America After Trump: An Election Game (interest thread)

[OSR STANDS WITH PALESTINE]

Can I get Governor Cuomo or Cooper

[OBD]

Can I get Governor Cuomo or Cooper

Sure, which one?

[OSR STANDS WITH PALESTINE]

Can I get Governor Cuomo or Cooper

Sure, which one?

hmm. Make me either. I’ll take either of them. I personally prefer Cuomo but I’ll take either

[OSR STANDS WITH PALESTINE]

Can I get Governor Cuomo or Cooper

Sure, which one?

Go ahead and give me Cooper

[OBD]

Can I get Governor Cuomo or Cooper

Sure, which one?

Go ahead and give me Cooper

Cooper granted.

[McGovernite]

Can I play as Rubio?

[jake_arlington]

I have some time on my hands, so I thought I'd try one of these again. This game will be pretty relaxed, but I'd like to have as many players as possible.

Rough Schedule
Until April 1: Until October 2023
April 1-April 14: November-December 2023
April 14-April 21: January 2023
April 21-April 28: February 2023
April 28-May 5: March 2023
May 5-May 12: April-May 2023
May 12-May 19: June 2023 and conventions
May 19-mid-June: General Election
(hopefully this lockdown will be over by then)


2024: America After Trump
In the wake of the coronavirus disaster, President Trump was defeated by a significant margin by the Democratic ticket of Joe Biden and Tammy Duckworth, losing the traditional Republican bastions of Arizona and Georgia (and nearly Texas) as well as the swing states of North Carolina, Florida, and the Rust Belt. Republicans also bled in the Senate, with Democrats picking up seats in Colorado, Arizona, Maine, North Carolina, and surprisingly Georgia (though Senator David Perdue was re-elected, Democrats narrowly won the state’s special election) and Montana - taking a 52-48 majority. The House stayed blue by a 241-194 margin, creating a Democratic trifecta for the first time in 10 years.

The Biden administration was, on the whole, a refreshing return to normalcy. The former Vice President restored civility to the White House while also working towards liberal goals with Congress. The first major event of the Biden presidency was the relatively uncontroversial replacement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with 9th Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, which was passed 58-42 in the Senate. A bipartisan infrastructure plan allocating $1.2 trillion to nationwide infrastructure overhaul was also passed. However, fireworks erupted in late 2021 when the Biden administration proposed a public option program, as well as an act enshrining Roe v. Wade in the lawbooks. Minority Leaders McConnell and McCarthy, as well as the Republican Party organization, quickly launched attacks on these initiatives, pressuring vulnerable Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Mark Kelly, and Raphael Warnock, and many House members in unfriendly territory. After prolonged battles, both programs passed on near-party line votes in the spring of 2022. Justice Stephen Breyer also retired, and Majority Leader Schumer quickly moved the nomination of Sri Srinivasan through Congress to preserve liberal seats. The Supreme Court now had a historic number of minority justices, a victory touted by Biden and the Democrats heading into the 2022 midterms.

While Biden maintained relatively high personal popularity, with an approval rating of 52%, this wouldn’t completely mitigate Democratic struggles in the midterm elections. While they managed to pick up a Senate seat in Pennsylvania, they also lost Mark Kelly in Arizona (surprisingly, Senator Warnock of Georgia held on narrowly in a rematch with former Rep. Doug Collins), as well as 23 House seats (a loss blunted by the undoing of egregious gerrymanders in numerous states), reducing their majorities in both chambers to the bare minimum. Governor Laura Kelly of Kansas also went down, and Democrats couldn’t capitalize on pickup oppurtunities in Texas and Georgia. Meanwhile, tensions between the establishment and progressive wings continued to grow, as after defeats in 2016 and 2020, the progressives were determined to take control of the party come 2024, especially after Vice President Duckworth counted herself out due to undisclosed health reasons.

Republicans were also stuck in their own muck. The defeat of Trump in 2020 left the party without a leader or a clear path - after four years of defending Trump, it was unclear what the way forward was for the GOP. The result was cracks gradually emerging within the party - with Trump ‘loyalists’ on one side, anti-Trump ‘revisionists’ on the other, and a burgeoning neutral faction stuck in between. In 2022, these divides became evident in numerous primary battles, jeopardizing the traditional opposition party advantage the Republicans held in the midterms. In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey, an avowed neutralist, was weakened by the Trumpist Representative Paul Gosar and despite being a popular governor struggled to unseat Senator Kelly. In Iowa, the insurgent Senate campaign of disgraced Rep. Steve King nearly cost Republicans a Senate seat. Most egregiously, multiple primary battles between Trumpists and more moderate Republicans kneecapped the GOP’s bid to retake the House, allowing the Democrats to keep a narrow trifecta for another two years.

Thus far, 2023 has been a chaotic year in Washington. Progressive congresspeople Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jeff Merkley introduced a “Green New Deal” in February, sparking vigorous opposition from the right and consternation from the White House, which was hoping for a less extreme option on climate change. These efforts have also hampered efforts from establishment Democrats (and the President himself) to pursue more restrictive gun legislation. And, with numerous Southern states passing anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ laws, conservatives on the Supreme Court have the opportunity to overturn multiple critical liberal decisions. By July, tensions between the parties had surged to levels not seen since the Trump presidency - and, divides within the Democrats and the Republicans were threatening to undermine the agendas of both parties. It is in this terse political enviroment that the 2024 campaign season begins. Democrats must resolve the battle between their establishment and progressive factions once and for all, while Republicans must determine their post-Trump aims.

Potential Democratic Candidates
Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) - S019
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Enterprenuer Andrew Yang (D-NY)
Fmr. Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Governor Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) - jaguar4life
Governor Roy Cooper (D-NC) - NOTTYLER
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) - Gorguf
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Governor Janet Mills (D-ME)
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) - Mycool
Fmr. Governor Laura Kelly (D-KS)
Senator Krysten Sinema (D-AZ)
Governor Tom Perez (D-MD)
Governor Jared Polis (D-CO) - DatGOTTho
Senator Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Fmr. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ)

Potential Republican Candidates
Fmr. Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN)
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Governor Mike Pompeo (R-KS)
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Businessman Donald Trump Jr. (R-FL) - RGM2609
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) - jake
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO)
Senator Doug Ducey (R-AZ)
Fmr. UN Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC) - SouthCarolinaAaron
Fmr. Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Governor Phil Scott (R-VT)
Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX)
Governor Spencer Cox (R-UT)
Fmr. Governor John Kasich (R-OH)
Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Fmr. Representative Doug Collins (R-GA)
Fmr. Congressman Steve King (R-IA)
Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA)
Political Commentator Ben Shapiro (R-CA)
Senator Rob Portman (R-OH)
Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL)
Alex Jones (R-TX)
Fmr. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) - KaiserDave
Businesswoman Carly Fiorina (D-CA) - terp40hitch
(among others)

Potential Independent Candidates
Businessman Howard Schultz (I-WA)
Matt Gonzalez/Rocky Anderson (Green) - Ishan
Generic Libertarian/Green candidates (limit one of each)

New Senators
John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Sara Gideon (D-ME)
Cal Cunningham (D-NC)
Tommy Tuberville (R-AL)
Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)
Raphael Warnock (D-GA)
Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
Doug Ducey (R-AZ)
Manny Sethi (R-TN)
Will Ainsworth (R-AL)
Roger Marshall (R-KS)
Adam Gregg (R-IA)
Daniel Cameron (R-KY)
George Holding (R-NC)
Tom Wolf (D-PA)
Sean Duffy (R-WI)

New Governors
Ethan Berkowitz (D-AK)
Katie Hobbs (D-AZ)
Tim Griffin (R-AR)
Tony Hwang (R-CT)
Ed Case (D-HI)
Tom Perez (D-MD)
Mike Pompeo (R-KS)
Mike Foley (R-NE)
Tina Kotek (D-OR)
John Fetterman (D-PA)
David Cicilline (D-RI)

Changes to Primaries
Under new Chair Mark Pocan, the DNC officially eliminated superdelegates and lowered the delegate threshold to 5% in pre-Super Tuesday states, and also juggled around the schedule to create a more balanced early slate. The RNC, on the other hand, made fairly minimal changes - while some states moved up their primaries, the fundamental mechanics of the primary remained unchanged. Thanks to the pleas of many prominent Iowa officials - including Gov. Kim Reynolds and Fmr. Senator Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Caucus was allowed to remain intact sans technology, though the Democratic iteration was pushed back to May as punishment. All other states switched to a primary system.

Schedule black text = both parties red text = only Democrats blue text = only Republicans

February 6: Washington | Iowa Caucus
February 13: New Hampshire
February 20: Nevada | Michigan | Wisconsin
February 27: South Carolina
Super Tuesday (March 5th)
Alabama
American Samoa
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Dems Abroad
Kentucky
Maine
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Mississippi
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Super Tuesday II (March 12th)
Idaho
Kansas
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
North Dakota
Oregon
Wisconsin
Washington
Super Tuesday III (March 19)
Guam
Northern Marianas
Arizona
Florida
Illinois
Ohio
Georgia
March 26:
Puerto Rico
Florida
Illinois
Little Tuesday (April 2)
Alaska
Hawai'i
Louisiana
Wyoming
April 9: Ohio
April 16: Georgia
Acela Primaries (April 23)
Connecticut
Delaware
Maryland
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
May 7: Indiana
Mini Tuesday II (May 14)
Indiana
Virgin Islands
Nebraska
West Virginia
May 21:
Iowa
Virgin Islands
Final Round (June 4)
Montana
New Jersey
South Dakota
New Mexico
District of Columbia

Hey, I read this and I am still unsure if you confirmed this somewhere, but Biden's not running for re-election right?

[OBD]

jakob: I DMed you about Rubio, I'm open to giving you him but with Scott running someone else might be better.

jake: Biden is not running for re-election, yes.

[Joe Biden 2024]

Unfortunately, I don't have as much time as I thought I would so I have to drop out.

[OBD]

Unfortunately, I don't have as much time as I thought I would so I have to drop out.

Sorry to hear that. Good luck with IRL!

[Mycool]

I know we can request polling at turn 2, but is there any way we can get post-announcement/preliminary polling while we wait?

[Jaguar4life]

I need a extension

[OBD]

I know we can request polling at turn 2, but is there any way we can get post-announcement/preliminary polling while we wait?

I’ll try to get up some public polls soon.

I need a extension

To be honest, I almost need one too. That said, I previously extended the turn till the 8th, so take your time.

Also, the Nikki Haley player can’t continue, so if anyone wants Haley...

[Mycool]

Non-pressing question mostly out of pure curiosity: who replaced Duckworth in the senate?

[OBD]

Non-pressing question mostly out of pure curiosity: who replaced Duckworth in the senate?

I'll say President of the Senate Don Harmon (D), though it could really be any generic D.

[Bidenworth2020]

Can I be Buttigieg?

[OBD]

Can I be Buttigieg?

It's a little late but sure.

[Bidenworth2020]

Can I be Buttigieg?

It's a little late but sure.

How do you mean? Would this affect my ability to win adversely?

[OBD]

Can I be Buttigieg?

It's a little late but sure.

How do you mean? Would this affect my ability to win adversely?

It will not. You will have to post some things to catch up, though

[Mycool]

I wanted to check in and see if this is still happening?

[OBD]

I wanted to check in and see if this is still happening?

I'd like for it to still happen, but thus far only ~50% of the players are posting first turn schedules, and I'm not sure if this game is long-term viable:/