United States Presidential Election, 2016 (Holly's World)

Republican Party

 * Jeb Bush, Florida Secretary of Commerce (1987-1988); Governor of Florida (1999-2007)
 * Marco Rubio,
 * Dr. Ben Carson, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery for Johns Hopkins Hospital (1985-1988)
 * Scott Walker,
 * Donald J. Trump, Sr., Chairman of The Trump Organization (since 1971)
 * Randal "Rand" Paul, U.S. Senator from Kentucky (since 2011)
 * Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard (1999-2005)

Democratic Party
The Democratic Party nomination was fought much harder than initially expected. The entry of left-wing Bernie Sanders revived progressive insurgnecy within the party, and he and the more moderate Hillary Clinton were the two biggest contenders for the nomination. Both Chafee and Webb withdrew from the race before the Iowa caucus, and O'Malley withdrew in late March 2016 following his dismal showing at the Maryland primary.
 * Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Senator from New York (2001-2009), U.S. Secretary of State (2009-2013)
 * Bernie Sanders, U.S. Representative (1991-2007); U.S. Senator from Vermont (since 2007)
 * Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland (2007-2015)
 * Jim Webb, U.S. Secretary of the Navy (1987-1988); U.S. Senator from Virginia (2007-2013)
 * Lincoln Chafee, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island (1999-2007); Governor of Rhode Island (2011-2015)

Clinton, once over forty points ahead of all candidates, began to tank in the polls. The race between Clinton and Sanders became extremely close, but Clinton was eventually able to recover and narrowly surpass Sanders in March 2016 following a major political gaffe on the part of Sanders. Due to the opportunity of running as the Green Party nominee, Bernie Sanders withdrew from the Democratic race in mid-April 2016 and instead announced his candidacy for the Green Party nomination for president. At the Democratic National Convention, Martin O'Malley was chosen as Clinton's running mate.

Green Party
Several candidates previously on the fence at best entered the Green Party race after the Supreme Court ruling on third party inclusion in presidential debates. Jill Stein quickly rose to prominence and became the presumptive nominee after Rosa Clemente's campaign became inactive and both Cherney and Mesplay withdrew and subsequently endorsed her.
 * Bernie Sanders, U.S. Representative 1991-2007; U.S. Senator from Vermont (since 2007)
 * Dr. Jill Stein, Member of Lexington Town Council (2005-2008); 2012 Green Party presidential nominee
 * Rosa Clemente, 2008 Green Party vice presidential nominee
 * Derryl Cherney, Chairman of Environmental Sound Promotions (1981-1988)
 * Kent Mesplay, National Committee Delegate from Green Party of California 2003-2014

Stein found competition, however, when Bernie Sanders entered the race in mid-April 2016 following his imminent defeat in the Democratic race. Many progressives quickly abandoned Jill Stein to follow him. Sanders secured the nomination after Stein withdrew from the race in early June 2016. Sanders, seeing how alike he and Stein were, chose her to be his running mate for the nomination.

Libertarian Party
Following his defeat in the Republican nomination race and, seeing his significant amount of support from the Libertarian base, Rand Paul entered the race for the Libertarian nomination. Gary Johnson, disliking the idea of a corporate candidate becoming the nominee, entered the race to combat Paul's nomination.
 * Randal "Rand" Paul, U.S. Senator from Kentucky (since 2011)
 * Gary Johnson, Governor of New Mexico (1995-2003); 2012 Libertarian Party presidential nominee
 * Jesse Ventura, Governor of Minnesota (1999-2003)
 * Robert David Steele, former Officer of Clandestine Services for the Central Intelligence Agency

Steele, quickly running out of funds, withdrew early on. He would become the Reform Party's vice presidential nominee. Ventura withdrew to run for the Reform party ticket, leaving Paul and Johnson to duke it out for the nomination. Gary Johnson was ultimately defeated at the Libertarian National Convention. Rand Paul chose Buddy Roemer, former Governor of Louisiana and U.S. Representative, as his running mate.

Other Parties/Independents

 * Donald J. Trump, Sr., Chairman of The Trump Organization (since 1971) and Ted Nugent, musician and conservative political activist, of the Conservative Party
 * Roseanne Barr, 2012 Peace and Freedom Party presidential nominee and Ikaika Anderson, member of Honolulu City Council (since 2011), of the Peace and Freedom Party
 * Steve Stockman, U.S. Representative (1995-1997 and 2013-2015) and Jim Clymer, 2012 Constitution Party vice presidential nominee, of the Constitution Party
 * Jesse Ventura, Governor of Minnesota (1999-2003) and Robert D. Steele, former Officer of Clandestine Services for the Central Intelligence Agency, of the Reform Party
 * Denise W. Merrill, Secretary of State for Connecticut (since 2011) and John DeStefano, Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut (1994-2014), running independently
 * Ted Williams, author and radio host and Vermin Supreme, perennial candidate and liberal political activist, running independently
 * Dan Bilzerian, Internet personality and Terry Jones, Head Pastor for Dove World Outreach Center (2010-2013), running independently

Congress Intervention
The election had resulted in a hung electoral college, no candidate able to reach the 270 majority. As instructed by the Constitution, the U.S. Congress was obligated to intervene and vote on which candidates should receive the presidency and vice presidency. It is the first time that Congress had to intervene in a United States presidential election in this way since 1824. The House of Representatives voted in favor of Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidency, and the Senate was in a three-way deadlock between Martin O'Malley, Carly Fiorina and Jill Stein for 6 days before voting in favor of Martin O'Malley's vice presidency.