Fictional election series (main thread)

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Background pre-2008:

In 1992, George HW Bush overcame a challenge from southern Governor Bill Clinton and businessman Ross Perot to be narrowly re-elected. In 1996, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, running with former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp was elected over Former Governor Mario Cuomo and his running mate House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt. Then in 2000, came the shock of a lifetime.

The Democratic frontrunner that year was Senator John Hoynes of Texas. Every poll showed him leading; some by nearly 50 points over his challengers. Only Senator William Wiley of Washington, running to Hoynes' left, seemed willing to take him on. That was, until (courtesy of prodding from former Deputy Labor Secretary Leo McGarry) former New Hampshire Governor Josiah "Jed" Bartlet decided to run. By the time the smoke cleared, Bartlet was the nominee, with Hoynes his running mate. In the subsequent General Election, Dole and Kemp were defeated by Bartlet and Hoynes.

In 2004, Bartlet was facing a tough re-election campaign against Florida Governor Robert Ritchie. When it was revealed he had multiple sclerosis, something he had hidden in 2000, many expected him to resign. However, Bartlet didn't, announcing his re-election bid in 2003. After Ritchie fumbled badly in the debates, Bartlet was re-elected in a "lonely landslide" as he lost control of the Senate and was pushed further down in the House, as Republicans there had been able to distance themselves from the lackluster Ritchie.

Bartlet has faced a controversial second term. By now, Hoynes hs resigned due to a sex scandal, leaving his replacement to be Bob Russell of Colorado. Despite his status as Vice President, Russell was selected by the Senate due to his perceived inability to win a General Election, as such, he faces several primary challengers from both the left and center. Even if he were to win, he'd have to overcome a charge by the Republicans.

List of Presidents since 2001

Josiah Bartlet (D-NH): 2001-2009

Francis Underwood (D-SC): 2009-Present

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Presidential Portraits:

Josiah Bartlet, 2001-2009

Francis Underwood, 2009-2013

Donald Blythe, 2013-Present

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The Election of 2008

2008 threw up many surprises. Francis Underwood, the House Minority Whip, defeated all challengers in the primary, even Vice President Russell, to become the nominee. Needing to appeal to the liberal crowd, he nominated Senator David Palmer of Maryland as his running mate. Senator Arnold Vinick emerged as the easy winner of the Republican primary, nominating Speaker of the House Glenn Allen Walken for Vice President.

The debates proved to be extremely vital. Vinick easily won the first; Underwood was unprepared for his aggressive style. Palmer's victory in the VP debate turned the tables, and Underwood kept hammering in Palmer's points in the remaining debates. When the so-called "Vinick Nuclear Plant" experienced a major emergency, the California Republican all but knew his campaign was done. The final result was 324 Electoral Votes for Underwood/Palmer and 214 Electoral Votes for Vinick/Walken.

Underwood was now assured of the Presidency at least until 2012.

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The Presidency of Francis Underwood

Underwood's Presidency was relatively uncontroversial to begin with; the former House Minority Whip naming his former challenger, Congressman Santos, as Secretary of Labor. In the first two years, rank stayed rather quiet. Then, just before the midterms, all hell broke loose.

A centrepiece of Underwood's campaign was his economic populism. He had vowed not to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or other entitlement programs. His flagship legislation was designed to create millions of new jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector. However, by the time of the midterms, Republicans began using this against the President, and to great effect. They began to convince Americans that Underwood's jobs program would be unsuitable to the nation; and that many of the jobs would only be temporary.

After a defeat for the Democrats in the midterms, Underwood began retooling his jobs bill. Dubbed "America Works", the bill called for severe cuts or even outright elimination of many welfare programs to fund it. While this sounded like an okay idea to many fiscal conservatives, Labor Secretary Matt Santos broke ranks with the cabinet, openly stating that Underwood's bill would cost more than he could take from entitlements even if he eliminated them all. Suddenly, the President found himself vulnerable; his approval ratings plummeting. And with the possibility of losing re-election.

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The Election of 2012

If anything, 2012 was even more shocking than 2008. Underwood looked for certain to be nominated even with the challenge from noted progressive Donald Blythe. For some time, Underwood held the lead in the polls. Then Blythe started gaining. Underwood agreed to debate Blythe, but this backfired when Blythe smashed him over the issue of America Works. This, combined with his left-wing message of raising the minimum wage, expanding Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; debt-free education and getting corporate money out of politics resonated enough to win him the nomination against the incumbent, something even Reagan and Kennedy had done. Mendoza meanwhile, was able to successfully unite Republicans around his candidacy, after nominating McAvoy for VP.

The wildcard was Raymond Tusk. Running with Secretary Tom Kirkman as an independent, he wasble to articulate a message of Blue Dog-esque populism while attacking America Works. However, it was Blythe who would win in the end, becoming the second Granite Stater to win the White House in three elections. Blythe then turned around and made a series of stunning cabinet nominations. He picked former Republican nominee Arnold Vinick for Secretary of State, his opponent Will McAvoy for Attorney-General and Kirkman to retain his position at HUD, while he offered Tusk the Treasury. Tusk declined.