2365 Presidential Election
The 2365 Federated States Presidential election was a major election. It was the seventh full election.
Background
President Everett Stargher's presidency had been controversial and seen a lot of escalating chaos on the frontier, climaxing in the break away of the colony of Al Ahily which remained an independent colony. President Stargher promised that he would restore stability if given a second term. It appeared that Security would be the main issue by which the 2365 Election would be contested.Candidates
President Everett Stargher announced he would seek a 2nd term, despite some concerns around his health. He also announced that he was replacing Vice President Orton Schofield with former fleet intelligence officer Hailee Jander, a member of Earth-Guard. President Stargher put his former chief of staff, Veet Khanan, in charge of the campaign. Earth-Guard were brought back into the coalition, as was the TPE and AIS. However the Treasury Secretary, Senna Zavitz, stated that VANGUARD would be backing the Federalist ticket. Senator Moses Zinn won the federalist nomination and named Deputy Pave Shenker as his running mate. He hired Harper Abbot to be his campaign manager. The Federalist ticket got the support of the Progressive Union as well as VANGUARD. The Party attempted to get the support of the Integrity & Justice Party but failed. The New Horizon Party nominated Dr Janice Gorsky for President and the Integrity & Justice Party launched a shock insurgency by naming Vice President Orton Schofield for President! The Universal Party, enjoying record high polling, nominated Senator India Zeller for President. She made it very clear that the Universal Party would not be dropping out to endorse another major party in 2365.The First Ballot
The campaign saw record amounts of funding spent, with more than A$10B spent on the campaign. A massive amount of outside money was brought in and the Stargher campaign complained bitterly about this. There were also savage attack ads launched against Senator Moses Zinn, accusing him of flip-flopping and being an opportunist. They also called him a coward for never serving in uniform but critizing a man who was a legit warhero. Senator Zinn was nearly killed during a campaign stop on Jasper when a gunman opened fire from the crowd. Two members of his security detail were killed. Then whilst visiting the colony of Rygar, Senator Zinn's shuttle crashed after a limpet mine blew up its stablizers. Three campaign aides were killed, including Senator Zinn's uncle Obediah Zinn. Senator Zinn suffered leg and spinal injuries and he had to suspend his part of the campaign. Deputy Shenker and Boyd Darrow took up the slack. Dr Gorksy campaigned on the frontier calling for peace and reconciliation. Vice President Schofields campaign, better funded than expected, failed to really make any real traction. As the votes for the first ballot came in, there were widespread riots and fighting on the frontier and the Senate made the unprecedented step to suspend the election until order was restored. After three weeks, the campaign was reactivated and the votes of the frontier worlds were finally counted:- Senator Moses Zinn -35%
- President Everett Stargher -33%
- Senator India Zeller -10%
- Vice President Orton Schofield -5%
- Dr Janice Gorsky -3%
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