2036 United States presidential election (YoungLibertarian20)

The 2036 United States presidential election was the 63rd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2036. Incumbent Democratic President Martin Heinrich and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Sara Gideon, were re-elected to a second term. They defeated the Republican ticket of businessman and former Vice President Josh Hawley of Missouri and former U.S. Secretary of State Jake Ellzey of Texas. Heinrich was the first sitting President to win re-election to a second term since Barack Obama in 2012.

As the incumbent president, Heinrich secured the Democratic nomination without serious opposition. The Republicans experienced a competitive primary, in which former Vice President Hawley emerged as a frontrunner. Hawley was consistently competitive in the polls but experienced a competitive primary. Due to the close result of the previous election, party leaders viewed him as the “strongest voice” in the party that can defeat the incumbent president. Shortly before the days leading up to the Republican National Convention, Hawley announced former U.S. Secretary of State Jake Ellzey as his vice presidential running mate. The move was seen as controversial, as it was the first presidential ticket to consist of two straight and white males since the ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence in 2020.

Heinrich maintained a decent popularity standing with the general public, with his approval in the mid to upper 40s for the months leading up to Election Day. Despite this, polls showed a competitive race but Heinrich held a slight advantage over Hawley. Heinrich defeated Hawley and won a majority of both the Electoral College and nationwide popular vote. Heinrich won 335 electoral votes and 51% of the popular vote to Hawley’s 203 electoral votes and 45.4%. Overall election turnout increased slightly in this election and featured the most votes ever cast in a presidential election, a record previously held by the 2020 election. Heinrich received the most votes of any sitting U.S. president, a record previously held by Donald Trump. In terms of popular vote, his total was the second-highest of any presidential candidate in history, only behind Joe Biden's total in 2020.

Hawley’s electoral performance was the worst for any presidential candidate since John McCain in 2008. In terms of popular vote, it was the smallest share for a Republican presidential nominee since Bob Dole in 1996. Despite this, he was the second presidential nominee in a row to win a majority of the states in the union but lose the election. Heinrich held onto all of the states he won in 2032 and won three states he did not previously win: Arizona, Florida, and Nevada. Both Arizona and Nevada were last won by a Democrat in 2020 by Joe Biden. Florida, the closest state of the presidential election, voted Democratic for the first time since Barack Obama in 2012.