Both 2004 and 2016 were Democratic landslides in the Atlas mock presidential elections, and 2020 is shaping up to be one too. Why were 2008 and 2012 different? Was McCain seen as a moderate hero? Also, why is the 2008 map the only one that looks semi-realistic?
My understanding is that in 2008 and 2012 the election was flooded with outside votes.
Look at per party, Democrats still had the most votes by far. I think this was Atlas being moderate hero in 2008
I'm pretty sure the 2008 thing happened because a very weird Hillary Clinton fansite known infamously as hillaryis44 raided the forum as Democratic voters and gave McCain the election here, not unlike the real-life PUMA movement, only heavily concentrated on wacko sites like the one mentioned. Hillaryis44 is now a full-blown MAGAt site and supported Trump even when he was running against their former queen.
