Mayor Pete

[America Needs R'hllor]

Cory

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.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

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

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

[America Needs R'hllor]

Jay

"...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?!"

[America Needs R'hllor]

John

"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."

[Mycool]

*Snipping out my terrible forum etiquette*

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

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

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

[Sestak]

1. Kander
2. Feingold
3. Harris

[America Needs R'hllor]

*Snip*

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

Not surprising they mirror real life, considering pretty much everyone other than Biden, Sanders and the billionaires is running
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.

[Hoosier_Nick]

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

[America Needs R'hllor]

Hillary

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%

[Cold War Liberal]

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

[sverkol]

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

[West_Midlander]

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

[America Needs R'hllor]

Russ

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:

Democratic Iowa Caucuses- 99% Reporting
Sen. Tim Kaine- 15.4% ✓
Sen. Elizabeth Warren- 15.0%
Gov. Jay Inslee- 12.2%
Sen. Jeff Merkley- 10.4%
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander- 10.1%
Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold- 7.7%
Sen. Amy Klobucher- 7.2%
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand- 6.1%
Sen. Cory Booker- 4.7%
Sen. Kamala Harris- 3.2%
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard- 2.2%
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro- 1.4%
Mayor Eric Garcetti- 1.0%
Fmr. Gov. Brian Schweitzer- 0.9%
Gov. Andrew Cuomo- 0.7%
Mayor Bill de Blasio- 0.6%
Rep. Seth Moulton- 0.6%
Rep. Adam Schiff- 0.5%
Fmr. Gov. Martin O'Malley- 0.1%
Rep. John Delaney- 0.0%
Other- 0.0%

"...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."

[libertpaulian]

Ugh, please no Beta Kaine.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Go Merkley!

[West_Midlander]

Go Merkley!

[Sestak]

Damn it, was hoping he'd endorse Kander.

[America Needs R'hllor]

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
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???)

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

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. Looks like it's happening- #Petementum, folks
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.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Kamala

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.

Democratic Primary- New Hampshire
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand- 17.3%
Sen. Elizabeth Warren- 15.6%
Gov. Jay Inslee- 10.3%
Sen. Tim Kaine- 7.9%
Sen. Kamala Harris- 7.7%
Mayor Eric Garcetti- 7.6%
Sen. Jeff Merkley- 6.6%
Sen. Cory Booker- 5.5%
Rep. Seth Moulton- 4.5%
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard- 4.1%
Gov. Andrew Cuomo- 3.5%
Mayor Bill de Blasio- 3.3%
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander- 2.9%
Sen. Amy Klobucher- 1.8%
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro- 1.2%
Others- 0.0%

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.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

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

[America Needs R'hllor]

Jason

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:

Democratic Caucuses- Nevada (100% reporting)
Sen. Jeff Merkley- 16.3%
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander- 15.6%
Mayor Eric Garcetti- 13.6%
Sen. Kamala Harris- 10.4%
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro- 9.3%
Sen. Elizabeth Warren- 8.1%
Gov. Jay Inslee- 7.2%
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand- 6.5%
Sen. Tim Kaine- 4.6%
Sen. Cory Booker- 4.4%
Mayor Bill de Blasio- 2.1%
Gov. Andrew Cuomo- 1.7%
Others- 0.2%

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:

Democratic Primary- South Carolina
Sen. Tim Kaine- 16.1%
Sen. Kamala Harris- 15.9%
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand- 13.7%
Sen. Cory Booker- 11.3%
Fmr. SoS Jason Kander- 11.1%
Sen. Elizabeth Warren- 7.2%
Gov. Jay Inslee- 5.9%
Sen. Amy Klobucher- 5.6%
Sen. Jeff Merkley- 3.5%
Gov. Andrew Cuomo- 3.2%
Mayor Bill de Blasio- 3.0%
Mayor Eric Garcetti- 2.7%
Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro- 0.8%
Others- 0.0%

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.

Democratic Primaries

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[YPestis25]

Go Jason!

Great TL, Parrotguy!

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

what are the current delegate counts?