The National Weekly Atlasian

[SPC]

Split in RPP over Bimetalism
by South Park Conservative

   After Senator PiT proposed a bill that would put Atlasia back on the gold standard, a few members of the Regional Protection Party, consisting of Vice-President Meeker and disgraced former Governor Constine, have split off from the Regional Protection Party and formed the Silver Regional Protection Party, which advocates bimetalism. No word on whether this is a termporary change, as I suspect, or a permanent one.

[SPC]

How are you here, Xahar?

[SPC]

While everyone's favorite pointless international protocol adoptor, Jas, will be gone, newcomer SouthParkConservative looks to more than take up the slack.  The Senator-elect has come out swinging with plans to try and revoke over a dozen previous Atlasian laws passed under much more liberal senates.

Thank you for the mention. I will be sure to introduce the bills as soon as I'm sworn in, which might be a little late since I like to sleep in. Right now, I'm set to introduce 15 of my own bills, 1 of Lunar's bills, and 1 of Meeker's bills.

[SPC]

Ilikeverin Considering a Senate Bid
by South Park Conservative

   There are rumors circulating around that Midwest ilikeverin ilikeverin will seek to replace Senator Trondheim once he leaves the Senate sometime during the 29th Senate. I am slightly skeptical of the rumors, since running for Senate would force ilikeverin to leave his position as ilikeverin, a position for life.

[SPC]

Jan/Feb National Weekly Atlasian Elections Tracker
This will be updated after changing events. I have also decided to add provisional race ratings, which will also be regularly updated. I have also added analysis of the February races.

Incumbent*
Declared candidate
Speculative candidate (Note: Speculative candidates have not neccesarily stated interest in the position, but this paper consideres to be likely candidates.)
PARTY HOLD PARTY TAKEOVER PROJECTED WINNER

January
Mideast

Governor (TOSSUP-->RPP TAKEOVER)
Governor Afleitch*
Speaker Inks.LWC

Lt. Governor (TOSSUP-->NLC TAKEOVER)
None of the Above*
Governor Afleitch
Speaker Inks.LWC

February

President/Vice-President (LEAN JCP/RPP HOLD-->TOSSUP-->JCP/RPP HOLD)
President Bgwah*/Vice-President Meeker*
Senator AndrewCT/Fmr. Gov., Fmr. Sen., Fmr. Pres. Afleitch
Senator DWTL/North Carolina Yankee (write-in)
Senator Ilikeverin/Fmr. Sen. Lewis Trondheim (write-in)

1/19/09: Assuming that Bgwah runs for re-election, AndrewCT is the best candidate to make this race competitive, and he seems likely to run. Bgwah will still have the edge unless he retires, though.
1/26/09: AndrewCT's strong performance in the NWA straw poll shows that the presidential election may be more competitive than expected. Assuming Andrew runs, this is a tossup.
1/30/09: It seems that I should revise this so that it is a tossup if anyone runs, which appears to be a stretch at this point. EDIT: AndrewCT just declared, so this should be quite a race.

Senator

Pacific (STRONG IND HOLD-->LEAN JCP PICKUP-->JCP PICKUP)
OPEN SEAT (Torie retiring)
Realistic Idealist
Maxque

1/19/09: This could only be competitive in the unlikely event that the JCP challenges Torie, and even if that happened, I don't see who they could run.
1/30/09: Given Torie's unexpected retirement, I would expect this to be a JCP pickup. Governor Cultureking may wish to return to the Senate, or Lt. Governor Alcon may wish to run. The SDP will probably run a candidate here as well, though I expect similar results to December's elections.

Midwest (TOSSUP-->STRONG H,etc. HOLD)
OPEN SEAT (Ilikeverin running for president)
Fmr. Lt. Gov. Dead0man (write-in)
Fmr. Sen. Masterjedi (write-in)
Judge TCash (write-in)
Governor GMantis (write-in)

1/19/09: Given Ilikeverin's popularity, he will probably win a term in his own right. As PiT said, he might even be Senator for another two years.

Mideast (LEAN DA HOLD-->STRONG DA HOLD-->DA HOLD)
Senator HappyWarrior*

1/19/09: While this should be competitive, Happy has the edge for several reasons, mainly for his potential opponent's disinterest in running.

Southeast (STRONG RPP HOLD-->RPP HOLD)
Senator PiT*
Cosmo Kramer (write-in)

1/19/09: Even if this weren't dominated by the RPP, I don't see who could be a credible challenger to PiT.

Northeast (LEAN NLC HOLD-->LEAN DA HOLD--> TOSSUP-->LEAN RPP PICKUP)
OPEN SEAT (AndrewCT retiring)
Lt. Governor Smid (write-in)
Eraserhead (write-in)


1/19/09: Since Andrew will most likely run for President, this is probably going to be the most competitive seat in the election. Rising RPP moderate Smid looks like a good candidate, though he might not want the position. Additionally, Fmr. President Mr. Moderate may be interested in returning to public office.
1/21/09: Andrew has confirmed his retirement, and Smid has confirmed that he is interested in replacing him. However, I will keep this as a tossup until he officially enters the race.

Southeast

Governor (STRONG RPP HOLD-->RPP HOLD)
Governor AHDuke*

Lt. Governor (STRONG RPP HOLD-->RPP HOLD)
Lt. Governor Dan Adams*

1/19/09: It took an inactive incumbent and a secession controversy for the RPP to lose here. These are both safe RPP unless Duke or Dan Adams disappear.

Northeast

Governor (LEAN DA HOLD-->TOSSUP-->LEAN DA HOLD-->TOSSUP)
OPEN SEAT (Conor Flynn retiring)
Senator AndrewCT (write-in)

1/19/09: There have been rumors that Conor Flynn may have been involved with Xahar's hacking, but so far nothing has happened. Unless something further happens with that, Conor Flynn should be favored.
1/20/09: Governor Flynn has announced his retirement, meaning that Smid would probably be the frontrunner to replace him. Other candidates that I cannot recall at the moment may run, but this may mean that Smid has his pick of either the Governor's Mansion or the Senate seat.
1/21/09: Senator AndrewCT has announced he will be running, and the would-be frontrunner for this position is more interested in the senate seat.
1/30/09: Senator AndrewCT announced he was running for president, so this is once again a tossup until somebody runs.

Lt. Governor (LEAN RPP HOLD-->TOSSUP)
Lt. Governor Smid* (write-in)

1/19/09: While Smid would be favored to win if he runs for re-election, this could get competitive if he runs for the Senate seat instead.

Projection for the New Senate
Lief (SDP)
BaconKing (JCP)
DWTL (RPP)
SPC (RPP)
RealisticIdealist (JCP)
PiT (RPP)
Happywarrior (DA)
Smid (RPP)
Undetermined (RPP/SDP)
Vacant

Total: 4/5 RPP, 2 JCP, 1/2 SDP, 1 DA, 1 Vacancy
Previous Senate: 3 RPP, 1 JCP, 2 SDP, 2 DA, 1 HTUP, 1 I
Net Gain/Loss: +1/2 RPP, +1 JCP, -0/1 SDP, -1 DA, -1 HTUP, -1 I

[SPC]

Please use the correct titles of the Midwestern office holders!

Any comment on Presidential speculation?

[SPC]

Please use the correct titles of the Midwestern office holders!

Any comment on Presidential speculation?

The speculation is unfounded.

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[SPC]

I'll probably be starting up the ''kingofthebenchpress for President" write-in campaign soon.

Technically speaking, he has declared his candidacy prior to being banned. If someone, perhaps yourself, would be willing to stand in as his running mate, we could have a case to get him on the ballot.

[SPC]

Article II, Section I, Clause 2 says this:

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However, as the Voter Roll on page 1 of the Department of Forum Affairs could tell you, King of the Bench Press is most definitely a registered voter, despite having been banned. I will have to look into more Atlasian law, though.

[SPC]

The Consolidated Electoral SYstem Reform Act, Section 8, Clauses 2 and 3 state:

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KoTBP has already ascended as the Presidential candidate in the Candidate Declaration Thread. If someone were to declare themselves to be his running mate, then I don't see why he couldn't be on the ballot.

[SPC]

Well, since he has been removed from the voting roll and his original post deleted, I guess he cannot be considered a valid candidate.

[SPC]

Vacancy in Midwest Senate Seat
by South Park Conservative

   As expected, former PPT Senator Lewis Trondheim resigned today, leaving the Midwest Senate seat vacant. The responsibility for filling this vacancy rests with Midwest ilikeverin ilikeverin, a possible candidate for the seat in February. Aside from himself, other possible appointments include ican'tbelieveit'snotverin GMantis, former ican'tbelieveit'snotverin dead0man, and former justice TCash.

[SPC]

Vacancy in Midwest Senate Seat
by South Park Conservative

   As expected, former PPT Senator Lewis Trondheim resigned today, leaving the Midwest Senate seat vacant. The responsibility for filling this vacancy rests with Midwest ilikeverin ilikeverin, a possible candidate for the seat in February. Aside from himself, possible appointments include ican'tbelieveit'snotilikeverin GMantis, former ican'tbelieveit'snotilikeverin dead0man, and former justice TCash.

Why did he resign, and why was it expected?  Did I miss something?

At the end of the last senate, Lewis announced that he would be stepping down at PPT and would probably resign before the end of the new senate, "possibly as early as next week".

[SPC]

pbrunsel for senate?

As much as I would like for him to be appointed, he doesn't strike me as very active. I could be wrong, though.

[SPC]

Vacancy in Midwest Senate Seat
by South Park Conservative

   As expected, former PPT Senator Lewis Trondheim resigned today, leaving the Midwest Senate seat vacant. The responsibility for filling this vacancy rests with Midwest ilikeverin ilikeverin, a possible candidate for the seat in February. Aside from himself, possible appointments include ican'tbelieveit'snotilikeverin GMantis, former ican'tbelieveit'snotilikeverin dead0man, and former justice TCash.

Why did he resign, and why was it expected?  Did I miss something?

At the end of the last senate, Lewis announced that he would be stepping down at PPT and would probably resign before the end of the new senate, "possibly as early as next week".

What was the reason though?

Why not?

[SPC]

Ilikeverin Appoints Self Senator, Ends Ilikeverinship
by South Park Conservative

   Now-former ilikeverin ilikeverin appointed himself to Lewis Trondheim's vacant senate seat today, as Lewis Trondheim wished. This appointment now puts ilikeverin's over two years as ilikeverin to an end, as now-former ican'tbelieveit'snotverin GMantis ascends to the ilikeverinship. Former Senator Trondheim has declared his candidacy for the ican'tbelieveit'snotverinship. Ilikeverin should be a safe bet for re-election in February should he seek it.

[SPC]

     Maybe ilikeverin will hold the Senate seat for two years like he did with the ilikeverinship.

Most likely that is the case. I believe Trondheim held the seat for a year and a half.

[SPC]

President Bgwah Holds 59% Approval
by South Park Conservative

   In a poll commisioned by the National Weekly Atlasian, it would found that nearly 59% of Atlasians approve of his job performance, with 41% disapproving. 35% thought his performance was excellent, 23% thought it was good, 18% thought it was fair, and 23% thought it was poor. The poll also found that if President Bgwah were to run for re-election, 59% would vote for him, and 41% would not vote for him.

[SPC]

Regional PVI Scores Out
by South Park Conservative

   The National Weekly Atlasian has decided to make Partisan Voting Index Scores for each region. Our methodology was to take everyone who cast a valid vote in the last election, look up their partisan registration, take the plurality party in each region, and compare that to national partisanship. Since Atlasia is a multipartisan country, we could not take simple margins of victory and compare them, but we had to compare them to everyone who isn't a member of that party. For example, in the Southeast, we took the margin of RPPers to non-RPPers, took the national margin of RPPers to non-RPPers, and subtracted the difference. Here are the scores:

Mideast: Regional Protection Party +15.2
Midwest: Social Democratic Party +32.7
Northeast: National Liberal Coalition +39.8
Pacific: Jesus Christ Party +54.6
Southeast: Regional Protection Party +88.2

Hopefully, the National Weekly Atlasian will do this on a bi-monthly basis.

[SPC]

     The NLC is still the biggest party in the Northeast? Wonder how long that'll last.

At least among those who voted in the December election. Also, interesting to note is that the Southeast is the only region where any party has a majority of voters.

[SPC]

Glad to see the Mideast on the side of the RPP

Not at all.  Plus I don't see how any party has a score over the single digits in the region. We from my view are an extremely non partisan region.

There were 13 voters from the Mideast in the last election, and out of them 5 were RPPers. Nationally, there were 17 RPPers out of 55 voters, and if one does the math that leads to the 15.2% figure, which is kind of misleading. Even so, the Mideast still is the closest region to the national average.

[SPC]

BREAKING NEWS: With 5.6% of votes reporting, the Mideast Gubernatorial Race is too close to call.

[SPC]

BREAKING NEWS: With 39% of votes in, the National Weekly Atlasian is projecting that Speaker Inks.LWC will win the Mideast Governorship.

[SPC]

Inks wins...for now
by South Park Conservative

   Former governor Inks.LWC reclaimed the governorship this weekend in a close election, defeating current governor Afleitch. Perhaps the greatest irony of the election was that afleitch opened the voting booth incorrectly, one of the inconveniences that Inks campaigned against. However, while Inks.LWC has been certified, there is still doubt over his election. Former defense attorney in Atlasia vs. Constine Peter has filed suit in Mideast court against Governor Afleitch for the counting of Ben Constine's vote, despite having cast it before his sentence. In the event that it succeeds, the Mideast procedure for ties would have to be implemented.

EDIT: It would seem that the Xaharist Mideast Constitution has no procudure for ties. However, since no one would have obtained a majority, a special election would have to be held for the vacant governorship, as described in the Constitution:

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Since the vacancy would occur on Friday, if Peter's case suceeds, then a potential special election would occur on the next weekend. In that event, Afleitch would be the acting governor, since he will be the Lt. Governor.

[SPC]

Second National Weekly Atlasian Presidential Straw Poll to be held next week
by South Park Conservative

   The National Weekly Atlasian will be holding a presidential straw poll next weekend to gauge the prospects of potential candidates. If you are considering a run, please say so here so that your name will be included in the straw poll.

As of now, the ballot will look like this:
[  ] Senator AndrewCT
[  ] Write-in:________