2019 Presidential Election Season 23

The Season 23 Presidential election of Mock Election was held on the weekend of May 25, 2019 to elect the 24th President of MEC. Incumbent President Nathan Brown was eligible to run for re-election this season but never announced intentions to do so. This election was a matchup between Senator and former Vice President Robert Sanders, and Representative and former Senator Ethan Davis, both of which being the main candidates. Sanders won the election in a larger than expected margin coinciding with a blue wave in the House. This election notably marks the first time since Season 16 that a Republican won the Vice Presidency (being Tim Taft), and the first time that an incumbent President joined the bottom of another ticket, with this instance being Nathan Brown going onto Ethan Davis' ticket as the running mate.

## Candidates

### Republican Party Candidates

* Timothy Taft - founder of MEC, U.S Senator from Wisconsin **(Withdrew)**
* **Joseph Brosnahan** -perennial candidate from Tennessee **(Withdrew)**

### Democratic Party Candidates

* Ethan Davis - U.S Representative from Michigan **(Nominee)**
	+ Nathan Brown- incumbent President from Georgia **(Nominee)**
* Robert Sanders - U.S Senator from North Carolina **(Defeated)**
	+ Ben MacKay - U.S Representative from Massachusetts **(Defeated)**
* Joseph Kander - incumbent Vice President from Georgia **(Withdrew)**
* Kenneth Quinones - U.S Representative, Speaker of the House, from Michigan **(Withdrew)**

### MEC Socialist Front Candidates

* Henry Terry - former U.S Representative from Michigan **(Withdrew)**

### Wakanda Reform Party Candidates

* Terrell McCann - U.S Senator, former U.S Representative, from Pennsylvania

### Farmer Labor Party Candidates

* Joseph Brosnahan-perennial candidate from Tennessee

### Independent Candidates

Robert Sanders - U.S Senator from North Carolina

* Timothy Taft - founder of MEC, U.S Senator from Wisconsin

## Primaries

### Republican Primary

The GOP this season was coming off the back of a huge controversy involving the resignation of nearly all of their leadership due to a movement known as "#GOPreferendum". As a result, much of the community had doubts regarding the prospects of a Republican taking the White House following a Democratic blowout the season prior. These doubts would be toned down however, when the founder of MEC, Tim Taft, announced he would be seeking the Republican nomination for President. Joseph Brosnahan, a well known perennial candidate, also jumped into the race. Many believed that Taft was going to win the primary in a landslide as no other prominent Republicans jumped into the race. As primary day drew further, it was looking likely to be a competition between him and Robert Sanders who was the Democratic frontrunner for most of the primary season. This matchup would take a major turn however, when Ethan Davis jumped into the race, ultimately motivating Taft to drop out. Joseph Brosnahan also dropped out around the same time, leaving the GOP without a nominee on primary day.

### Democratic Primary

Unlike the GOP, the Democrats had shown a lot of optimism regarding the prospects of taking the White House again following Nathan Brown winning the Presidency in a blowout the previous season. At the beginning of the primary season, most of the community believed that President Brown would seek re-election, but this would exit the realm of possibility when Brown never formally announced intentions to do so. This news opened the door for a few Democratic contenders including Vice President Joseph Kander, Speaker of the House Kenneth Quinones, and most notably D-2 Senator Robert Sanders, all of which jumped into the race. The first candidate to jump into the race, Kander, seemed like a potential frontrunner for the nomination in the eyes of the Democratic Party due to his title as VP under President Brown. These prospects would fall due to a lack of momentum, ultimately leading to Kander making the decision to drop out and endorse Robert Sanders. Kenneth Quinones announced his bid for President seemingly out of nowhere, following only an announcement teaser by the Speaker of the House. This bid, however, was short lived, after Quinones dropped of the race with his Senate loss in the May Senate elections likely playing a large factor in the decision. The expected Democratic nominee by many, however, was Robert Sanders, who announced his candidacy alongside former President Tom Kirkman as his running mate. That ticket only lasted a couple of days as Kirkman announced he would be dropping from the ticket, leading Sanders to then pick D-9 Representative Ben MacKay as his new running mate. As primary day inched closer, Sanders found himself being the only Democrat running for the nomination, further confirming predictions that he would be the nominee. An unexpected turn would brew into the race when D7 Representative Ethan Davis jumped into the race two minutes before the ballot dropped. While the community wasn't initially sure which party he would run under, he made a surprise move and ran for the Democratic nomination, challenging Robert Sanders. On primary day, Davis defeated Sanders by a mere 3 votes, leaving him as the Democratic nominee.