2036 United States Presidential Election (Hawley, Kimmel)

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The 2036 United States presidential election took place on Tuesday, November 4, 2036. It was the 61st quadrennial presidential election. Voters selected presidential electors who voted on December 14, 2036,[2] to select a new president and vice president. The election occured simultaneously alongside elections for the House of Representatives, Senate, and various state and local-level elections.
The Democratic ticket of Talk Show Host Jimmy Kimmel and Connecticut Senator Jahana Hayes defeated the Republican ticket of Vice President Josh Hawley and Georgia Senator Marjorie Taylor Greene. Kimmel received 293 electoral votes and 51.4% of the popular vote, while Hawley received 245 electoral votes and 47.9% of the popular vote.
The election marked the largest popular vote win for a Democrat since Barrack Obama in 2008. It was also the largest electoral vote victory for a Democrat since 2020. Jimmy Kimmel became the second American to assume the presidency without previous government experience, and he also became the first Presidential candidate to surpass 100,000,000 votes.
==Background==
The economy remained strong for the remainder of DeSantis's second term. This didn't help the President's popularity, however, as he was gripped in scandal following the release of the Orlando Papers in October 2034. The report accused the President of illegally printing money to fund anti-Taliban activists in Afghanistan without the authorization of Congress, which has been Democrat-controlled since 2031. DeSantis was further accused of taking bribes and co-operating with big tech corporations.
==Democratic Nomination==
Democrats felt confident entering 2036, having had landslide victories in the Senate and House of Representatives two years earlier. Early favorites for the nomination included Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, Iowa Representative Pete Buttigieg, New York Senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes, Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, and Illinois Representative Lauren Underwood.
While Ocasio-Cortes and Ossoff were considered leaders for the nomination, Ocasio-Cortes was seen as too radical and unelectable my many voters. Meanwhile, Ossoff was very moderate and unexciting. New York Talk Show Host entered the race in June 2035 and his nomination was largely ignored. Kimmel used social media and his talk show to gain support for his campaign. Meanwhile, Ossoff's campaign had a rough start with Ossoff delivering a foolish remark over the rising tensions in Korea. 
By mid-September, Kimmel was polling in fourth behind Ocasio-Cortes, Underwood, and Buttigieg. However, following a great performance in the debates Kimmel's campaign took off. By January, Ocasio-Cortes and Kimmel were the clear front-runners. Despite being far being in delegates, Kimmel gained traction after multiple moderate candidates dropped out of the race following poor perfomances in the Nevada Caucus and gave Kimmel their endorsement in fear of an Ocasio-Cortes presidency.
The contest continued into the Democratic convention. At the convention time, Ocasio-Cortes held the most delegates with Kimmel in second place, Duckworth in third, Underwood in fourth, and Buttigieg in fifth. In fear of an Ocasio-Cortes nomination, Duckworth and Buttigieg threw their support to Kimmel in exchange for promises of cabinet positions. Kimmel narrowly won the Democratic nomination over Ocasio-Cortes on the eighth ballot. Kimmel chose Connecticut Senator Jahana Hayes as his running mate.
==Republican Nomination==
Vice President Josh Hawley was seen as the favorite for the Republican nomination. However, Georgia Senator Marjorie Taylor Greene challenged Hawley for the nomination, accusing him of being too close with the corrupt DeSantis Administration. Other candidates included Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and North Carolina Governor Greg Murphy. Hawley narrowly led Greene for most of the campaign and ultimately won the nomination in late June. To unite the party, he chose Marjorie Taylor Greene as his running mate. 
==Campaign==
As a result of the continuing strong economy, Kimmel mainly chose to campaign on Hawley's close association to the corruption in the DeSantis Administration, Hawley's personal unpopularity, and the Republicans' conservative positions on social issues such as abortion and election integrity. Hawley campaigned on his record as Vice President and on the strong economy. Kimmel led Hawley in the polls for most of the campaign by a wide margin: 53% to 44%. After good performances in the debates, Hawley was narrow the poll gap by Election Day to 51%:49% with Kimmel in the lead.
==Results==
Jimmy Kimmel won the election with 296 electoral votes and 51.4% of the popular vote. Josh Hawley came in second place with 296 electoral votes and 47.9% of the popular vote, the biggest win for a Democrat since 2008.
Kimmel was able to flip seven states: New Hampshire, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Georgia. He became the second American to assume the presidency without previous government experience.
Category:Elections