‹ 2040 (Populist America)

Election 2040 was one of the most controversial presidential elections in the modern political history of United States. At the time of the election, the three major parties (The Third Way, Liberal & New Tea Party) were forced to adapt to an electorate in transition. Election 2040 is notable for its inclusion of two new political parties in the presidential election: The New Tea Party (a party of social conservatives formed in 2038 in opposition the policies of then-Third Way President Chris Smith) & The Liberal Party (a coalition of social liberals and free-market libertarians first formed in 2034 but not rising to prominence until the polarizing elections of 2038).
As social conservatives joined the Tea Party and left The Third Way (a centrist coalition first formed in 2028 by moderates from the former Democratic and Republican parties), party leaders (namely President Smith) faced increasing opposition within the party to implement conservative policies to keep the right wing from deserting the coalition. The progressive wing of the party defended the president, while the right accused him of being a "Democrat in disguise" and the reluctant leader of the Third Way. (Smith had been a lifelong Democrat until 2024 when the party disbanded.)
By 2040, as conservative members of Congress rapidly changed party affiliations from Third Way to Tea Party, Smith remained centrist entrenching the remainder of the party in bitter division. In 2039, then-Vice President Meghan McCain resigned in protest of "the president's persistent effort to crash the party and turn it left." Her announcement came just a few months after the populist-progressive Speaker-of-the-House, Zack Maze, refused to serve as party leader under a Third Way / Tea Party coalition. Maze, who had served as Speaker since 2027, and McCain's departures signified the end of an era revered for its multi-partisanship and political compromise. In Congress, the Third Way's sharp swing to the political right after the 2038 midterm elections (and Maze's subsequent resignation) sent liberals & libertarians to the ranks of the Liberal Party championing former-first daughter, Malia Obama, as their standard bearer.
It is notable as the last national US election to fall under the Third Way Party alignment, which had dominated politics from the midterm elections of 2026. Though the Third Way had managed to obtain an electoral victory in 2040, the presidential ticket had lost the popular vote by nearly 8%. The disparity in proportion of the popular vote and the electoral vote was attributed to dense support for the Liberal Party in states with wide margins of Liberal victory and sparse margins of victory for states going to The Third Way. Additionally, The Tea Party was able to garner Indiana's 10 electoral votes effectively preventing both the Third Way and Liberal Party from collecting the 270 votes necessary to win the election. Fortunately for the Third Party ticket, the Tea Party kept the coalition long enough to elect McCain via the House of Representatives; however, they broke with McCain shortly thereafter. With little political support after the election, the next four years under McCain would be popularly characterized as "the quintessential lame duck presidency." She has been compared, as far as historical figures go, to the nation's 6th president, John Quincy Adams, who also after a questionable election was defeated four years later.
The election was also notable for its cast of candidates. Popular media at the time framed the election as a rematch of election 2008 between the two primary candidates' fathers: Former-Democratic president, Barack Obama (2009-2017), and former-Senator John McCain. This narrative was further extrapolated when Track Palin captured the VP slot on the Tea Party ticket. Some media outlets went as far to infer the election as a 30-year-old referendum on the Obama Administration's policies, sparking a national debate over whether the "rematch narrative" was healthy or relevant to the election. Historians disagree as to the rematch narrative's effect on the electorate in 2040. As Dustin Hoffner of the New York Times points out "Barack Obama is historically perceived as an affective and strong, if not always popular, president... yet Malia Obama lost in 2040." However, others point to Obama's nearly 7.5 point advantage over McCain, eerily similar to the margin of victory President Obama had over Senator McCain in 2008.
Election 2040
===Election Night - November 6, 2040===
Incumbents: The Third Way Party - C. Smith (2034-41) / M. McCain (2034-39); E. Konrad (2039-41)
*Democratic-Republican Establishment (50%)
*Moderate/Centrist Populist Progressives (25%)
*Compassionate Conservatives (15%)
*Liberal Progressives (10%)	Popular Vote:	Electoral College:	:
Third Way: M. McCain / A. Maldonaldo	37.8 % 	267 	
Liberal: M. Obama / E. Konrad 	45.4 % 	261 	
Tea Party: A. Schock / T. Palin 	16.0 % 	10 	
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Congressional Elections 2040 (127th Congress)
'House: '(No Majority)
Liberal Party (214)
Third Way (199)
Tea Party (22)
Senate:
Majority: Liberal Party (49 + 1 Independent)
Minorities: Third Way (47) & Tea Party (3)
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126th Congressional Incumbents (Election 2038):
The Third Way Party (in coalition with Tea Party)
House:
Majority: Third Way Coalition (234) -- (TWP: 216 + TP: 18)
Minority: Liberal Party (201)
Senate:
Majority: Third Way Coalition (56) -- (TWP: 53 + TP: 3)
Minority: Liberal Coalition (44) -- (LP: 43 + 1 Independent)
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