2052 United States Presidential Election (Gonzalez, Beshear)

*
The 2052 United States presidential election took place on Tuesday, November 5, 2052. It was the 65th quadrennial presidential election. Voters selected presidential electors who voted on December 14, 2052,[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 President Andy Beshear and Vice President Beto O'Rourke defeated the Republican ticket of Ohio Governor Anthony Gonzalez and House Speaker Elise Stefanik. Beshear received 360 electoral votes and 52.4% of the popular vote, while Gonzalez received 185 electoral votes and 47.1% of the popular vote. 
It was the largest popular vote victory for any presidential candidate since 2008 and the first time a candidate won without the state of Pennsylvania since 2004. Andy Beshear became the first Democrat to be re-elected since Joe Biden in 2024. 
==Background==
When Beshear took office, the country was in the grips of the post-war depression. The national unemployment rate stood at 27% and the inflation rate was 16%. Beshear implemented an expansionary fiscal policy of large government programs on infrastructure and education, while lowering taxes on individuals and businesses. 
By 2052, unemployment declined to 8% but the inflation rate stayed constant at 15%, and Beshear's approval ratings hovered around 53%. Despite this, he received criticism from both the left and the right for his relatively-centrist approach. 
==Republican Nomination==
Following their disastrous loss in 2048, Republicans were extremely divided about the future of the party. The conservative Greene wing of the Party was championed by Florida Senator Kat Cammack, Ohio, former Kansas Governor Jake LaTurner, and Louisiana Senator Ben Sanchez, while the liberal wing was represented by Minnesota Governor Ashlyn Wagner, New York Mayor Andrew Garbarino, and Ohio Governor Anthony Gonzalez. 
The conservative wing of the party argued that despite their loss in 2048, the party needs to stick to right-wing, free-market principles. Meanwhile, the liberal wing hoped that the centrism of the Beshear Administration might bring some Socialist voters into the Republican Party.
The initial leading candidates were Cammack and Garbarino who held a wide lead over the rest of the field. In late September 2051, documents were released detailing immense corruption under the Garbarino Administration in New York and this essentially sank Garbarino's candidacy. 
Following Garbarino's collapse, liberals in the Republican Party coalesced around Gonzalez. Gonzalez won the Iowa Caucuses, while Cammack won in New Hampshire and Nevada. Following Super Tuesday, the two candidates were deadlocked with Gonzalez holding a slight lead. Gonzalez secured the nomination just weeks before the Republican convention and chose the current Speaker of the House of Representatives Elise Stefanik as his running mate.
==Democratic Nomination==
President Andy Beshear remained popular among the Democratic base. A couple of liberal candidates attempted to challenge Beshear for the nomination, but none of their campaigns took off and Beshear was easily renominated. He renominated O'Rourke as his running mate.
==Campaign==
The campaign was unexciting as there were very few policy differences between Beshear and Gonzalez. Beshear campaigned on his record reducing unemployment, while Gonzalez argued that unemployment was still too high and that the economy was stagflating. At the beginning of the campaign, Beshear polled at 50% with Gonzalez at 49%, however, Beshear's lead expanded to 52%-47% by November.
==Results==
Andy Beshear won the election with 360 electoral votes and 52.4% of the popular vote. Anthony Gonzalez came in second place with 185 electoral votes and 47.1% of the popular vote. It was the largest popular vote win for a presidential candidate since 2008. 
Anthony Gonzalez was able to flip the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Maine from the previous election while Andy Beshear flipped the states of New York, Vermont, and Puerto Rico. Beshear became the first presidential candidate to win without Pennsylvania since 2004.
Category:Elections