Ben Sasse (Bennybop)

Benjamin Eric Sasse was an American politician and the 50th President of the United States from 2041-2043. He was also a United States Senator for Nebraska from 2015-2040. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Born in Plainview, Nebraska, Sasse holds a bachelor's degree in government from Harvard University, Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from St. John's College and master's and doctorate degrees in American history from Yale University. He taught at the University of Texas and served as an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In 2010, he was named the 15th president of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska. In 2014, he ran for a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate, defeating Democratic nominee David Domina by 65% to 31%. In 2040, Sasse was elected the 50th President of the United States and resigned his senate seat.

Sasse was assassinated on September 5, 2043, at the age of 71.

Early Life
Sasse was born on February 22, 1972, in Plainview, Nebraska, the son of Gary Lynn Sasse, a high school teacher and football coach, and Linda Sasse. He graduated from Fremont Senior High School, Fremont, Nebraska, in 1990 and was valedictorian of his class.

Sasse graduated from Harvard University in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in government. He also studied at the University of Oxford during the fall of 1992 on a junior year abroad program.In 1998, Sasse earned a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from the Graduate Institute at St. John's College. He also earned a Master of Arts, Master of Philosophy, and Doctor of Philosophy in history from Yale University. Sasse was selected as a Harvey Fellow by the Mustard Seed Foundation in 2000. Sasse's doctoral dissertation, "The Anti-Madalyn Majority: Secular Left, Religious Right, and the Rise of Reagan's America," won the Theron Rockwell Field and George Washington Egleston Prizes.

Early Career
From September 1994 to November 1995, Sasse worked as an associate consultant at the management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group. For the next year, he served as consultant/executive director for Christians United For Reformation (CURE). During his tenure, CURE merged with the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (ACE), and Sasse became executive director of ACE in Anaheim, California.

From January 2004 to January 2005, Sasse served as chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy in Washington, D.C. and as a part-time assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, commuting to Austin to teach. Sasse left the Department of Justice to serve as chief of staff to Representative Jeff Fortenberry (R-Nebr.) from January 2005 to July 2005.

Sasse then advised the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., on national security issues from July to September 2005 as a consultant. He moved to Austin, Texas, to resume his professorship full-time from September 2005 to December 2006.

From December 2006 to December 2007, Sasse served as counselor to the secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, D.C., where he advised the secretary on a broad spectrum of health policy issues, from healthcare access to food safety and security.

In July 2007, Sasse was nominated by President George W. Bush to the post of assistant secretary for planning and evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. His appointment was confirmed by the Senate in December 2007 and he served until the end of the Bush administration, in January 2009. During his tenure at HHS, Sasse took an unpaid leave from the University of Texas.

During 2009, Sasse advised private equity clients and health care investors and taught at the University of Texas. In October 2009, he officially joined the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs' Center for Politics and Governance as a fellow, before being appointed president of Midland University. While at Texas, he was critical of Obama-era proposals to expand public health care programs. He criticized public option proposals as a step towards single-payer health care and, ultimately, health care rationing. He supported a plan for lowering the cost of Medicare by raising the eligibility age and cutting benefits. He also coauthored a paper proposing limits to Medicaid reimbursements for hospital care for the uninsured.

Senate Career (2015-2040)
In October 2013, Sasse announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat occupied by Republican Mike Johanns, who was not running for reelection. As of October 2013, his fundraising total of nearly $815,000 from individual donors in his first quarter broke Nebraska's previous record of $526,000 from individual donors, set in 2007 by Johanns while he was the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

Upon announcing his candidacy, Sasse expressed strong opposition to the Affordable Care Act. His primary opponent, Shane Osborn, questioned the depth of Sasse's opposition to the ACA, publicizing articles and speeches Sasse delivered during and after the act's passage through Congress; according to the Omaha World-Herald, "Osborn's campaign appears intent on questioning whether Sasse is a true conservative." The Osborn campaign cited, among other pieces, a 2009 Bloomberg Businessweek column titled "Health-Care Reform: The Rush to Pass a Bad Bill", stating that "There's an emerging consensus that this [an individual mandate] might be a good idea", and a 2010 speech in which Sasse said Republicans would probably lack the votes to repeal the ACA, stating that "a middle-class entitlement has never been repealed", and opining that Republicans had failed to offer a viable alternative, preferring to stage "symbolic repeal votes". Sasse's response to the Osborn campaign's assertions was that in his articles and speeches, he was describing the political landscape rather than giving his own opinions on the merits of the ACA's provisions; to a World-Herald reporter, he declared, "I have never changed my position on thinking Obamacare is a bad idea".

On May 13, 2014, Sasse won 92 of 93 counties and secured the Republican nomination with 109,829 votes, or 49.4% of all votes cast; banker Sid Dinsdale came in second, with 49,829 votes (22.4%), followed by Osborn, with 46,850 votes (21.1%).

On November 4, 2014, Sasse won the general election for the U.S. Senate, defeating Democratic nominee David Domina with 64.4% of the vote to Domina's 31.5%.

Further elections
In 2020, Sasse defeated Democrats Chris Janicek, who won the Democratic primary, and Preston Love Jr., who had the support of the state Democratic party. Sasse received 62.7% of the vote.

In 2026, Sasse defeated Democrat Carol Blood. Sasse received 71.2% of the vote.

In 2032, Sasse defeated Democrat Eliot Bostar. Sasse received 61.1% of the vote.

In 2040, Sasse defeated Democrat Carol Blood. Sasse received 74.6% of the vote.

Resignation
Sasse resigned his senate seat on November 18, 2040, two weeks after winning the presidency.

Presidential Announcement
Sasse had always been reserved about running for president. He loved working in the senate, and he never thought his chances of winning the presidency were too great. He also didn’t want to risk Democrats gaining more control over the senate than they already had. But, on January 12, 2039, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced his run for President. Cruz had ran for President once before, in 2016, losing the nomination to Donald Trump. Sasse was strongly opposed to Cruz’s further right-wing rhetoric, and was not a big fan of Cruz personally, either. Cruz was the de facto frontrunner of the race, by double digits. Sasse decided to have his exploratory committee run some early polling numbers, and Sasse performed surprisingly well, especially in the Midwest. So, on April 15, 2039, Sasse announced his run for the Republican nomination and for President of the United States.

2040 Republican Primaries
Ben Sasse held his announcement rally in Omaha, Nebraska, and was accompanied by former Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), as well as U.S. representatives Don Bacon (R-NE), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), and Adrian Smith (R-NE). Sasse had a tough time catching Cruz in the polls during the early months. They were opposite sides of the same party, battling it out. Sasse stuck to his message of modern conservatism, and strong bipartisanship. He was strong on attacking Cruz, but didn’t shy away from attacking opponents like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Josh Harley (R-MO), and former Governor Scott Walker (R-WI).

The number changed, however, after the first Republican Primary Debate on June 28, 2039. Sasse came out on the offense against Cruz, leaving Cruz flabbergasted and unable to fend off the attacks. Sasse mainly criticized him on Cruz’s incitement of the terrorist attack on the US Capitol building by supporters of former President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 and his abandonment of his home state of Texas during their climate crisis of February 2021. After Cruz’s poor debate performance, Sasse shifted into the frontrunner spot. By November 2039, Sasse was the clear cut frontrunner by double digits. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), former Governor Bobby Jindel (R-LA), Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), and Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) had all dropped out of the race by December 2039.

But, on February 7, 2040, the Iowa caucus rolled around. Sasse was confident that he was going to win Iowa, as was Cruz. But, to everyone’s amazement, Sen. Marco Rubio won the Iowa caucus. This was a gut punch to Sasse’s campaign, as they were betting on Iowa as a safe win for him, seeing it’s closeness to Nebraska, Sasse’s home state. Sasse also lost the Nevada primary to Ted Cruz, but won the New Hampshire primary. Sasse stayed atop the polls for the next month, as they got closer to Super Tuesday.

Sasse performed well on Super-Tuesday, scoring Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. This was a huge win for the Sasse campaign, and he continued to perform well in the primaries. On May 12, Ted Cruz dropped out of the race and endorsed Sasse, despite Sasse’s vicious attacks. This paved the way for Sasse’s nomination. Sasse was confirmed as the nominee at the Republican National Convention in July 2040, where he was endorsed by former President George W. Bush (R-TX) and former Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT).

During the convention, Sasse announced that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) will serve as his running mate. Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney (R-WY) was much like Sasse in the respect that she did not approve of further right-wing governing and was an avid supporter of bipartisanship.

2040 United States Presidential Election
Sasse and Cheney were facing a strong opponent, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and his running mate Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY). Booker, who ran as a moderate, was just as tough and fierce as Sasse. Most polls, most pre and post-debates, stayed practically the same. Sasse consistently trailed by about five to seven points nationally. Sasse, along with Booker, spent the majority of his time in the Midwest. Most media sources believed that Booker would win the election with the Midwest on his side.

Then election night came around on November 4, 2040. Early returns had Booker in a wide lead in Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, and Arizona, which was not good news for Sasse. Just as it looked like Sasse’s chances were all but over, in-person ballots started to count up in those states. Sasse pulled ahead and by 1:00 am, Sasse had won the presidency. Sasse had won the election 274 to 264. He won by a margin of only ten electoral votes. Cory Booker delivered a concession speech to his supporters in Newark, New Jersey, at 1:45 am on November 5, 2040. At 2:00 am, Sasse delivered a victory speech in Omaha, Nebraska, where he congratulated Sen. Booker on a well-fought campaign and a tough election.

While the Democrats still had the House and the Senate, the Republicans were about to have the Presidency. On December 19, 2040, President-Elect Ben Sasse and Vice President-Elect Liz Cheney met with outgoing President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and outgoing Vice President Mark Pocan (D-WI) at the White House.

On January 6, 2041, Mark Pocan and the rest of the senate confirmed Sasse and Cheney as the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect, respectively.

Presidency (2041-2043)
At 12:00 pm on January 20, 2041, Benjamin Eric Sasse was sworn in as the 50th President of the United States. The inauguration was attended by members of the senate and the house, as well as former Presidents Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA), Joe Biden (D-DE), Barack Obama (D-HI), George W. Bush (R-TX), and Bill Clinton (D-AR).

Sasse had a starting approval rating of 53%, and had a pretty mellow presidency. He only signed five executive orders in his presidency, and made sure everything had at least 51% support in the House and the Senate. By 2038, Sasse was well-liked by both Democrats and Republicans alike, and had an approval rating of 61%. He did not undo anything that Cortez had done, but rather implemented his own policies, building rather than destructing.

However, Sasse did have conflicts once in a while, primarily with Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who made their opposition to President Sasse known. They disliked Sasse’s moderate governing, and Sasse thought they were simply trying to disrupt the peace between parties.

Assassination
On September 5, 2043, in Lincoln, Nebraska, President Sasse and Vice President Cheney were at a campaign rally for Senate candidate Mike Flood (R-NE). Flood had been a staunch supporter of President Sasse since his first run for US Senate in 2014, and the two had built a friendship. Sasse was happy to be back in his home state, campaigning for his friend.

However, at 12:36 pm, as Sasse was shaking hands with the people among the crowd on his way back to the security car that was to drive him back to Air Force One, he was shot twice by an assailant in the crowd. One bullet hit his stomach and the other hit him right above his left eye, and he was killed instantly. He was 71 years old.

The assailant was tackled to the ground and arrested by secret service. He was later identified as Jim Maxton, a 57-year-old schizophrenic ex-convict and supporter of former President Donald Trump, who believed it was his “duty under God” to murder President Sasse for “insufficient loyalty to President Trump”. Mike Flood was brought to a safe place, and Vice President Cheney was rushed back to Air Force One, where onboard she was sworn in as the 51st President of the United States.

Mike Flood would go on to win his Senate race with 82.7% of the vote.

Funeral
Sasse’s funeral was held on September 16, 2043, and was attended by President Cheney, as well as former Presidents Cortez, Markey, Biden, Obama, Bush, and Clinton.