Pomp and Circumstance

[alancia]

Pelosi's Fate

"We can't let this violation of the American people's will go unpunished. We will not confirm anyone. Never." - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a private meeting, August 2019

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

President Pelosi, in a press conference a week after being inaugurated, September 2019.

As mentioned before, Pelosi's ascend was a great shake-up of American politics. The Republican Party now found itself in the opposition; and the Democrats were now the party in power, holding the Presidency and the House of Representatives. Once in power, President Pelosi began crafting an ambitious agenda to present to the nation. Holding the 2018 Midterm results - which overall saw Democratic gains - as a mandate, Pelosi enacted several measures in her first days.

The most notable actions were the firing of Attorney General William Barr, the signing of various executive orders; including the ending of border wall funding, ending the family separation at the border, ending tariffs with China and other countries, and imposing several sanctions on Russia.

Naturally, the Republican Party exploded the moment Pelosi became President of the United States, as Republican politicians and supports alike saw one of their most disliked figures in the last years assume the most important political office in the nation. Immediately after Pelosi's inauguration, several conservative groups challenged the 1947 Presidential Succession Act - the law in effect at that time - in the courts; in an effort to hold Pelosi's Presidency as literally illegal.

In the Senate, still controlled by the GOP, the majority party Senators announced they were to block all nominees made by the new President. Denounced as obstructionists by the Democrats, Republican Senators (Most notably Cotton and Cruz) attacked the Democratic Party as 'serial impeachers' and Pelosi as a power-hungry impostor President.

This ensured the failure of almost all (More than 95%) of Pelosi's nominees. The most important these was the defeats of VP nominee Sherrod Brown, Attorney General David Ogden, Secretary of Education Vincent Matthews, and Treasury Secretary Peter Orszag.

The vacancy of these critical cabinet posts greatly weakened the Pelosi administration, which also couldn't do much in the aspect of 'getting things done' and signing bills. In less than three weeks, the new President was left to govern by Executive Order. The 'gang of four', so strong just a month ago, dissolved as Senators Collins and Sasse, which faced re-election in 2020, dared not to anger Republican supporters.

As Congress slowed to a halt, and partisan trench warfare began on Capitol Hill, the economy continued its downward trend caused by the small to medium-sized drops the Stock Market suffered every day due to the volatile political situation. The unemployment rate rose to 4.5% by the middle of October, a rate which was last seen in March 2017. Pelosi's approval ratings, which weren't that high during the last decade of her career, dropped to as low as 34%.

Due to the open war between both the Democratic and Republican parties in Congress and in the White House ( Some Trump-Pence holdouts remained in the Cabinet, due to the Senate wall), a new protest movement appeared on Washington D.C and several other major American cities. Modeling themselves off the 'yellow vest' movement in France, the demonstrators (And rioters in some cases) were relatively non-partisan, as they were a reaction movement against the deadly deadlock in Washington - although they were composed of all ideologies.

The most remembered achievement of this new movement was perhaps the blocking of Brooklyn Bridge, which lasted from October 24 to October 28. Around 1016 protestors camped at the iconic New York City bridge, until they were driven away by the police at orders of Mayor DeBlasio and Governor Cuomo, leaving several injured at at least ten dead.

Growing unrest in the country and a pessimistic economic outlook left Pelosi in a bad position. Although her personal standing was very strong in the sense that she believed the mandate the 2018 Midterms had given her - her once solid reputation amongst some members of the Democratic Party was left in question.

Pelosi, in an attempt to palliate some part of the economic troubles, signed executive orders that increased spending in already existing Government institutions - any major changes needed Congressional approval, which was out of the question - and, though there was a slight recovery, the outlook still seemed bleak.

However all of this, Nancy Pelosi still seemed viable by the end of October, and with the Senate GOP realizing they won't survive blockading everything until 2020, the party seemed to be willing to compromise on some issues.

But, a new event broke with this truce. On November 1st, 2019, in Los Angeles; two young protestors named Maurice Davis and John Alexander were killed by the police after the march in the city turned violent. The event caused a new uprising in the city, and the damages inflicted rival those (Or even beat) the ones of 1992.

President Pelosi, realizing her position untenable if she didn't act quickly, called for a meeting of all major Democratic Party leaders of all states, in an attempt to finally unite everyone in the Democrats with her, with a common rival in the GOP.

However, by November 6th (Date of the meeting), a large number of Democratic politicians had distanced themselves from Pelosi - which had an average approval of 30% - and called her leadership into question. An informal vote took place in the 'convention' (Led by Speaker Ryan), and although the President had emerged with a slight majority in it, it was a mortal wound. With the situation worsening and that 'number' of Democrats against her leadership quickly becoming a majority in all likely cases, Pelosi resigned.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

On November 8th, 2019, the official inauguration of the 48th President of the United States, Charles Ernest Grassley.

Well at least you didn't kill Pelosi...

Given Grassley's age, is he going to live very long?

Or is he just going to make Pompeo VP, resign, and allow Pompeo to run as an incumbent (as I can't see Pompeo passing on a Presidential Race if he's already President)

Mind you, if Pelosi was sacking cabinet officials, Pompeo should already be out of the line of succession, unless he refused to resign.

Yes, Pompeo is one of the cabinet members Pelosi (is forced to) keep in her cabinet, as put in bold.

[morgankingsley]

Harrison's record is about to be broken now. A nearly 200 year old record for shortest time.

Is Carter still alive? Did he beat Bush's record for longest lived president?

[alancia]

Harrison's record is about to be broken now. A nearly 200 year old record for shortest time.

Is Carter still alive? Did he beat Bush's record for longest lived president?

Yes, Jimmy is still strong; he already beat H.W's record.

[alancia]

The Grassley-Pompeo Transition

"Its true, American Democracy needs perfectioning. But let's be clear, authoritarianism is not perfectioning." - House Speaker Tim Ryan, November of 2019.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

President Grassley shortly before leaving office, December 2019.

Unlike his predecessors, Chuck Grassley didn't intend to stay long as President of the United States. The 85-year-old (now) former Senator from Iowa was reportedly frustrated that the events that had befallen the country propelled him into the Presidency, especially in such troubled times.

As one of his first actions, Grassley informed the public that his administration would form would be a 'Peace Presidency', in the sense that he would only govern to 'stabilize' the country's situation. Grassley made it known to the United States that he would resign in a month 'at least', the time the President and his close allies excepted the stabilization to happen.

As a first action, President Grassley nominated several individuals to the cabinet positions that President Pelosi had left vacant. With the Senate now friendly, of course, this led to an easy confirmation process to all of the nominees. Notable mentions include Attorney General Paul Clement, Labor Secretary Scott Walker, and Treasury Secretary John Taylor.

With Grassley confirming his short stay in office, the next person in line to be President of the United States would be the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. With this, the President made it a central point to appear with Pompeo, although he didn't name a Vice-Presidential nominee for the Senate to confirm, due to Grassley personally feeling it would be pointless.

By late November of 2019, the broad anti-establishment movement that had taken a part in bringing down President Pelosi was still active through the United States, although its peak had passed. Isolated episodes of rioting still occurred, but by this date the movement had developed into the protesting of the still pessimistic economic situation and remnant resentment against partisanship, and some more ambitious splinters were plotting a 2020 move.

The most memorable protest event during the Grassley administration was the Cleveland Occupation Movement, which affected the city of Cleveland, Ohio; particulary hit hard by the downturn as most of the 'Rust Belt' states. It is estimated that around 60,000 people essentially moved into the city, camping and establishing themselves to show what had runaway partisanship done to most American cities.

Believing that the economic downturn was totally caused by the volatile political situation of the U.S, President Grassley personally believed that his 'Peace President' role would finally take out the American economy from its partial slump. For the first time since May of 2019, some limited to even medium cooperation between the two chambers of Congress happened, although partisan grievances still held out.

The economy saw a slight recovery, but it was clear that the Trump days of economic growth were likely gone to most citizens and politicians. Relative to most the previous Presidents, Grassley had a higher approval rating, which was around 44% by the time of his departure from the White House.

In early December of 2019, Grassley believed that his work as President was done. The man, which had first entered the U.S Senate in 1981, and everyone believed to be his last office after his 2016 re-election; had broken the record for the shortest stay in office for a U.S President. Beating Harrison's record of 31 days in office by five days, lasting for a grand total of 26 days in office.

Grassley made his decision to cede power to Mike Pompeo on December 4th, 2019.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

"... Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God."

It was now his time.

"Congratulations, Mr. President"

[MAINEiac4434]

So America is like a tinpot sub-saharan plutocracy in this.

I can dig it.

[Free Bird]

Kinda disappointed. You'd think Grassley would at least stay like 40 days to not have his final act of a long career in public office being beating the Harrison record LOL.

In other news, I'm now looking forward to the dumpster fire that will inevitably be the Pompeo Police State (and yes I'm very displeased that I wasn't able to find a clever PPP alliteration acronym).

[alancia]

Kinda disappointed. You'd think Grassley would at least stay like 40 days to not have his final act of a long career in public office being beating the Harrison record LOL.

In other news, I'm now looking forward to the dumpster fire that will inevitably be the Pompeo Police State (and yes I'm very displeased that I wasn't able to find a clever PPP alliteration acronym).

Its fair criticism, and I feel somewhat the same. Unfortunately I had to squeeze the dates with what I put in the intro, and I don't like editing my posts so... Still, thanks for the comment!

[Cold War Liberal]

Love this but...

Labor Secretary Scott Walker

ICK

[alancia]

Pompeo's First Two Months

"We will pursue a vision of unrelenting but fair strength both domestically and abroad. Our country has been damaged by the crisis that has occurred over the past months, and it is our mission to correct that successfully, so that America has a brighter future. Thank you." - President Pompeo, speech to Congress, December 2019.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

President Pompeo two hours after ending his first speech to Congress, December 2019.

With the inauguration of Mike Pompeo as the 49th President of the United States, the Crisis of 2019 had finally ended. By this time (December 2019), there was a broad consensus that the time of 'Presidential switches' had to come to an end, even by the most fervent partisans.

With the Vice-Presidential spot vacant, one of the first goals of the Pompeo Administration was to nominate a VP. Several names were raised, including Senators Thune, Portman and Braun; Labor Secretary Walker, and former Governor Haslam of Tennessee. Looking for a choice that would be relatively uncontroversial and appealing, the White House went through an intense four-week vetting process.

On January 1st of 2020, Mike Pompeo made his final announcement: Senator Portman, a Republican from Ohio, would be his administration's Vice-President. Portman, which represented the Buckeye State in the upper chamber since 2011, seemed an establishment choice while representaing a critical swing state ahead of 2020 - Pompeo have declaring his 2020 candidancy a week after being inaugurated.

With the new sense the cooperation Congress found itself in - rather forced by outside events - the Portman nomination went rather smoothly. After being approved by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives on January 6th, Portman was finally confirmed as the 49th Vice-President of the United States on January 14th, being inaugurated a day later. Portman would be the first VP since June of 2019, with Trump's resignation.

With the executive branch finally completed, the Pompeo Administration started to outline its main concerns for the remain of their term (Until January of 2021), which was decided to be mainly two things: Regain American confidence and stabilize the political situation. The first one would center on recovering the economy by November of 2020, and the minimization of civil unrest. The second goal would focus on stopping any attempt to bring down Pompeo, especially from the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

Pompeo, a self-described 'Tea Party Republican with Trumpist sensibilities' (January 2020 meeting) would make one of his first actions once President the signing of various Executive Orders, akin to Nancy Pelosi. Chiefly, they include the expansion of the National Council for the American Worker, meant as an workaround to enact policies against the economic downturn, re-establishment of Border Wall funding, and the construction of several new pipelines.

In late of January 2020, Mike Pompeo also signed several pro-ethanol measures in an attempt made to help his just-starting campaign in the Iowa Republican Primary; and by the 1st of February, the new Administration had mostly established itself.

Pompeo Cabinet

President of the United States: Michael R. Pompeo (2019-incumbent)

Vice-President of the United States: Rob J. Portman (2020-incumbent)

Secretary of State: Marco A. Rubio (Replaced by Lopez-Cantera in the Senate, 2019-incumbent)

Secretary of Treasury: John B. Taylor (2019-incumbent)

Secretary of Defense: James N. Mattis (2017-incumbent)

Attorney General: Paul D. Clement (2019-incumbent)

Secretary of Interior: William E. Haslam (2019-incumbent)

Secretary of Agriculture: Mary Fallin (2020-incumbent)

Secretary of Commerce: Steve Russell (2020-incumbent)

Secretary of Labor: Scott Walker (2019-incumbent)

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Seema Verma (2020-incumbent)

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Ben Carson (2017-2019, 2020-incumbent)

Secretary of Energy: Rick Perry (2017-incumbent)

Secretary of Education: Barbara Comstock (2019-incumbent)

Secretary of Veterans' Affairs: Robert J. O'Neill (2020-incumbent)

Secretary of Homeland Security: Kris Kobach (2020-incumbent)

Cabinet-level officials:

Chief of Staff: Newt Gingrich (2019-incumbent)

United States Trade Representative: Robert Lighthizer (2017-2019, 2019-incumbent)

Director of National Intelligence: Ronald Burgess (2019-incumbent)

Ambassador to the United Nations: Scott Brown (2019-incumbent)

Director of the OMB: Gary Cohn (2020-incumbent)

Director of the CIA: Scott Taylor (2019-incumbent)

Administrator of the EPA: Patrick Morrisey (2020-incumbent)

Administrator of the Small Business Administration: David Valadao (2019-incumbent)
 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, was at first considered a unlikely candidate for Chief of Staff of President Pompeo.

[Free Bird]

I love that you can tell that Pompeo was on such short notice that he just reached into a grab bag of former Secretaries and defeated Congresspeople/former officeholders to fill his cabinet LOL

[vanteran]

I may be mistaken, but wouldn’t Speaker Tim Ryan become President after Grassley’s resignation? With the Vice Presidency vacant, the Speaker is next in line, above President pro tempore of the Senate (which would be Mitch McConnell) and Secretary of State (Pompeo).

[alancia]

I may be mistaken, but wouldn’t Speaker Tim Ryan become President after Grassley’s resignation? With the Vice Presidency vacant, the Speaker is next in line, above President pro tempore of the Senate (which would be Mitch McConnell) and Secretary of State (Pompeo).

I've had this question as I was writing this TL. Since a situation like this never happened, I just assumed that people assume that Grassley/Pompeo were next in line.

[morgankingsley]

I feel like the office of the president would lose a lot of luster in most people's eyes after seeing 5 people be president at some point in 2019

[alancia]

2019 Elections and Iowa Campaigning

"We have had an explosion in American politics. What we have seen over the last months is not my country, its not America. The commanders of chaos have robbed this country out of its unity, and only faith and courage are all we need to take it back." - John Kasich, Iowa Speech, October 2019

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Louisiana Governor Bel Edwards watching the election results, November 2019

Going into late 2019, the governor races of Kentucky, Mississippi and Louisiana seemed rather possible for the Democrats. Trump - and then Pence - were unpopular Republican presidents, and with the beginning of the downturn in Pence's Presidency, the Democratic Party became excited at the prospect of picking up two more governorships.

True, both Kentucky and Mississippi were rather red states, but Democrats hoped a strong message to the voters in both states would carry their candidates to victory; and Governor Bel Edwards was popular among Louisiana residents.

But with the inauguration of President Pelosi, the tide turned against the Democrats. As the Republicans began attacking their opponents for the brunt of the economic downturn and crisis, and the lack of leadership over the protests and riots that shook the United States. The first election to come was the Louisiana blanket primary on October 12th, which gave the following results:

Governor John Bel Edwards (D): 45.6% ✓

Representative Ralph Abraham (R): 30.8% ✓

Fmr. Representative Charles Boustany (R): 12.5% 

Businessman Eddie Rispone (R): 5.3%

Other Candidates: 5.8%

Going into the general election, Ralph Abraham attacked Governor Edwards for his status as the Democrat that oversaw the economic downturn over Louisiana, much like then-President Pelosi and the United States. Edwards, on the other hand, distanced himself from Pelosi and attempted to install an independent image over his administration. The general election was held on November 16th, a week after Chuck Grassley was inaugurated as President; adding some  more fire on the campaign for both candidates. The results are as follows:

Representative Ralph Abraham (R): 50.24 % ✓ (Republican Gain)

Governor John Bel Edwards (D): 49.76% 

Following the very close election results, Bel Edwards asked for a recount of votes, which was accepted. The recount dragged on for 14 days, but in the end it still gave Abraham as the winner of the election, by a slimmer margin. Bel Edwards officially conceded to Abraham on November 30th, 2019.

The other elections did not have much of a suspense. In Kentucky and Mississippi, both Republican candidates (Governor Bevin and Lt. Gov Reeves respectly) followed Abraham's strategy, although in these states - which were governed by Republicans - the Democratic candidates also blamed the situation on the GOP management of these states. Both elections were held on November 5th, and yielded the following results:

Kentucky Gubernatorial

Governor Matt Bevin (R): 53.8 % ✓ (Republican Hold)

Attorney General Andy Beshear (D): 41.5 % 

Other Candidates: 4.7%

Mississippi Gubernatorial

Lt. Governor Tate Reeves (R): 56.9 % ✓ (Republican Hold)

Attorney General Jim Hood (D): 43.5 % 

Other Candidates: 0.6%

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Senator Ted Cruz officially endorsing President Pompeo, December 2019.

As mentioned before, the inaugurations of Grassley and then Pompeo added to the fire that were the 2020 primaries for both parties. Much like the Pelosi effect on August of 2019, the candidates from both parties reversed on their campaign tone and message. Republicans (With perhaps the exclusion of Kasich at times) began 'excusing' the situation the USA was facing, while Democrats began attacking it.

On the GOP side, the inauguration of President Pompeo brought major changes. Shortly after being inaugurated, Pompeo declared his intention to run on the 2020 Republican primaries in order to claim a full term. While Kasich and Calley both remained on the race and even criticized the new President, Senators Cotton and Cruz both endorsed Mike Pompeo; pledging their endorsements, structure and financing. This was a major boost to Pompeo's new campaign, which started to organize itself for the Iowa caucuses.

On the side of the Democratic Party, the two front-runners were still Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. Both attacked each other furiously, as the Pelosi admnistration closed and the Grassley-Pompeo transition began, which left somewhat of a bad taste for a significant portion of Democratic voters. This left room for other candidates to grow, most noticably Senator Klobuchar and Fmr. Representative O'Rourke. By the time of the Iowa caucuses, the race was too close to call for the Democratic Party.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Iowa Polling, as of the beginning of the Iowa Caucuses of 2020.

Democrats:

Joe Biden: 20%

Bernie Sanders: 17%

Amy Klobuchar: 16%

Beto O'Rourke: 16%

Elizabeth Warren: 9%

Kamala Harris: 8%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 5%

Others, Undecided: 9%

Republicans:

Mike Pompeo: 43%

John Kasich: 28%

Brian Calley: 10%

Ted Cruz: -% (Endorsed Pompeo)

Tom Cotton: -% (Endorsed Pompeo)

Undecided: 19%

[Free Bird]

Of all people, why are you having Calley run? It's funny in a weird way, but I doubt even most people in Michigan know who he is LOL.

[alancia]

2020 Iowa Caucus Results

"Thank you, thank you! We have won a great victory for ourselves, for the Republican Party, and for America! Let's show that this movement is strong and able so we can win big in November, and beyond!" - President Pompeo, Iowa Victory Speech, February 2020

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Senator Bernie Sanders speaking after the Iowa Caucus results, February 2020

Final Results

Democrats:

Amy Klobuchar: 23.6%

Bernie Sanders: 19.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 18.2%

Joe Biden: 16.2%

Elizabeth Warren: 7.5%

Kamala Harris: 5.2%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 4.1%

Fmr. Sec. Julian Castro: 2.0%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 1.3%

Fmr. Representative John Delaney: 1.0%

Others: 1.4%

Republicans:

Mike Pompeo: 55.2%

John Kasich: 38.2%

Brian Calley: 6.1%

Others: 0.5%

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Minnesota Nice wins in Iowa

Senator Klobuchar giving her Iowa Victory Speech

Much like in 2016, the results of the 2020 Iowa Democratic Causes were close and tense. After a long wait of several hours on the day of the event, Senator Klobuchar of neighbouring Minnesota was projected as winner of the caucuses. Klobuchar, initially a dark horse candidate, emerged victorious thanks to a surge of late momentum, and the damaging attacks between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders; which killed the support of both candidates. Second was Sanders himself, with third being the also surprising Beto O'Rourke of Texas, and Fmr. Vice-President Biden finished a disappointing fourth.

Kasich stumbles in Iowa

John Kasich speaking after the results of the Iowa Republican Primary

Initially, the 2020 Iowa Republican Primary was seen as the prime opportunity for more 'moderate' and establishment Republicans to reclaim the GOP from the Trump brand. The embodiment of this spirit fell upon John Kasich, the former Governor of Ohio, and frequent Trump critic - even before his resignation - that structured his campaign along endorsements from former GOP officeholders. Already down against Cotton and Cruz, the appearance of Mike Pompeo gave a brief hope of the three candidates splitting their vote. However, as the two senators endorsed the new Republican President; John Kasich finished a depressing 38% in Iowa, compared to his initial hopes.

Brian Calley, who entered the race as an unknown outsider, would soon drop out of the Republican primary, endorsing Kasich himself; leaving only President Pompeo and the former Ohio governor in the field.

[alancia]

Of all people, why are you having Calley run? It's funny in a weird way, but I doubt even most people in Michigan know who he is LOL.

Exactly

[Bakersfield Uber Alles]

Glad to see Beto doing pretty well. Poor Delaney can never catch a break. Here’s hoping that Kasich wins in NH.

[alancia]

2020 New Hampshire Primary Results

"This victory, our victory; represents the triumph of working families and citizens of New Hampshire and America. Let's carry this forwards and let's go together so we can all have a future we can be happy with!" - Bernie Sanders, New Hampshire Victory Speech, February 2020

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announcing his campaign's New Hampshire victory, February 2020.

Once again like four years ago, New Hampshire was the state were Sanders' campaign received its first victory. Thanks to the state's proximity to his home state of Vermont, and a push to revitalize his famous grassroots campaign style that served him well in 2016, the Senator emerged with a 0.9% victory over the second place, Klobuchar - the Iowa winner. The Minnesota Senator, though defeated, continued her good momentum.

Joe Biden finished third, once again not reaching the expectations of his campaign. In his post-primary speech, Biden said that Nevada would be his 'last stand' on the Democratic primaries, dropping out if not winning the state. Beto O'Rourke, this time, finished fourth; a good place considering his 'lightning in the bottle' moment for the former Representative and Senate Candidate.

For the other candidates in the race, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand pledged to continue in the race, while Kamala Harris focused on the states with more minority voters. Julian Castro announced his drop out from the Democratic primaries, and filed to run in the 2020 Texas Senate Race.

Kasich snatches New Hampshire from Pompeo

John Kasich speaking to supporters after his primary victory, February 2020.

The 2020 New Hampshire Republican Primary was tough and tense. In the end, after a wait of five long hours, it was declared that John Kasich was the winner of the race, by a margin of 0.4 points. This represented a stunning defeat for President Pompeo, and revolutionized the primary race for the Republicans. Kasich won the Granite State with a combination of intense campaigning and being a better fit for the relatively more moderate state.

This represented the first competitive primary loss for a President since Jimmy Carter in 1980, and Pompeo immediately began working towards South Carolina primary, later in the month.

[alancia]

Pompeo's Consolidation

"The damn economy. Its the main thing we need to worry about if I want to be re-elected." - President Pompeo, to Treasury Secretary John Taylor, April 2020.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

President Pompeo giving a speech after the Second Singapore Summit, March 2020.

Following his New Hampshire loss, President Pompeo had to give a strong impression as President if he wanted to win the Republican primary, let alone the whole general election. For this purpose, he wanted to do more than to simply 'stabilize' the economy in hopes of raising his poll numbers. Consequently, President Pompeo and State Secretary Rubio announced that the United States and North Korea would arrange another Singapore meeting.

Pompeo, who was one of the key players in the 2018 Singapore meeting for President Trump, felt that he had enough experience to handle matters with North Korea and Kim Jong-Un. The summit, publicized as the encounter between the new American leadership and the North Korean one, boosted a number of topics, which chiefly were de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; Asian relations; and the future of North Korea itself.

The 2nd Singapore Summit was seen largely as a success in the achievement of Pompeo's goals. Lasting for one week, the appearance of now-President Pompeo dealing with foreign nations helped establish his image as a United States President. Some agreements signed included a second pledge for lowered tensions in Asia, and the limitation of the Kim regime's nuclearization.

Pompeo, though previously a hawk of the Tom Cotton sense, welcomed these results as positive for his victory prospects. However, Mike Pompeo's administration did revive the tough stance towards Iran that President Trump exhibited, such as the refusal to reconsider the Iran Deal, and the limited assistance to Saudi Arabia - the last point being rather controversial, and which Democrats used against him.

On the domestic front, the economy continued its slow upward trend, which also helped the President. On April of 2020, Congress passed the Rebuild America Act, which allocated several billion dollars into infrastructure projects around the country. Infrastructure spending, one of the goals Trump announced in his 2016 campaign, was finally fulfilled through a majorly bipartisan bill; which was finally signed by Pompeo on April 16th, and immediately put to work.

The infrastructure package would mainly go to bridge repair and construction, highway and rail maintenace, and waterways. Funding would also be allocated for energy projects, rural revival, and public lands; though those would mostly go from the private sector. The signing of the RBA meant the first major piece of legislation passed by the 116th Congress since April of 2019, an important achievement considering the context of the era.

After late April, the Mike Pompeo began going deeper into 'campaign' mode. Already shortened by the time of his inauguration (Less than a year before the 2020 election, by a month), this was one of the major weaknesses of his presidency. Most of the work began on rallying the Republican base ahead of 2020, and this included 'tough talk' focused on immigration and fair trade - symbols of Trumpism - though Pompeo didn't want to reinstate the Trump tariffs that Pelosi eliminated, for fear of losing support from rural states and parts of the Republican establishment, which fluctuated between him and Kasich.

President Pompeo in Air Force One, shortly before arriving to Singapore, March 2020.

[alancia]

2020 February-May Democratic Primary Results

"The results have shown that Democrats want other candidates. It is my belief that I can no longer continue in the race, and I thank all of the people who have supported me during the last months, including..." - Joe Biden, Nevada 'drop out' speech, February 2020

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Senator Klobuchar speaks after the 2020 Indiana Democratic Primary

Final Results

States are in chronological order

Democrats:

Nevada

Kamala Harris: 20.2%

Beto O'Rourke: 16.1%

Bernie Sanders: 15.5%

Amy Klobuchar: 15.0%

Joe Biden: 12.1%

Elizabeth Warren: 8.2%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 6.0%

Fmr. Representative John Delaney: 1.8%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 1.3%

Others: 3.8%

Delaney and Biden Drop Out

South Carolina

Kamala Harris: 23.2%

Beto O'Rourke: 20.1%

Amy Klobuchar: 19.6%

Bernie Sanders: 16.1%

Elizabeth Warren: 10.0%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 7.2%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 1.8%

Others: 2.0%

Alabama

Kamala Harris: 30.0%

Amy Klobuchar: 20.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 17.2%

Bernie Sanders: 16.2%

Elizabeth Warren: 11.2%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 3.5%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 1.1%

Others: 0.3%

Texas

Beto O'Rourke: 37.2%

Amy Klobuchar: 21.9%

Bernie Sanders: 13.1%

Kamala Harris: 9.4%

Elizabeth Warren: 7.2%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 6.0%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 2.2%

Others: 2.8%

Arkansas

Amy Klobuchar: 26.5%

Bernie Sanders: 17.3%

Beto O'Rourke: 16.8%

Kamala Harris: 11.5%

Elizabeth Warren: 10.2%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 5.5%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 4.9%

Others: 7.3%

Colorado

Amy Klobuchar: 22.1%

Bernie Sanders: 21.9%

Beto O'Rourke: 20.2%

Kamala Harris: 15.5%

Elizabeth Warren: 10.3%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 4.5%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 2.1%

Others: 3.4%

Georgia

Kamala Harris: 28.2%

Beto O'Rourke: 19.5%

Amy Klobuchar: 18.4%

Bernie Sanders: 16.6%

Elizabeth Warren: 9.2%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 5.5%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 2.0%

Others: 0.6%

Massachusetts

Elizabeth Warren: 22.0%

Amy Klobuchar: 19.2%

Bernie Sanders: 16.6%

Beto O'Rourke: 16.0%

Kamala Harris: 14.2%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 6.3%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 2.3%

Others: 3.4%

Minnesota

Amy Klobuchar: 40.5%

Bernie Sanders: 18.4%

Beto O'Rourke: 12.3%

Kamala Harris: 10.1%

Elizabeth Warren: 10.05%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 3.2%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 1.5%

Others: 3.95%

Oklahoma

Amy Klobuchar: 24.1%

Bernie Sanders: 20.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 19.0%

Elizabeth Warren: 13.1%

Kamala Harris: 8.4%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 5.1%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 4.5%

Others: 5.3%

Tennessee

Kamala Harris: 25.0%

Amy Klobuchar: 20.3%

Bernie Sanders: 17.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 14.8%

Elizabeth Warren: 8.3%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 3.8%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 3.0%

Others: 1.1%

California

Kamala Harris: 36.6%

Bernie Sanders: 18.8%

Amy Klobuchar: 18.7%

Beto O'Rourke: 15.2%

Elizabeth Warren: 5.0%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 2.1%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 1.5%

Others: 2.1%

Vermont

Bernie Sanders: 44.1%

Amy Klobuchar: 20.3%

Elizabeth Warren: 9.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 7.2%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 5.5%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 3.2%

Kamala Harris: 3.1%

Others: 7.1%

Virginia

Amy Klobuchar: 22.4%

Kamala Harris: 20.5%

Bernie Sanders: 18.2%

Beto O'Rourke: 15.0%

Elizabeth Warren: 12.4%

Kirsten Gillibrand: 6.3%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 2.5%

Others: 2.7%

Gillibrand Drops Out after Super Tuesday

Florida

Kamala Harris: 26.2%

Amy Klobuchar: 23.1%

Beto O'Rourke: 20.0%

Bernie Sanders: 15.0%

Elizabeth Warren: 11.2%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 3.1%

Others: 1.4%

American Samoa

Kamala Harris: 33.1%

Amy Klobuchar: 20.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 18.5%

Bernie Sanders: 17.2%

Elizabeth Warren: 8.2%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 1.5%

Others: 1.0%

Illinois

Amy Klobuchar: 25.3%

Kamala Harris: 25.2%

Bernie Sanders: 18.2%

Beto O'Rourke: 16.0%

Elizabeth Warren: 7.6%

Fmr. State Sen. Richard Ojeda: 3.1%

Others: 4.6%

Ojeda and Warren Drop Out after the Illinois Primary

Kansas

Amy Klobuchar: 32.5%

Bernie Sanders: 25.7%

Kamala Harris: 21.1%

Beto O'Rourke: 18.2%

Others: 2.5%

Louisiana

Kamala Harris: 34.2%

Amy Klobuchar: 22.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 20.0%

Bernie Sanders: 19.9%

Others: 3.4%

Maine

Amy Klobuchar: 31.2%

Bernie Sanders: 29.6%

Kamala Harris: 20.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 16.9%

Others: 1.8%

Michigan

Amy Klobuchar: 30.4%

Kamala Harris: 29.9%

Bernie Sanders: 21.1%

Beto O'Rourke: 18.5%

Others: 0.1%

Mississippi

Kamala Harris: 39.7%

Amy Klobuchar: 26.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 20.2%

Bernie Sanders: 12.3%

Others: 1.3%

Sanders drops out after the Mississippi primary

Missouri

Amy Klobuchar: 35.5%

Kamala Harris: 31.8%

Beto O'Rourke: 27.2%

Others: 5.5%

Nebraska

Amy Klobuchar: 42.5%

Kamala Harris: 31.9%

Beto O'Rourke: 22.3%

Others: 3.3%

North Carolina

Kamala Harris: 34.5%

Amy Klobuchar: 29.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 28.1%

Others: 7.9%

Northern Mariana Islands

Kamala Harris: 45.0%

Amy Klobuchar: 30.8%

Beto O'Rourke: 23.5%

Others: 0.7%

Ohio

Amy Klobuchar: 34.5%

Kamala Harris: 30.1%

Beto O'Rourke: 26.7%

Others: 8.7%

Alaska

Amy Klobuchar: 47.7%

Kamala Harris: 26.3%

Beto O'Rourke: 20.2%

Others: 5.8%

Arizona

Kamala Harris: 35.1%

Amy Klobuchar: 29.8%

Beto O'Rourke: 29.5%

Others: 5.6%

Democrats Abroad

Beto O'Rourke: 36.3%

Kamala Harris: 32.7%

Amy Klobuchar: 31.0%

Others: 0.0%

Hawaii

Kamala Harris: 40.9%

Beto O'Rourke: 33.5%

Amy Klobuchar: 23.7%

Others: 1.9%

Idaho

Amy Klobuchar: 44.3%

Kamala Harris: 28.3%

Beto O'Rourke: 24.1%

Others: 3.3%

Utah

Amy Klobuchar: 45.5%

Beto O'Rourke: 26.2%

Kamala Harris: 21.9%

Others: 6.4%

Washington

Amy Klobuchar: 40.2%

Kamala Harris: 30.4%

Beto O'Rourke: 21.2%

Others: 8.2%

Wisconsin

Amy Klobuchar: 38.5%

Kamala Harris: 31.9%

Beto O'Rourke: 25.5%

Others: 4.1%

Wyoming

Amy Klobuchar: 36.1%

Kamala Harris: 34.2%

Beto O'Rourke: 29.1%

Others: 0.6%

New York

Amy Klobuchar: 40.5%

Kamala Harris: 40.3%

Beto O'Rourke: 17.2%

Others: 2.0%

O'Rourke drops out after the New York primary

Connecticut

Kamala Harris: 50.3%

Amy Klobuchar: 48.7%

Others: 1.0%

Delaware

Kamala Harris: 52.5%

Amy Klobuchar: 45.0%

Others: 2.5%

Maryland

Kamala Harris: 56.9%

Amy Klobuchar: 42.5%

Others: 0.6%

Pennsylvania

Amy Klobuchar: 50.9%

Kamala Harris: 48.1%

Others: 1.0%

Rhode Island

Amy Klobuchar: 50.2%

Kamala Harris: 49.5%

Others: 0.3%

Indiana

Amy Klobuchar: 57.3%

Kamala Harris: 41.0%

Others: 1.7%

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

2020 Democratic Primary by state winner, just after the Indiana Primary (May 4th)

As Biden said, Nevada was his last stand. The former Vice President came fourth in the state primary and promptly dropped out of the race, leaving the door open for a new generation of Democratic Party leaders. After this, the primaries continued over the next weeks, and the next candidates to drop out of the primary in order were; Gillibrand, Warren, Ojeda, Sanders and O'Rourke.

Thus, the Democratic Party field was reduced to just two candidates: California Senator Kamala Harris and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. The first performed best with African-American and Urban voters, while the latter performed better with Rural voters and later Suburban ones after O'Rourke dropped out of the race - though Kamala Harris always took a significant part of suburbans, too.

After the Indiana Primary on May 4th, there were 12 primaries and caucuses left in the Democratic field, and the polls looked tight between Klobuchar and Harris, though the Minnesota Senator had the upper hand due to the nature of the primaries that were left - with states such as Kentucky, the Dakotas, and West Virginia.

[alancia]

2020 February-May Republican Primary Results

"We may have won narrowly, but its a win that counts! Let's go on and show that we can do things differently, that we can go and walk together to victory!" - John Kasich, Ohio Victory Speech, March 2020

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John Kasich appearing on stage after the Ohio Republican Primary, March 2020

Final Results

States are in chronological order

Republicans:

South Carolina

Mike Pompeo: 60.5%

John Kasich: 38.9%

Others: 0.6%

Nevada

Mike Pompeo: 56.3%

John Kasich: 43.4%

Others: 0.3%

Alabama

Mike Pompeo: 100.0%

Primary cancelled by State GOP

Alaska

Mike Pompeo: 50.6%

John Kasich: 49.2%

Others: 0.2%

Arkansas

Mike Pompeo: 72.4%

John Kasich: 27.5%

Others: 0.1%

Georgia

Mike Pompeo: 54.3%

John Kasich: 45.6%

Others: 0.1%

Massachussets

John Kasich: 50.0%

Mike Pompeo: 49.8%

Others: 0.2%

Minnesota

Mike Pompeo: 100.0%

Primary cancelled by State GOP

Oklahoma

Mike Pompeo: 62.5%

John Kasich: 37.2%

Others: 0.3%

Tennessee

Mike Pompeo: 71.2%

John Kasich: 28.8%

Others: 0.0%

Texas

Mike Pompeo: 58.2%

John Kasich: 40.5%

Others: 1.3%

Vermont

John Kasich: 51.0%

Mike Pompeo: 48.9%

Others: 0.1%

Virginia

Mike Pompeo: 53.4%

John Kasich: 46.5%

Others: 0.1%

Kansas

Mike Pompeo: 82.5%

John Kasich: 17.4%

Others: 0.1%

Kentucky

Mike Pompeo: 67.2%

John Kasich: 31.5%

Others: 1.3%

Louisiana

Mike Pompeo: 64.0%

John Kasich: 35.5%

Others: 0.5%

Maine

Mike Pompeo: 49.6%

John Kasich: 49.4%

Others: 1.0%

Puerto Rico

John Kasich: 60.2%

Mike Pompeo: 39.1%

Others: 0.7%

Hawaii

John Kasich: 51.2%

Mike Pompeo: 48.5%

Others: 0.3%

Idaho

Mike Pompeo: 65.3%

John Kasich: 34.5%

Others: 0.2%

Michigan

Mike Pompeo: 61.4%

John Kasich: 38.5%

Others: 0.1%

Mississippi

Mike Pompeo: 100.0%

Primary cancelled by State GOP

Virgin Islands

John Kasich: 55.0%

Mike Pompeo: 45.0%

Guam

John Kasich: 67.0%

Mike Pompeo: 33.0%

Washington D.C

John Kasich: 54.2%

Mike Pompeo: 45.7%

Others: 0.1%

Wyoming

Mike Pompeo: 75.0%

John Kasich: 25.0%

Florida

Mike Pompeo: 58.5%

John Kasich: 41.2%

Others: 0.3%

Illinois

Mike Pompeo: 51.5%

John Kasich: 48.3%

Others: 0.2%

Missouri

Mike Pompeo: 73.1%

John Kasich: 26.8%

Others: 0.1%

North Carolina

Mike Pompeo: 100.0%

Primary cancelled by State GOP

Northern Mariana Islands

Mike Pompeo: 75.0%

John Kasich: 24.8%

Others: 0.2%

Ohio

John Kasich: 49.92%

Mike Pompeo: 49.90%

Others: 0.18%

American Samoa

Mike Pompeo: 60.0%

John Kasich: 40.0%

Arizona

Mike Pompeo: 57.3%

John Kasich: 42.3%

Others: 0.4%

Utah

Mike Pompeo: 52.2%

John Kasich: 47.6%

Others: 0.2%

North Dakota

Mike Pompeo: 73.2%

John Kasich: 26.5%

Others: 0.3%

Wisconsin

Mike Pompeo: 58.2%

John Kasich: 41.7%

Others: 0.1%

Colorado

Mike Pompeo: 55.7%

John Kasich: 44.1%

Others: 0.2%

New York

Mike Pompeo: 56.2%

John Kasich: 43.8%

Others: 0.0%

Connecticut

Mike Pompeo: 54.8%

John Kasich: 42.5%

Others: 2.7%

Delaware

Mike Pompeo: 60.2%

John Kasich: 39.2%

Others: 0.6%

Maryland

John Kasich: 50.0%

Mike Pompeo: 49.9%

Others: 0.1%

Pennsylvania

Mike Pompeo: 65.1%

John Kasich: 34.6%

Others: 0.3%

Rhode Island

Mike Pompeo: 67.2%

John Kasich: 32.5%

Others: 0.3%

Indiana

Mike Pompeo: 68.0%

John Kasich: 31.2%

Others: 0.8%

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

2020 Republican Primaries Map by state winner, after the Indiana Primary (May 3rd, 2020)

Despite John Kasich's victory in New Hampshire, the results of the following primaries showed that Republican voters overwhelmingly prefered the incumbent President. Kasich only managed to win the primaries of two other New England states - Vermont and Massachussets -, Washington D.C, Puerto Rico, several other Pacific Island ones, and the Maryland and Ohio primaries; by extremely narrow margins that were controversial.

By this point, Pompeo had already won the Republican nomination, but Kasich pledged to stay until the Republican convetion - held on August 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina - as a 'oath' to his voters. Still, the results were clear. Mike Pompeo was the 2020 Republican Nominee for President of the United States.

[alancia]

Boots on the Ground

"I will stay with the working class citizens above all else. If our corporate politicians don't like it, let them hit the road!" - Richard Ojeda, campaign rally, February 2020

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fmr. State Senator Richard Ojeda during the West Virginia strikes of 2019

The political crisis and ensuing economic recession of 2019-2020 produced many interesting results and characters. As the economic downturn afflicted many already depressed areas of the United States, general dissatisfaction came out at the forefront again. One of the consequences was the rise of the 'yellow-vest' inspired movement in the United States, with the aforementioned critical events: the blocking of Brooklyn Bridge, the 2019 LA Riots, and the Cleveland Camp, among others.

In the state of West Virginia, which voted by an overwhelming 68% for Donald Trump in 2016, this expressed itself mostly in several strikes, most notably a Teacher's strike - which was heavily resisted by Governor Justice. A number of more independent actions also happened, like the occupation of several bridges that connected West Virginia with other states - done by smaller groups of an average of 100 people that mirrored (And was inspired by) the Brooklyn Blockade.

In the midst of these protest actions, a familiar name appeared once again: Richard Ojeda.

Ojeda, a former Army major who served more than two decades in the military, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, was elected for the West Virginia Senate in 2016 as a Democrat. Attracting attention for vigorously supporting the West Virginia's Teacher strike which happened after he was elected, Ojeda ran for Congress in the 3rd district of the state, but was defeated by Republican Carol Miller.

Not defeated, Ojeda announces his run for the 2020 Democratic Primaries shortly after, though his nomination was considered a long-shot. During the 2019 happenings, Ojeda finally attracted a large amount of national attention when he stormed the West Virginia State Capitol in demand of a wage increase for the West Virginia teachers and an end to right-to-work laws.

Due to this, Ojeda quickly became the de-facto leader of the 'dissatisfied' movement in West Virginia. Leading other organized actions like the Charleston Camp - inspired by the Cleveland one - Ojeda quickly went from nothing to a small but stable average of 3% in Democratic primary polls, which was relatively good with the 'heavy-weights' involved in the race.

Striking a highly confrontational tone during the primaries, Ojeda rallied against so-called Corporate Democrats, the Establishment, exploitative businesses and corruption - while standing with the 'Working Class Citizens' of West Virginia and the United States. Repeating his mainstream campaign line - to serve in the Army for years only to find the kids in West Virginia worse off that the ones in Afghanistan - Ojeda proved a controversial but exciting candidate for the Democrats. Ojeda had been attacked during a campaign event for the State Senate in 2016, which left him wounded, and later claimed was a politically motivated event.

During the Democratic primaries, Ojeda performed well according to the expectations, and even outperformed candidates like Senators Gillibrand and Harris in states like Oklahoma and Vermont, respectly, but realizing that it was impossible to win, he dropped out of the in Mid March of 2020, after the Illinois primary.

This wasn't the end for him though.

After dropping out, Richard Ojeda began acting as one of the 'political branches' of the Dissatisfied Movement, which had spread mostly to third parties of the United States and some to factions of the Republicans and Democrats. With the same message as his Democratic Primary run, but upgraded to also include rallying against the perceived 'Do-nothing Congress, Corporate Parties, controlled opposition, and everything that holds Working America back', Ojeda announced his Independent run in May 2020; with Anthony Davis, brother of Maurice Davis - one of the people killed that sparked the 2019 LA riots - and now activist, as his running mate; and also highlighting his experience as an Army veteran.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

INDEPENDENT TICKET FOR THE 2020 UNITED STATES PRESIDENCY

RICHARD NEECE OJEDA II FOR PRESIDENT

ANTHONY DAVIS FOR VICE-PRESIDENT

[alancia]

Third Parties in 2020

"Once elected, my first action will be simple: Instant, ordely and peaceful dissolution of the Federal Government." - Adam Kokesh, in a interview,  January 2020.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Libertarian Party candidate Adam Kokesh speaking in a rally, May 2020

Alongside Ojeda, third parties in 2020 America also received a boost of support; mainly for being the natural branching sites of many of the 'dissatisfied' individuals looking for alternatives to the two major parties in American politics. There are four 'main' third parties that received significant attention in the 2020 season.

First, the Libertarian Party. Receiving somewhat of a good showing in 2012 and 2016, with the runs of Gary Johnson - which received around 3% of the vote, the best result for the Libertarians ever, in 2016 - many Libertarians had hoped that their party would receive an even greater number of votes in 2020.

In the 2020 Libertarian Primaries included many candidates, such as Larry Sharpe or Darryl Perry - but in the end the two main candidates that remained in the race were Adam Kokesh and Bill Weld. Kokesh campaigned as a 'true' libertarian, boasting his arrest in 2013 and general anti-government and anti-war activism; proposing a 'peaceful and ordely' dissolution of the Federal Government as his main platform. Weld, who was Johnson's running mate in 2016, went on a similar platform as four years ago when he was the VP candidate.

Kokesh attacked Weld as 'carpetbagging' the Libertarian Party, his support for the Iraq War, and supporting eminent domain and similar 'anti-liberty' positions; while Weld attacked his opponent as an extremist. By May of 2020, the race was coming to a close, and Kokesh had a slight edge above Weld going into the 2020 LNC. At first an underdog, Adam Kokesh received significant support and momentum from anti-establishment Libertarians which had taken part in the 'dissatisfied' protests and riots of 2019 and 2020, which overwhelmed the Weld campaign.

The second one was the Green Party, which finished fourth place in the 2016 election with around 1% of the vote, a respectable number considering it was one of the best Green finishes in the history of the party, although it was somewhat controversial - with many Democrats believed it had cost Clinton her victory in several key states.

Nevertheless, the three main candidates for the Green Party nomination were Ajamu Baraka, the running mate of Jill Stein in 2016, Cheri Honkala; an anti-poverty advocate notable for her work in Michigan during the 2019-2020 recession; and Jesse Ventura, the former governor of Minnesota during the 1990's.

Although the race was tight for most of the primary season, Ventura dropped out in June of 2020 and endorsed Honkala, consolidating her support ahead of the 2020 Green Convention which would be held in late July and early August, and Baraka recognized that Honkala had significant support ahead of him going into the convention.

The two parties left which will be talked are the Save America Movement (Formerly the Serve America Movement) and the Constitution Party. The SAM was formed as a center-right to center party by former George W. Bush staffers which felt separate from the Trump GOP. In the 2020 election, it had two major prospects decline to run: Jeff Flake, which initially signaled friendliness to the SAM but eventually declined, and John Kasich, which instead primaried Pompeo.

The party then settled on Evan McMullin, the independent candidate for President in 2016 that received a significant amount of the vote in his home state of Utah. The Vice-Presidential nominee would be selected in a Salt Lake City meeting in July 2016, in which 'delegates' from all SAM affiliated parties would participate to select the nominee. The SAM decided to run on a centrist platform, dedicated to bring civility back from the 2019 Constitutional Crisis, though it had an overall center-right economic plank.

The Constitution Party, which placed sixth nationwide in 2016, was briefly brought up as a possible 'escape' for Republicans pessimistic with their parties situation, though the fears of a massive GOP collapse were not confirmed once Pelosi also managed to mess things up for the Democrats. Still, the media attention - though not very much - focused some parts on Don Blankenship's run for Constitution Party Presidential nominee, though in the end he was not succesful as Darrell Castle once again became the party's nominee for President of the United States.

Out of these four choices, the Libertarians and Greens polled the same for 2020, though the first had a slight advantage over the later. This was followed by the SAM and finally the Constitution Party. Ojeda's independent run also polled on the same level as the Libertarians and Greens; and some analysts even predicted a dynamic race with these three parties and movements having potential for a major breakthrough in fall.

[alancia]

Gearing Up

"We have entered a new stage, where we need to be more careful from now on." - President Pompeo, to journalists, June 2020.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

President Pompeo speaking in a Florida campaign rally, July 2020

With the General Election looming, President Pompeo had little time before most of his time was spent campaigning for a full presidential term. Between May and July of 2020, Pompeo focused on finally establishing his image as President of the United States; like Gerald Ford in 1976, Pompeo wanted to portray himself as an experienced and capable leader who was fit for the Presidency in times of both normalcy and trouble.

After finishing of Kasich's primary challenge in June of 2020, Pompeo took several actions to create the image he wanted. Chiefly, the President visited Canadian Prime Mininister Andrew Scheer in late June, in order to smooth relations with Canada after what the Trump administration and its disputes  - especially over tariffs - with Canada. Scheer, who defeated Trudeau's Liberals in 2019 in an election marked by the US-sourced recession, welcomed the move and agreed to remove all recently imposed tariffs with the United States, although the Canadians did in part remove some of the tariffs they imposed on the US during the Pelosi administration.

Another action took by Pompeo was to increase the election and voting security ahead of the General Election campaign. After the Russia scandal and the mess it caused, Congress passed the Election Security and Protection Act in May of 2020 in order to prevent any further tampering with U.S elections, and it gave a significant increase of funding to upgrade the election and voting systems.

The Department of Homeland Security, under Secretary Kobach, also looked into measures to combat voting fraud. The action, attacked by Democrats as especially targeting minorities, nevertheless went through. Kobach was well known to play an important part of Donald Trump's controversial election integrity commission after the 2016 election, which was revealed not to find any evidence of widespread voter fraud.

With July 2020 coming to an end, and the 2020 RNC (Held in Charlotte, North Carolina, in August) coming soon, the Pompeo campaign was looking optimistic. It seemed that the worst part of the economic crisis was over, and the upward trend was becoming more clear - although part of the fog still remained for the President, with the General Election campaign stoking fears of revived partisan warfare in Congress and the U.S.

Despite this, the White House - once pessimistic of their chances with the Kasich primary - was now confident that in could pull a comeback and win the election like Donald Trump four years ago.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kris Kobach, Secretary of Homeland Security, in a 'Election Integrity' Congressional committee hearing, July 2020.