2020 American Presidential Election (Unexotic Universe)

See More: A List of U.S. Presidents (Unexotic Universe)

The 2020 American Presidential Election took place on Tuesday, the 3rd of November 2020. It was the 59th quadrennial presidential in American history, determining whether or not President George W. Bush would remain in office for a second term, having been eligible to do so due to the 22nd Amendment. A series of party caucuses and primaries took place from February to August 2020 to determine each party's nominee for the General Election. A record 16 major candidates ran for the Democratic nomination, with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren coming out on top, defeating former Secretary-of-State and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and 13 other major candidates in a crowded and divided Democratic primary. It was the first time that the Democratic Party had nominated a woman for President of the United States of America. As he was an incumbent President, George W. Bush was easily-renominated with no viable competition in the primaries and easily secured the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)#:~:text=The%20Republican%20Party%2C%20also%20referred,historic%20rival%2C%20the%20Democratic%20Party. Republican] nomination. The only other major candidate in the race save for Senator Warren and President Bush was former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, running with a now revitalised Reform Party banking on his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrism#:~:text=In%20politics%2C%20centrism%20is%20a,the%20left%20or%20the%20right. centrist], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy#:~:text=Technocracy%20is%20an%20ideological%20system,to%20scientific%20or%20technical%20knowledge. technocratic] ideology in contrast to the populist platforms of both Bush and Warren.

The election was set to the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, an indefinite stalemate to the U.S. Russia Cold War, burgeoning racial tensions in America and the 2020 Global Recession. The campaigns focused heavily on domestic issues, and debate centred largely around the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular crisis management and economic recovery following the recession caused by it. Other issues included disease management and healthcare and automation. Foreign policy was also heavily discussed; this included how America should proceed regarding the Cold-War, the Iranian Missile crisis and America's role in the Korean-Japanese unification treaty. Polling indicated a tight race between all three candidates, with each maintaining marginal leads at different points in time but Warren widely expected to take home the presidency.

Bush defeated Warren and Bloomberg, winning a plurality of the popular vote, the first time since Tennessee Senator Al Gore's victory in the 1992 American Presidential Election, and a majority of the electoral college. Bush won 278 electoral votes and 40% of the popular vote compared to Warren's 255 and 39.5% and Bloomberg's 5 and 20.5%. Bush's victory was widely considered to have been the biggest electoral upset since Senator Gerald Ford's victory over Vice President Walter Mondale in the 1984 American Presidential Election. Bush would go on to complete his second term as President of the United States of America from 2021 to 2025, and was succeeded by UN Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES
The 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses were a series of electoral contests organized by the Democratic Party to select the approximately 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention and by extension, nominating a presidential ticket to run in the General Election. If a candidate amasses at least 1,991 pledged delegates by the DNC convention in August (formerly July but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States),[7] they will be the nominee. The elections are taking place from February to August 2020 in all fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and among Democrats Abroad. 16 major candidates participated in the primaries.

Following Vice President Bill Clinton's defeat in the 2016 American Presidential Election, the Democrats were as divided as they had been in a very long time. The ideological differences in the party had become evident, with the progressive wing led by 2016 Democratic primary runner-up Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and the more moderate wing that fielded out Clinton at constant butt-ends.