely passionate and cares deeply about her state and the people. I'm proud to call her a friend."

Walsh, who chairs the National Governors Association, was seen with her husband Sen. Benjamin Johnston eating dinner with Campbell and her partner Lucy Martinez in one of Augusta's fanciest restaurants prior to the NGA meeting in Augusta -- neither Walsh nor Johnston met any other Governors privately during the NGA meeting in Augusta.



Also I'm pretty sure Joanna would be like 29 by 2029, and she (he?) would be eligible to run in 2036. (And so would I... Dream ticket?)

Would you look at that, I'd also be eligible by 2036, if only by a few months... Hey, Maineiac, any idea who West Virginia's senators are?
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