2044 Presidential Election (U.S.)

The 2044 Presidential Election resulted in the Republican nominee, Treasury Secretary Barbara Vance, winning a landslide victory against the Progressive party's nominee, Iowa Governor Garret Shacklebolt.

General Election
On Super Tuesday, Barbara Vance became the GOP's presumptive nominee for the Presidency after defeating several primary challengers. The newly founded Progressive party, however, dealt with much uncertainty during the primary season. A series of scandals and one asassination led to a contested Progressive convention, in which Garret Shacklebolt was finally nominated on the 57th ballot. In early June, after much speculation, Vance chose John Moses Smith, the governor of Tennessee, as her running mate. At the Progressive convention, Senator Katherine O'Dell of Rhode Island was nominated for vice president on the Progressive ticket.

In the general election, the Vance/Smith ticket carried the following states.

Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Colorado, California, Arizona, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the 2nd congressional district of Maine.

Republican Primaries
In the 2044 election, incumbent Republican president Byron Rae was not eligible to seek a third term. This led to a wide array of candidates to seek the Republican nomination for president. The candidates who ran were:
 * 1) Barbara Vance, Current Secretary of the Treasury and former Senator from Ohio.
 * 2) John Moses Smith, Current Governor of Tennessee.
 * 3) James Wilkes, Current Governor of Pennsylvania.
 * 4) Joe Huntsman IV, Current U.S. Senator from Indiana.
 * 5) Geoffrey Ford, Former Associate Justice of SCOTUS.
 * 6) Sybbyl Rowling, Former Senator from Georgia and former Senate Majority Leader.
 * 7) Bernard Bluthe, Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, from Maryland.
 * 8) Dwight Reyes, Industrial Titan from Pennsylvania.
 * 9) Milton Yorn, U.S. Senator from Wyoming.
 * 10) David Meijer, Former Secretary of Defense.
 * 11) Paul George, Former Lawyer, And Mayor of New Orleans, Former Governor of Louisiana.

Geoffrey Ford was the first Republican to officially seek the nomination. He announced his campaign on the same day he resigned from the Supreme Court. He was considered the early front runner, as he quickly received the support of the highly conservative Supreme court justices. However, Ford's voting record came against him in the Iowa caucus, as he had not been in favor of the Supreme court case "Iowa vs. Rogan."

This led to Barbara Vance winning Iowa By storm, and the other Republican candidates dropped out and endorsed her. Another factor that contributed to Vance's success was her strong ties to the increasingly popular president, Byron W. Rae.

Progressive Primaries
When the Democratic party split after the 2031 debacle, most liberals in the nation went on to follow the new Progressive party. The Progressive party lacked fundraising and support, and thus did not win a presidential election until 2056. However, they still brought forth a nominee in every election, starting in 2032. In the 2044 primaries, it was a relatively small field of candidates.
 * 1) Garret Shacklebolt, Current Governor of Iowa.
 * 2) Lester Kanopf, Former ambassador to New Scotland.
 * 3) Edwina Chase, Former Attorney General.
 * 4) Lorraine Gold, Former Governor of Tennessee.
 * 5) Sarah Kelton, U.S Representative from Kentucky.

Aftermath
After the election, riots began in Seattle, Cleveland, and most parts of the newest United State, North Oasis. (Formerly the Northern parts of California.) Shortly thereafter, a nuclear power plant near Cheyenne was overrun by a domestic terrorist group who called themselves "The Liberators." The Army soon retook the plant before any damage to civilians was done, which greatly improved president Vance's popularity.

The president soon imposed sanctions on Pakistan, because of their previous involvement in the events of 2031, in which her son's fighter jet was shot down. The sanctions resulted in an international embargo of Pakistan, which, in the words of Vice President Smith, "Will send Pakistan to the stone age."

In 2045, a failed CIA regime change in China led to high instability in the East, which drove up prices of imports such as plastic, steel, and oil. Vance's popularity plummeted, and the Progressive's capitalized on the event by ordering an investigation. In a testimony before the Senate Intelligence committee, the President said that she "Was unaware of any CIA involvement in China." and also that she "Did not recall whether or not CIA Director Haynes had briefed her on the mission." The investigation subsequently ended, and Vance ordered the execution of the CIA director, Howard Haynes.

Due to increased gas prices because of poor relations with China and South American Union, Vance pledge to make the U.S. fully energy independent by 2050. This involved the construction of an oil pipeline from Nunavut to Idaho. The Shoshone Indians received support from the Progressive party, and halted construction of the pipeline. Vance was under immense pressure to complete the pipeline and help a struggling economy with gas prices. Because of this, she ordered the Idaho National Guard to remove the protesters, which resulted in the death of 17 Native Americans.

Assassination of Timothy Underwood.
Shortly after the election, President-elect Vance announced that senator Timothy Underwood (R-Conneticut) would serve her administration as Secretary of Energy. Following the Shoshone conflict in Idaho, an activist from Montana shot and killed Secretary Underwood. Vance then nominated her own husband, David Vance, to replace Underwood as Energy Secretary.

The Agricultural Workers Protection Act
In Vance's Inaugural Address, she announced her plan to end all Farming Subsidies. This became known as The Agricultural Workers Protection Act, and it quickly passed through congress.