2370 Presidential Election
The 2370 Federated States Presidential election was a major election. It was the eighth full election.
Background
After the Third Terran Civil War and the disaster of the JS1E1 attack on Earth, the people of the Federated States were tired, frightened and wanting stability. They were also deeply worried about the recession, the second one in the last 20 years. President Pave Shenker (Federalist) announced in February of 2370 that he would not be seeking a second term as President and would not seek or accept the Federalist nomination. Senator Marius Axxelson (TPE) was seen by most as the front-runner thanks to his huge personal popularity.Candidates
The Federalist Party got behind the presumptive nominee, Vice President Cris Manolos the former mining exec and Governor. He unified the two wings of the Party by asking retiring Senator Leander Beaufort, a liberal, to be his running mate. At the Federalist convention there were rumors of a challenge from the floor by Governor Reston Groome but this was put down and a deal for unity was made. The TPE nominated Senator Marius Axxelson . He initially wanted the former Secretary of Defence Crait Valon as his running mate but Valon turned this offer down, stating he was too old. Senator Axxelson then turned to Governor Kayla Attwater, a former fleet officer as his running mate. MIles Swofford Jr, who had rightly developed a reputation as a tough political operator, was named campaign manager. The newly formed Foundation Party nominated Governor Jan Bolmar for President. The moderate Governor chose highly conservative former Mayor Rocky Thornberg as his running mate to unify the two wings of the Party. The New Horizon Party nominated veteran Senator and lawyer Javier Morgan for President. Most polls showed them lagging badly behind the other three candidates. Former Secretary of State Reese Gordwood also launched an insurgent independent campaign, calling on the other parties to back him for President. Despite having a huge amount of personal experience and expertise, most felt his candidacy would never get anywhere.Presidential Debate
The campaign had gotten underway with deals being made that saw Governor Bolmar drop out and endorse Senator Axxelson. The Progressive Union and VANGUARD both shocked the political establishment by agreeing to back Secretary Gordwood. The Axxelson campaign suggested a Presidential debate and invited Vice President Manolos and Secretary Gordwood to attend. Senator Morgan protested being left out but they pointed to his anemic polling numbers. Going into the debate, Vice President Manolos played down his chances, pointing to the fact that as a Governor he'd never taken part in a serious Senate debate and he pointed to Axxelson's huge advantage. However in the debate Manolos emerged the clear winner, though he was unable to land a serious blow on Axxelson. Most respondents pointed out Manolos's charisma, plain-spoken answers and his willingness to listen to ideas. His critics pointed out that he had answered the fewest direct questions of the night The real loser,however, was Gordwood who came across as fussy, short of clarity and to have no clear plan on the economy. Gordwood's polling, which has been impressive, began to level outThe First Ballot
Going into the first ballot, a huge amount of money had been raised by the Axxelson campaign, with the corporations backing him with a massive A$4.5B warchest. As the polls began to close, most pundits believed that there were would be an Axxelson landslide and question marks were asked if this would also carry the TPE to a big Senate win too.- Axxelson / Attwater (TPE) - 52%
- Gordwood / Yates (IND) -21%
- Manolos / Beaufort (FED) - 20%
- Morgan / Boreham (NH) -9%
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