Era of the New Majority

[KingSweden]

March 2027: On the steps of San Francisco City Hall, flanked by a number of city and state officials, Gavin Newsom announces his intention to run for President of the United States, surprising absolutely nobody and becoming the first official candidate. A week later, at a home for at-risk youth in Newark, Senator Cory Booker announces he will do the same and then spends the day visiting homeless shelters, women's groups and a county jail. The Democrats send a massive budget to President Sandoval, including tax hikes on high-income earners, Wall Street transactions, eliminating the carried-interest loophole, raising the corporate tax rate while eliminating a number of loopholes, making the capital gains tax equal to the income tax, and expanding the EITC. A number of progressive goodies reside within too - subsidized childcare and four weeks of paid vacation for all employees, grants for free community college and heavy subsidies for state universities, and at long last the allowance of Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Sandoval declares the budget DOA, but dispatches Paul Ryan and Neel Kashkari to the Hill to negotiate. The Congress does, however, pass a law expanding on the Schedule II marijuana designation of 2017, by fully removing marijuana from the controlled substances list altogether and broadly legalizing the drug even more so than most states have done (as of this time, only 22 states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, and in most of them it is strictly regulated by the states). This effectively bars most states from banning the substance even within their own borders, though some (like Alabama) likely will. Sandoval signals openness to signing this act after it passes the House with all 266 Democratic votes as well as 31 Republican votes and passes the Senate 66-29.

The Tennessee court case takes a turn as the conservative TN Supreme Court rules in favor of Jeff Yarbro. It throws out sixteen ballots, as requested by Fincher, but does not throw out the other ballots needed to certify him as the winner. Fincher appeals to the 6th Circuit, which puts a similar stay on seating anyone.

March 2027 (continued): Alexei Navalny returns to Russia for the first time since his attempted assassination and meets both with government officials and opposition leaders to discuss a managed solution to the crisis. The bloody war in the Caucasus continues to rage, though the Central Asian Republic is mostly stable by now. A deadly flu starts to spread in China and Southeast Asia, having killed nearly 20,000 people by the end of the month. A massive protest organically springs up in Beijing over the pandemic, concerning key CCP leaders. Several Viennese residential neighborhoods burn as FPO supporters continue to riot and clash with police, demanding a constitutional referendum. 51 protesters are killed, and in a bout of ugly racial violence, five immigrants are lynched in an act that shocks the rest of the EU.

And now, for Sports!: In the Champions League, the following teams advance: Atletico Madrid defeats West Ham United, Real Madrid defeats Liverpool, Inter Milan defeats PSG, AC Milan defeats Sporting CP, Manchester United defeats Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich defeats Galatasaray, Schalke 04 defeats Celtic, and Porto defeats Anderlecht. This means that the two last UCL champions are out already in the round of 16.

[KingSweden]

Congressional Profile - Senator Allie Adams (D-DE)

It was the biggest political upset of the cycle, and after Peggy Bartlett taking down Ted Cruz, the biggest upset of the decade. US Rep. Jack Markell, a former Governor and DGA chair, was headed for an inevitable Senate nomination in his home state of Delaware after Chris Coons announced his retirement. It was all but certain, especially as he locked down institutional support both in DC and at home.

His only primary opponent was a little-known, 33-year old (at the time of the primary) State Senator named Allie Adams representing a suburban Wilmington district that includes Newark, home to the liberal U of D campus. Markell had a massive warchest and was a household name in the State. Adams had been in the legislature less than two years.

But something funny happened on the way to the landslide - Markell waited to start doing outreach until late in the primary season, while Adams had started running as early as Christmas of 2025, doing events all around the state. She maximized her slight name recognition in the Newark area and started doing events at black churches and organizations in Wilmington, trying to convince longtime Democratic operatives cozy with Markell that the young blonde neophyte in designer jeans and a pixie cut could represent their interests better rather than the state's former Governor and four-term Congressman.

Still, even though the Markell campaign started to recognize the threat towards the beginning of summer (with Delaware's primary coming up in August), it wasn't until Memorial Day that the threat became acute. That was when, after weeks of negotiations and meetings, Jill Biden appeared at St. Joseph's on the Brandywine, where her late husband Joe and her stepson Beau are buried, and announced, with a solemn Adams at her side, "I will be endorsing and campaigning for Allie Adams this election. Allie represents the values and the commitments of Joe and Beau, and will be a champion for young women everywhere." The campaign was thrown in flux - the Bidens are Delaware royalty, and it was one of the biggest endorsements a candidate could earn.

Adams suddenly had more support than she expected and narrowly beat out Markell in the August primary. It was a stunning shock to the establishment, especially since she ran against Delaware's cozy corporate culture, and there were worries that key Delaware Democrats wouldn't come out in support for the general. Her future colleague, John Carney, quickly dispelled that the day after the primary when he said, "Allie Adams has my full support, and she should enjoy yours, too." Within a week, Markell had buried the hatchet, too.

But just who is Allie Adams? For starters, she's an odd choice for an insurgent campaign. Adams grew up in picturesque Middletown, Delaware, where she was born Allison Robarts in October of 1992. After graduating from high school in 2011, she attended the University of Delaware, where she was a Kappa Delta, volunteered for the Obama/Biden reelection campaign and then upon graduation got a yearlong internship with the Delaware Democratic Party before going to Virginia Law. During her internship, she met fundraiser Mark Adams, and they were married within a year. In 2019, they had twin boys, Garrett and Lucas.

"That's the road to being one of the good ol' boys," Adams admits in her office, which she insisted on keeping in Newark. Like Joe Biden, whose seats she holds, she insists on commuting to DC from her house in the town's quaint downtown. Her husband is now a senior executive at a major Wilmington accounting firm and after law school she worked at a major Wilmington corporate law office for two years before quitting to plan a run. Politics has interested her ever since high school, she explains.

Along the way, though - partially due to their exposure to Delaware's notorious corporate culture - something clicked for Adams. She admits to "having been a part of the problem before deciding to become part of the solution." From an affluent family, she would go to Rehoboth Beach every summer for wild parties, and she was making more money at her firm in one year than many friends from college had made since graduation.

"I decided that it wasn't right. It wasn't fair for me to get ahead while my friends from college and back home struggled. I wanted to be a champion for those who are not making ends meet."

Also near to her heart is combating sexual violence. Adams claims that good friends from high school and college have been victims of assault, and that one of her priorities in this Senate will be to pass a broader, stricter Violence Against Women Act than those that have come before. "It isn't enough," she says, much like she repeated on the campaign trail. "It isn't good enough."

So far, Adams has earned the admiration of many of her colleagues, including Republican ones. "She ran as this firebrand," Maine Senator Garrett Mason muses. "But in the two months she's been here, she's reached out and made friends. She's been a good freshman. Her and I have been to lunch twice, and I'm just one guy on the other side of the aisle."

Back home in Delaware, not all hatchets have been buried. Many high-up Democratic officials are frustrated at her rhetoric slamming them as corporate stooges, and equally angered that she clammed up the day after her election win. "She runs as a populist but her husband makes over six figures a year by himself, they came up through the woodwork of the party machine, she's tight with the Biden family - I mean, she's not an outsider. She just wants people to think she is."

The 2032 primary is a long ways away. Could there be a challenger on the horizon?

"If she keeps her head down and works hard, she'd be unstoppable," admits a Delaware Republican close to Governor Ken Simpler. "She has a natural charm and she's young. She could be the female Joe Biden, sticking around for thirty, forty years."

To this, Adams just smiles. "One election, one term at a time," she laughs. "I'm 34 years old and have young sons. I might not want to do this forever."

[KingSweden]

April 2027: Buzz about Ted Cruz primarying Brian Sandoval starts to grow louder once polls are released showing Cruz beating the incumbent President in Iowa and narrowly trailing him in South Carolina in hypothetical primaries - Atlas users immediately point out that there are tons of undecideds. Kirsten Gillibrand announces her bid for the Presidency first via a viral video and then with an ostentatious press conference from New York City, where she proclaims herself the bold progressive in the race despite being the moderate in the Heinrich administration and declares, "The rights we value as citizens are under assault by the Sandoval administration like never before!" Critics take this as an odd thing to say about a Republican who supports abortion rights and criticized gay marriage opponents on multiple occasions. Later in the month, Senator Anthony Foxx enters the race, launching his bid on the campus of Winston-Salem State University, an HBCU.

Sandoval vetoes the Congressional budget, but signs the Cannabis Legalization Act of 2027, fully ending the prohibition of marijuana in the United States. He is roundly criticized by many older conservatives, but many younger Republicans, including a large Congressional contingent, are present for the signing. Sandoval also, in a companion move, commutes the sentences of nearly 1,000 offenders in federal prison for various marijuana-related crimes, with nearly all of them released early, and fully pardons an additional 250. It is one of the biggest Presidential commutations in history. Clashes continue in Washington over the budget, however, and the debt ceiling ticks closer and closer, with progressives now debating using a time-tested Republican maneuver to force concessions out of the President. In hearings regarding Iran, Tom Cotton angrily questions the Sandoval administration's own assessments on the Islamic State, indicating that he may be inching closer to a primary campaign of his own.

April 2027 (continued): In a stunning blow to France's two main parties, Marine Le Pen of the FN and independent centrist Emmanuel Macron advance to the runoff with 34% and 30%, respectively. Oulavard and Fauquiez both fail to even clear the 20% mark, a humiliation for normal party politics. The Tories in Britain essentially admit that they have no path to victory as the Alliance for Britain leads in enough constituencies to win a majority, including a handful of Scottish seats that the SNP will lose for the first time since 2015. As the "Cambodian flu" starts to spread across Southeast Asia, the death toll reaches close to 50,000, with the majority dead in the originating country but thousands contracting it and cases popping up in susceptible India and Bangladesh. Twenty people are killed in clashes with authorities in China and Hu Chunhua's government starts to worry privately. On April 30th, a massive earthquake shakes South America, killing 217 people in Chile and Peru.

And now, for Sports!: Texas wins its second NCAA National Championship in basketball under coach Shaka Smart and second in seven years as it defeats top-seed Ohio State in the final in Dallas. It arrives in the championship by defeating Alabama, while Ohio State defeats Cinderella squad Georgia Tech.

In the Champions League, Atletico exorcises its long-time demons by knocking out archrival Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate, including a 2-1 win at the Bernabeu to press their advantage in the second leg. Inter beats Porto, Bayern beats AC Milan and Schalke beats Manchester United to put together a semifinal containing two traditional powers and two fairly uncommon ones.

[KingSweden]

Chaos in New York

To describe the next three years in New York politics as a release valve on a pressure cooker would be an understatement, and voters in the state can look forward to three chaotic years thanks to Chuck Schumer's announcement last Friday that he would not seek a sixth term in the Senate and would be leaving Washington after 48 years in Congress. As one of the great titans of New York politics, Schumer was a polarizing figure - reviled by the right for his brusque, aggressive liberalness and under suspicion by progressives for his views on Israel, criticisms of Democratic leaders including all three Presidents in the most recent dynasty and his deal-cutting nature.

But now that he is leaving, he sets up a domino effect, for soon after his departure New York will be shaken twice again - Mayor Eric Smith, the hand-gladding, developer-friendly Brooklyn power-broker will be term-limited and after disappointing progressive Democrats over the last two years while ushering in nothing shy of an economic boom in the city despite national doldrums, the primary to replace him will be fierce. Finally, the popular Preet Bharara will retire in 2030 after twelve years in Albany despite likely being able to romp to a fourth term if he so desired, leaving a juicy open seat but a hard act to follow.

With the New York Republican Party licking its wounds after its drubbing last fall, few think it has much of a chance to compete in any of these races, though Mayor is always a bit of a wild card. For years, New York-area Democrats have waited for Schumer to step down, and many are still smarting from Bharara's decision to tap young upstate Congressman Svante Myrick for Kirsten Gillibrand's Senate seat when she became Vice President. For dozens of lawmakers, lawyers and top city officials, this is their chance.

The biggest two names to watch are Hakeem Jeffries and Brad lander. Jeffries has been a good soldier in the house for sixteen years, waiting for his opportunity to ascend the ladder. He is widely thought to covet Schumer's Senate seat, but throwing a wrench in his neat ascension is the ambitious, super-progressive Lander, who just won election to a heavily Jewish and very conservative seat in gentrifying south Brooklyn. Lander is thought to be interested in snatching the seat for himself, especially since he'd be in a fight for his life every two years as his district is currently composed. Others close to Lander believe that his real interest is the Mayoralty, with his background in city politics and Lander apparently having clashed already with fellow Congressmen in Washington in the three months he has been there.

Schumer's preferred successor is, apparently, Daniel Squadron, whom insiders doubt would give up his safe House seat and his choice gig running the DCCC. Squadron has the ear of Speaker Crowley and with some key retirements could jet up the leadership ladder. Out of the rest of the New York delegation, Grace Meng is thought to be weighing her options, while Costa Constantides has already taken himself out of the running for any higher office.

Opponents of Jeffries, who applaud his advocacy for the black community but view him as a Corey Booker clone in that he is very tight with Wall Street, are looking for an alternative in case Lander, as expected, throws his weight into the Mayoral race, where he would be an instant frontrunner. One of their top choices is Rep. Ruben Diaz, Jr. - liberal, Hispanic and from the Bronx, he would be a unique voice in the Senate, especially as he has experience running a borough. Diaz is thought to be amenable to a run under the "right circumstances," which are likely a one-on-one race against Jeffries without Lander in the picture.

The wild card could be Chelsea Clinton. Freshly elected to the House, she has a famous last name and would bring some serious chits to cash in if she entered the race for Senate or Governor. Those close to the Clintons believe Chelsea is uninterested the Senate seat, but think she could be a player in three years for Governor, especially as her parents are ailing and she has been shuttling back and forth from DC to New York to care for them and her children. Reading between the lines, those same insiders wonder if Clinton might view Albany as a stepping stone to a Presidential run of her own in 2036 or 2040.

Standing firmly in Clinton's way would be Stephanie Miner, the current Lieutenant Governor, and Ken Thompson, the current Attorney General. Both are seen as keen to move up, and Miner would likely have Bharara's endorsement as a good soldier and close ally. Thompson is a polarizing figure who would probably struggle in a Gubernatorial matchup, but insiders caution that he may be feeling out the waters to instead run for Senate or Mayor - he would be the only candidate in either race with an existing statewide infrastructure. And if he were to enter the race for Mayor, say against Lander, that doesn't include the variety of city-level officials, including several Borough Presidents and City Councillors along with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who would be interested in taking their talents to the Gracie Mansion.

It's going to be a wild, and probably ugly, three years. Get ready.

[KingSweden]

Book Review - "The Desert Fox" by Glenn Whittier

The Economist

Political campaigns are opaque things by nature - complaints and conflicts must be kept in-house, everything is done to promote the candidate who serves as its face, and negative information must be spun out of existence. It is often not until months or years later that we get even a glimpse of the real story and get a sense for the strategy, the moments when the campaign was worried it might lose, and the behind-the-scenes private realities of the candidates and their staff.

Glenn Whittier, a young, Republican-leaning political journalist who covered the 2024 election for the Wall Street Journal, has published his first book, "The Desert Fox," an exhaustive account of the 2024 Brian Sandoval Presidential campaign. Though snippets have emerged before, it is a fascinating look into an operation that was both forward-thinking and mired in the past, and nimble yet overwhelmed by staff.

As Whittier describes it, the Sandoval campaign was constantly at conflict with itself by design - the national consultants and strategists brought on by the campaign were constantly at odds with the "old guard," a cliquish group of loyalists to the Senator from Nevada. This was intentional - Sandoval wanted his closest aides to have their thinking challenged, but wanted his web of strategists to have to work hard for access to him. Confidant Jeremy Hughes was tapped as campaign manager, while former Texas GOP strategist Tyler Winston was named chief strategist. The "Vegas-Dallas Axis" became a term thrown around the campaign to refer to the close-knit group of policy advisers and deputies who often clashed with the network of Texas political talent with ties to conservative groups and the RNC.

Beyond the constant conflicts between Hughes and Winston - it is a miracle that neither of them resigned during the primary - Whittier's book breaks down Sandoval's strategy, much of it invented by the candidate himself. In a remarkably frank admission, Mr. Sandoval's longtime adviser Steve Hill - later his White House Chief of Staff, and the campaign national chair - details how the campaign gleefully threw a party during the August 2023 entrance of conservative Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse into the race, hoping that it would further muddy the waters in Iowa where rival Senator Tom Cotton was building a substantial lead. The best parts of the book detail how Sandoval assessed that there was a large, non-ideological contingent of Republican voters who were in the GOP less because they were heterodox conservatives and more because they disliked Democrats, and spoke directly to them.

It has long been known that the campaign left serious bad blood between President Sandoval and Senator Cotton, who has challenged him repeatedly on foreign policy. Whittier describes that this was mutual - the future President's staff viewed Cotton as their top threat from the beginning while dismissing men like Mick Mulvaney and Raul Labrador as low-tier candidates. Sandoval's early and brutal attacks on Cotton for campaigning while still in office were unprecedented and unusual in an American context, yet seemed to work well enough to buy him space enough to eke out a consistent delegate lead. Constantly, Sandoval recalibrated strategy to fine-tune the campaign. More so than any modern campaign, it's flexibility and nimbleness proved its greatest asset.

The book starts to weigh a little once it enters the general election campaign, which the Sandoval camp legitimately thought could come down to a single state recount or be a narrow loss despite favorable polls heading into late October. An interesting chapter discusses the Vice Presidential vetting process and zeroes in on how Walker Stapleton was chosen - not due to ideological expediency or "ticket balancing," but because he was viewed as a good soldier who would stay on script and not hurt the campaign.

[KingSweden]

United Kingdom general election, 2027

(Note: The Parliament reduced the number of constituencies in Parliament from 650 to 600 for this election as part of the boundary review, like in OTL right now).

Sajid Javid's Tories enter the election fatigued and demoralized after years of recession, car bombings in London, riots in Scotland and the positive, center-left Alliance for Britain flying high. Despite reducing the number of seats, thought to advantage the Tories, that is not the case as the following result occurs:

Alliance: 367
Conservative: 182
SNP: 20
Socialist Labour Party: 17
UKIP: 6
DUP: 4
SDLP: 2
Plaim Cymru: 1
Sinn Fein: 1 (abstaining)
Greens: 0

The Alliance scores a massive landslide, picking up nearly 40% of the vote and earning a comfortable majority. The Tories are wiped out in Northern England and much of London, while maintaining their suburban base. Despite Scotland losing several seats, the SNP increased their seat total as the Alliance and Tories allow several narrow wins there by SNP candidates. UKIP makes minimal gains while the Greens, DUP and Plaid Cymru lose many of their gains from five years earlier. Alliance becomes one of the first non-Northern Irish parties to win seats in the Belfast area, denying the SDLP two seats they would have otherwise won. Alliance also romps in Wales, winning every Welsh constituency but one.

Sajid Javid announces he will immediately step down as Tory leader and congratulates his successor, Jim McMahon. For the first time in ten years, the center-left is in charge of Parliament, and this time with a true majority rather than a flimsy coalition as was the case in the disastrous, forgettable Miliband-Balls era of 2015-17. It is the left's biggest win since the Tony Blair era, though the Alliance is definitely to the left of the Blairites.

[KingSweden]

French Presidential election, 2027

Round 2 Results:

Emmanuel Macron (Independent List) - 54%
Marine Le Pen (National Front) - 46%

France avoids what would have been a devastating win by Marine Le Pen after most anti-FN voters coalesce behind savvy centrist Macron, who becomes the first President elected as a true independent. He replaces Francois Fillon, who leaves office with a sub-30% approval rating five years after being reelected in a landslide and hailed as the next De Gaulle. Macron promises to form a technocratic unity Cabinet and indicates that men like Manuel Valls will hold a major role in it, suggesting a center-left skew. Along with Alliance's massive win in the UK, it portends a promising shift towards the center for Europe's left after years of angry left-wing populism.

[KingSweden]

May 2027: Some major movement on the Presidential race in the first, chaotic week of May. Governor Seth Moulton announces on May Day that he will run for President in front of an excited young crowd on the Boston Common, with the State House's golden dome as a backdrop. He lays down a surprisingly progressive marker in his remarks. Less than twenty-four hours later, at an event at Texas Christian University, former Senator and head of the Conservative Action Network Ted Cruz announces that he will challenge President Brian Sandoval for the Republican nomination, and he rolls out the endorsements of several arch-conservative Representatives including freshman Kate Bauer of Georgia and veterans of the anti-establishment like Greg Habeeb of Virginia, Kevin Bryant and Bill Jackson of South Carolina, Chris McDaniel of Mississippi and Molly White of Texas. A number of prominent social conservatives, small-government activists and outside lobby groups announce their support, a surprisingly rapid coalescing of the grassroots around their putative champion against a sitting Republican President. Several Senators and Governors are awkwardly put on the spot in having to reiterate their support for President Sandoval, and Senate Minority Leader Marco Rubio angrily dismisses a question if any Senators will publicly back Cruz with a growl of, "Not going to happen, ever. End of story." Tom Cotton and Raul Labrador, two very different conservatives, waffle when asked if the President enjoys their continued support.

Two stunning announcements on the Democratic side follow the very next day - in the morning, as predicted, Senator Jared Polis announces that he will NOT seek the nomination for the Presidency, announcing that he will instead "campaign for the most progressive option." The bigger surprise comes later that day in Washington, where Senator Joe Kennedy announces that he will not run either. Though his non-run had been expected earlier in the year, his delays on a decisive answer and rumors of PACs and campaign staff ramping up led to speculation that he was about to enter. Some suspect that Moulton jumped into the race to cut off the path for Kennedy. Another big surprise comes days later when Florida Senator Patrick Murphy announces that he will not run for President either, coming as a big surprise from a popular, moderate Senator in a crucial state. Many expect his moderate record and credentials would have hamstrung him in a primary. A surprise entry emerges at the very end of the week, when former Minnesota Governor Lori Swanson announces that she will run for President, joining an increasingly crowded field of six candidates.

Sandoval continues to delay his official entry into the race and rumors that he will not seek reelection grow louder after private meetings where he expresses continuing frustrations with his own party's inability to accept his governing style, their refusal to reckon with the results of the previous November and his rapidly deteriorating relationship with not only the grassroots but the party's donor base and Congressional leadership, most notably abrasive House Minority Leader Luke Messer, who has moved to mollify conservative rebels. By mid-month, "waiting groups" spring up for Vice President Stapleton (a wet blanket nearly nobody but Bush**tes are excited about), Treasury Secretary Paul Ryan, Senators Tom Cotton and Ben Sasse and Governor Tom Kean in case Sandoval decides to call it a career after one term. Rumblings about the President running as an independent on a unity ticket with a centrist Democrat spring up too, as Sandoval is considerably more popular than his own party.

While all this intrigue is going on, most Democratic bills continue to be vetoed by the conservative President but serve as a look into how they would govern - higher minimum wage, massive leave requirements, and national automatic voter registration.

May 2027 (continued): Europe's beleaguered EU foreign policy is stabilized thanks to wins by the Europhile Jim McMahon and the non-nationalist Emmanuel Macron. A last-minute deal is cut to avoid a Belgian referendum on EU membership - the Belgian unity government's popularity plummets. McMahon enters into negotiations with Scots leaders to end the nearly decade-long standoff that began with the Christmas Day Crisis and come to an amicable resolution on Scotland's status, with support for independence continuing to be high. The Cambodian bird flu crisis continues to massively escalate, with nearly 1,000,000 cases reported and shy of 100,000 dead, most in Cambodia. China continues to reel from the double-whammy of recession and pandemic. The first "Cambodian flu" case is reported in Europe at the end of the month. Iranian Supreme Leader Hossan Rouhani announces that Iran will no longer ban candidates from electoral lists with an eye on Parliamentary elections in 2028 and the election to succeed President Zarif in 2029. Liberals around the world celebrate Iran's slow, lurching steps towards reform.

And now, for Sports!: Bayern Munich defeats Schalke 04 and Atletico Madrid defeats Inter Milan to advance to the Champions League Final in Berlin. Barcelona FC wins their first continental title since 2016 by defeating Wolfsburg on penalties in the Europa League Final, working their way back from near-devastation following the Catalan crisis and the club's banishment from European competitions in 2022. Former player Xavi is the coach who leads them to this triumph and leads them to fourth in the La Liga table, their highest position in five years.

In domestic play - Atletico Madrid wins La Liga three points clear of Real Madrid, setting themself up for a double, while Valencia defeats Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, leading to RM manager Fabio Cannavaro's sacking. Bayern Munich wins the Bundesliga while Schalke wins the DFB-Pokal over Borussia Dortmund after placing second in league play. Two European dynasties end as Sporting CP places second in Portugal to Benfica and PSG places second in Ligue One to Monaco. Benfica earns a nice double by winning the Taca de Portugal, while Marseille wins the Coupe de France. Inter Milan's exit in the CL semis gets worse as champions AC Milan and second-place Roma pass them in Serie A on the last matchday, and Napoli wins the Coppa Italia. It is AC Milan's first Serie A championship since 2011. In the Premier League, Manchester United wins the league for the first time since 2013 six points clear of West Ham, while Liverpool earns silverware by winning the FA Cup.

[KingSweden]

New Democratic Leadership election, 2027

Ruth Ellen Brosseau defeats Pierre Ducasse on the second ballot with 52% of the vote after taking 39% on the first ballot. She will become Canada's second female prime minister, and will have slightly less than six months to make the case that she deserves to be the first female Prime Minister elected to a government in her own right. 2027 will be the first election under new riding boundaries, with 356 ridings contested now rather than 338, with eight added to Ontario, four to Quebec, and two to British Columbia and Alberta each.

In Quebec, meanwhile, the week before the national NDP election Ducasse's replacement is picked - Jean-Charles Boulavere, the son of Haitian immigrants and a Cabinet minister and close ally of Ducasse. He will be the first black Premier in Canadian history. At a young 33 first elected seven years earlier in the Orange Crush of 2020, Boulavere could have a bright future in national politics.

[KingSweden]

Congressional Profile - Raylynn McDermott (R-OK)

Perhaps no young freshman is more of a throwback to an older era of Republican politics than Raylynn McDermott, who celebrated her 33rd birthday on June 1st. McDermott was elected in November to Oklahoma's 1st District and in the time since her election has quickly established herself as Congress' staunchest, most vocal social conservative.

"She parties like it's 2005," former Governor and current HUD Secretary Mick Cornett snorted from his office in DC. Cornett, a consummate moderate with deep ties to Oklahoma's political establishment. "I mean, have you listened to her speak?"

Oklahoma is possibly America's most conservative state, a mix of old-guard social conservatives, rural populists and energy-firm employees. Oklahoma's 1st district is anchored by Tulsa, a city with blood-red suburbs and an increasingly Democratic main city, and surrounded by some of the most conservative territory in the United States. It is an area where oil and gas are still king, where a family of five can survive on a single income and churches and crosses dot the mostly white and staunchly Republican suburbs.

For years, this area was the territory of John Sullivan, a noted conservative beaten in 2012 at the height of the Tea Party's backlash against the establishment by Jim Bridenstine, an even more ardently right-wing candidate. After Bridenstine's ill-fated gubernatorial run in 2018, though, the 1st became the domain of David Brumbaugh, a celebrated conservative legislator who quickly rose up the ranks in the US House, enjoying an accelerated rise into leadership before breaking a three-term pledge and running for a fourth term as candidate Brian Sandoval's point man in the House.

Brumbaugh retired in 2026 after a grassroots revolt and signs he couldn't win a primary. Two more establishment-friendly Republicans split up the vote in their primary, allowing Raylynn McDermott to slip through with just barely 50% of the vote.

For those unfamiliar with McDermott, she seems to be a throwback to a simpler time, a time when social conservatives believed themselves to be on the ascendancy in American politics. The daughter of a pastor, McDermott - born Raylynn Derry - attended Oklahoma City University and nearly went into seminary herself, before being inspired her senior year in college by the 2016 Ted Cruz campaign. She volunteered for Cruz's campaign throughout the country and then became part of his operation in his ugly 2018 reelection match.

On the campaign trail with Cruz in 2018, she met Mike McDermott, also the son of a pastor and a former Marine three years her senior. They were married within months and now have six children together, with a seventh due later this year.

"God wants us to have as many children to go share his word as possible," McDermott explains. "It's our duty." Earlier this year, a recording emerged where McDermott seemed to imply that it was the duty of conservatives to outbreed liberals, angering many other Republicans.

That seems to be her style - angering other Republicans and delighting a small and shrinking sliver of the evangelical movement. Most evangelicals her age, while certainly of deep faith, have largely abandoned the confrontational and fiery rhetoric of their parents. It was a big deal that US Rep. Kyle Agnew of Tennessee, 31, effectively endorsed gay marriage on the campaign trail last year, and many young evangelical activists are more focused on preventing abortions by preventing unwanted pregnancies than closing abortion clinics. Though the passion of the movement has not subsided, its focus has shifted.

Not for McDermott. She has called out other social conservatives who have taken a softer tone on issues as "sellouts." During her campaign last year she suggested that only property owners be allowed to vote, and then went on to encourage pastors who preach politics and have their nonprofit status threatened take up arms. At a speech at Liberty University this year, McDermott thundered, "It is time to finally take this country back for Christ!"

This kind of rhetoric makes her colleagues cringe. Though nobody wanted to go on record criticizing a fellow Congressman, especially with Republicans deep in the minority, one senior Republican muttered, "She's like every ugly caricature of conservative Christians that the left has ever cooked up." A Catholic Republican added, "This is narrow, non-inclusive talk. She's not helping us grow the party."

McDermott eagerly endorsed Ted Cruz a few days after he announced he was challenging President Sandoval, and his campaign manager, Joe Schaefer, managed her own march to the House. All are signs that the Christian right, once thought a dying breed, is alive and well, though many emphasize that McDermott is an outlier.

"You don't find many people under the age of forty with her views," a senior GOP aide cautioned. "Hell, you don't find many people under fifty with her views. Even some of the more conservative Representatives who wear their religion on their sleeve pretty openly, some of these guys from down south, think she's a kook."

It may not be limited to them, either. A spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Convention said off the record that, "Mrs. McDermott is not being helpful, in our view." It remains to be seen how long she sticks around as a darling of an older, confrontational brand of evangelical politics - the RNCC is rumored to be seeking a primary challenger from Tulsa's business community for next year.

[KingSweden]

What does everyone think of the new-ish format, with the more longform style articles? Keep them or dump them?

[Mike Thick]

What does everyone think of the new-ish format, with the more longform style articles? Keep them or dump them?

I like them, as long as it doesn't slow the progress of the TL too much (and it hasn't so far).

[This account no longer in use.]

What does everyone think of the new-ish format, with the more longform style articles? Keep them or dump them?

I'm a fan of them.

[KingSweden]

Summer Soccer Preview

Copa America

The most prestigious of the three tournaments this June/July, South America's great powers (and a few North American ones) will face off in Uruguay in what serves essentially as a dress rehearsal for its co-hosting duties with Argentina in three years. The strong favorite is reigning Copa holder Uruguay, sporting a stout defense and headlined by José Morales and Géronimo, two of the best players in the world. On home turf - where Uruguay is virtually impossible to beat - they will be strong favorites to win their record 17th win in the tournament.

The two sides most likely to deny them this honor are Argentina and Brazil. The Albiceleste are transitioning from an older guard of players into a younger, more dynamic side with players like AC Milan's superstar Sasha, Miguel Estrada, Tomas Rubio and Diego Fajardo. Key to Hernan Crespo's side - which has gone undefeated in all friendlies since their exit from the World Cup last year and his appointment as manager - will be gelling. The expectation is a run to the final to help this deep but raw squad build confidence and experience before the Confederations Cup on home soil in 2029 and a World Cup they will co-host a summer later. Brazil, meanwhile, is still smarting from crucial calls against them in the '23 final and are seeking revenge. This will, however, be their first competition since 2011 not featuring all-time scoring leader and emotional catalyst Neymar, who was left off of the squad to great controversy. In his place are gritty veteran Malcolm and Real Madrid mega-star Tabi, who led La Liga in scoring this year despite the club's struggles. Brazil has a history of performing poorly in Uruguay in recent yeas, though, and José Morales has never lost to Brazil since his coming-out party a decade ago in Russia.

Both Chile and Colombia are transitioning from older generations of players and are likely seeking to build experience for the World Cup qualifiers, while Mexico and USA are unlikely to field top-strength sides with an eye on the Gold Cup, choosing instead to give some of the players left off of the U-20 World Cup sides some playing experience.

FIFA Women's World Cup

England plays host to the women's sides of the world this summer in a clear trial run for their 2034 World Cup hosting duties. Despite having never advanced past the semifinal stage, England is expected to field one of their best sides ever, and the country is expected to rally between them.

Reigning champions Japan and the preceding champion, France, would be easy favorites were it not for the stunning display of the young, raw United States, which under the eye of manager Carli Lloyd have not lost since March of 2026. The USWNT has been outscoring opponents over the last year nearly 4-1, and sport a "Big Four" of rising young stars in Kate Maravice, Kelly Hunter, Tasha DiMeo, and Brie Burrows, all under the age of 24. Also in the mix will be perennial power Germany, trying to make it back to the final after their embarrassing meltdown in the 2019 final in France and a heartbreaking penalty-kick exit to the USA four years ago. Scoring will run rampant with a generation of defensive talent leaving the bigger powers on the way to July's final at Wembley.

CONCACAF Gold Cup

Canada hosts the Gold Cup, the redheaded stepchild of world tournaments, this summer as North America's footballing powers descend on the Great North for the second cup in a row. The Maple Leafs had a breakthrough in nearly winning on penalty kicks on home soil two years ago, losing narrowly to Panama in Vancouver. A win by anyone other than the United States sets up a playoff for the Confederations Cup - with the USMNT already qualified thanks to their improbable Cinderella run to a World Cup last summer. Canada believes that they can make one last run with longtime veteran Cyle Larin at a cup, but Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico all figure to sport strong sides.

Mexico, in particular, will want to build on their triumphant third-place finish in the United States last summer. "Los Tres Pedros" form the best attack in the Gold Cup and anything shy of a title will be a failure for El Tri. Along with veteran Panama, they enter as co-favorites. The United States would be at the top of the list were it not for many of their major veteran players from the World Cup retiring from the international game on top, leaving manager Diego Simeone to experiment and plug-and-play with a young group.

[KingSweden]

BREAKING NEWS: President Brian Sandoval Will NOT Seek Reelection

The White House announces an Oval Office address for Thursday, June 3, 2027 at 8 pm ET, with the topic a secret. Leaks emerge during the day that Sandoval will announce his intention to serve out the rest of his term and not seek reelection to a second, and speculation swirls until the broadcast. Looking sad but at peace, President Sandoval looks straight into the camera from the Resolute Desk:

"My fellow Americans... Two and a half years ago, you graced me with the tremendous honor of a vote of confidence in my ability to serve as your President. In the time since my inauguration, I have never once wavered in my knowledge that I have the capabilities to live up to the trust you put in me to be the Commander in Chief. Being elected President was the greatest day of my entire life, the highest honor a man can achieve in this great country.

Since my inauguration, America has struggled. I have seen it, my administration has seen it, and of course you have seen it. Around the world is chaos, and at home we suffer from too few jobs, too high of prices, and too slow of growth. I have proposed solutions, some of which I believe have worked, others have not. We have been challenged by political violence, by terrorism against the foundations of our economy, and by extreme weather as our planet continues to heat up.

I do not shy from these challenges. I intend, as your President, to continue to take them on every day with all of my energy and commit myself to defending this country from the burning world around us and the poisonous discourse at home. But I have come to the reluctant realization that to rebuild and repair this great nation, to make her whole once more, to make her the America of my childhood and my children's childhood, that I must devote even more of my time, my focus, and my soul to this great project. What we have done is not enough. We require more.

Last fall, my colleagues in the United States Congress faced a referendum on their leadership and they failed badly. I took and continue to take the results of this election seriously, and it has indicated two things to me. The first is that whatever we did in the first two years of my Presidency did not work and cannot continue to work. I said that in my post-election remarks, and I will say it again: a new solution must be presented. Unfortunately, leaders from both parties in Congress have not presented these solutions as of yet, but I am confident that working closely with them, we will.

The second thing I discovered is that my vision for the direction of the Republican Party - a party based on sound governance, on reforming decaying and bloated institutions alike, of unifying the country behind an ideal of prudence, optimism and commonly held values - is not a vision that many others in my party share. Travelling this country and listening to campaigns and rhetoric, I hear instead an understandable fear, but a fear morphed into anger, into vindictiveness, into a refusal to adapt to the realities of the Twenties. I believe, and continue to believe, that I have the abilities to lead this country and raise it from our current travails. But I do not believe, at this time, that a reelection campaign towards which I would need to focus a tremendous amount of energy, and a reelection campaign around which I would need to build all my policy solutions, would be a successful endeavor. I have been a Republican my entire life, and will continue to be one - but I do not see my party, at this time, being in a place where it will unanimously support my candidacy. And make no mistake, in these trying times, a President needs all of the support he can get.

It is for that reason that I announce today that I will not seek reelection to the Presidency. I will not seek the nomination of my party, nor will I accept it if offered. I will devote all of my energy for the rest of my term to governance, and in doing so become perhaps the first American President in ages not to take shortcuts in his first term with an eye on reelection. I am at peace and happy with my realization that my legacy will, God willing, be that I put the country first. I hope and pray that I will continue to have your support, your prayers, and your confidence, the same confidence you bestowed in me with your vote that long November night two and a half years ago.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

The GOP probably lost its only good chance at keeping the White House.

[Mike Thick]

RIP Republicans, FF

Seriously -- let's get to rebuilding. Eric Greitens 2032/2036!

[Horsemask]

RIP. Deserved a better fate.

In light of today's news, what does the Supreme Court look like currently?

[KingSweden]

RIP. Deserved a better fate.

In light of today's news, what does the Supreme Court look like currently?

Great question! I had Scalia retire in 2023 (though it creeps me out that I wrote him dying like right before he did in OTL). Here's the current court and the Presidents who appointed them:

Chief Justice John Roberts (app. 2005 by George W. Bush)
Justice Sonia Sotomayor (app. 2009 by Barack Obama)
Justice Elena Kagan (app. 2010 by Barack Obama)
Justice Kamala Harris (app. 2017 by Hillary Clinton, replaced Ginsburg)
Justice Sri Srinivasan (app. 2017 by Hillary Clinton, replaced Breyer)
Justice Michelle Friedland (app. 2022 by Martin Heinrich, replaced Kennedy)
Justice Douglas Costa (app. 2023 by Martin Heinrich, replaced Scalia)
Justice Paul Clement (app. 2025 by Brian Sandoval, replaced Thomas)
Justice Erin Murphy (app. 2025 by Brian Sandoval, replaced Alito)

[KingSweden]

It's always interesting to go back and see how I did against reality (with sports, usually badly. With politics, sometimes okay. Reagan dying recently creeped me out, I'll admit, since I had her passing around the same time).

One of my bigger flops, thanks to Tuesday's primary results, is now known as "Congresswoman Anita Alvarez (D-IL)". Yeahhh, that's not happening whoops. I try not to retroactively change things, but maybe she can retire in 2028.

[bagelman]

RIP. Deserved a better fate.

In light of today's news, what does the Supreme Court look like currently?

Great question! I had Scalia retire in 2023 (though it creeps me out that I wrote him dying like right before he did in OTL). Here's the current court and the Presidents who appointed them:

Chief Justice John Roberts (app. 2005 by George W. Bush)
Justice Sonia Sotomayor (app. 2009 by Barack Obama)
Justice Elena Kagan (app. 2010 by Barack Obama)
Justice Kamala Harris (app. 2017 by Hillary Clinton, replaced Ginsburg)
Justice Sri Srinivasan (app. 2017 by Hillary Clinton, replaced Breyer)
Justice Michelle Friedland (app. 2022 by Martin Heinrich, replaced Kennedy)
Justice Douglas Costa (app. 2023 by Martin Heinrich, replaced Scalia)
Justice Paul Clement (app. 2025 by Brian Sandoval, replaced Thomas)
Justice Erin Murphy (app. 2025 by Brian Sandoval, replaced Alito)

Any of these come from schools besides Harvard and Yale?

[rpryor03]

RIP. Deserved a better fate.

In light of today's news, what does the Supreme Court look like currently?

Great question! I had Scalia retire in 2023 (though it creeps me out that I wrote him dying like right before he did in OTL). Here's the current court and the Presidents who appointed them:

Chief Justice John Roberts (app. 2005 by George W. Bush)
Justice Sonia Sotomayor (app. 2009 by Barack Obama)
Justice Elena Kagan (app. 2010 by Barack Obama)
Justice Kamala Harris (app. 2017 by Hillary Clinton, replaced Ginsburg)
Justice Sri Srinivasan (app. 2017 by Hillary Clinton, replaced Breyer)
Justice Michelle Friedland (app. 2022 by Martin Heinrich, replaced Kennedy)
Justice Douglas Costa (app. 2023 by Martin Heinrich, replaced Scalia)
Justice Paul Clement (app. 2025 by Brian Sandoval, replaced Thomas)
Justice Erin Murphy (app. 2025 by Brian Sandoval, replaced Alito)

Any of these come from schools besides Harvard and Yale?

Harris - UCal
Srinivasan  -  Stanford
Friedland - Stanford
Clement - Yale

[KingSweden]

RIP. Deserved a better fate.

In light of today's news, what does the Supreme Court look like currently?

Great question! I had Scalia retire in 2023 (though it creeps me out that I wrote him dying like right before he did in OTL). Here's the current court and the Presidents who appointed them:

Chief Justice John Roberts (app. 2005 by George W. Bush)
Justice Sonia Sotomayor (app. 2009 by Barack Obama)
Justice Elena Kagan (app. 2010 by Barack Obama)
Justice Kamala Harris (app. 2017 by Hillary Clinton, replaced Ginsburg)
Justice Sri Srinivasan (app. 2017 by Hillary Clinton, replaced Breyer)
Justice Michelle Friedland (app. 2022 by Martin Heinrich, replaced Kennedy)
Justice Douglas Costa (app. 2023 by Martin Heinrich, replaced Scalia)
Justice Paul Clement (app. 2025 by Brian Sandoval, replaced Thomas)
Justice Erin Murphy (app. 2025 by Brian Sandoval, replaced Alito)

Any of these come from schools besides Harvard and Yale?

Harris - UCal
Srinivasan  -  Stanford
Friedland - Stanford
Clement - Yale

And who knows where Erin Murphy went (name off of Wikipedia). I didn't even think about the Yale/Harvard cabal, good insight

[This account no longer in use.]

If you're talking about Murphy from the MN house, then she went to UW Oshkosh and St. Catherine's.

[KingSweden]

If you're talking about Murphy from the MN house, then she went to UW Oshkosh and St. Catherine's.

No, this Erin Murphy was a clerk for Roberts in 2006 or so. I needed a potential conservative jurist under 50 for Sandoval to pick and, well... Slim pickin's