Armstrong-Aldrin

State Flag of Armstrong-Aldrin

The State of **Armstrong-Aldrin** is a political division on the Commonwealth of Artemis on the planet Mars.

## History

### Pre-Statehood

Before becoming a state, Armstrong-Aldrin was one of the 22 divisions in the Martian-American territory of Artemis from 2053 until its statehood in 2073. Armstrong-Aldrin was named after former Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

### Statehood

Armstrong-Aldrin was admitted into the union on March 2, 2073, making it the first state on Mars and the 56th state to enter the union. The first governor of the state was B. Marcell Pérez. A former scientist turned astronaut, Pérez served as a Republican.

## Geography

Armstong-Aldrin is a very rural state filled with mostly farmers. It is normally warm for the whole year, and it hardly ever snows. Most of Mars' sweet corn comes from Armstrong-Aldrin and one of its border states, Lincoln. Armstrong-Aldrin doesn't have many cities. Its largest city and capital, Glenn (named after former Senator and Astronaut John Glenn) has about 85,000 people. The state has three border states: Lincoln to the east, Aphrodite to the west, and Franklin to the south. They are all relatively rural states with populations under 300,000 in total.

### Counties

Armstrong-Aldrin is a small state (1,500 square miles). The state has a total of four counties and one independent city.

#### Challenger County

Challenger County is the westernmost county in the state of Armstrong-Aldrin. It was named for the space shuttle, Challenger that exploded, killing all aboard. The county's seat and largest city is McAuliffeville, which was named after Astronaut Krista McAulliffe. McAuliffeville has about 25,000 people living there. Challenger County normally votes democratic due to a large number of farmers and agribusiness owners. The county has a county mayor and a county commission with 5 members.

#### Glenn City

Glenn City is the most populous city in the state with about 80,000 people living in it. The city is home to most of Armstrong-Aldrin's universities and businesses. Glenn tends to vote Republican due to all of the academics living within the cities. The current Mayor of Glenn is Tanya Klein and there are 15 members of the Glenn city council.

* ====Kelly County====
* Pérez County
* Shepard County

## Government and Politics

When it first entered the union, Armstrong-Aldrin was a very Republican state. There were only a total of 6 Democratic members of its state legislature combined in the first legislature. Over time, the state has become more liberal. The Democratic party has become more Progressive, as the Republican party has stayed relatively conservative. There is currently split control in the state legislature, the Republicans have the Senate, and the Democrats have the state assembly. Republicans tend to do better in statewide elections because most academics and working-class families in suburban areas tend to vote Republican. Democrats win most rural voters and agribusiness owners in the state. Third parties however are almost non-existent.

### Elected Officials

#### Premier

*See Also: List of Premiers of Artemis*

Because the United States has so many states on different planets and moons, groups of states are divided into Commonwealths. Every commonwealth is headed by a premier (Commonwealth version of a President), has its own Congress, and has its own Judicial system. Unlike most planets and moons, Mars has one commonwealth, Artemis. The Incumbent Premier of Artemis is Tonya Albecker. Premier Albecker is a Republican from the state of Apollo. She has lots of legislative experience serving as a Commonwealth Congresswoman and a Commonwealth Senator. She was also well-liked in both parties for her liberal stances on education, criminal justice reform, and environmental protection. Before being elected premier in 2138, she served as Vice Premier under Don Makin. She is extremely popular and is expected to get re-elected in 2142.

#### Governor

*See Also: List of Governors of Armstrong-Adrin*

The Incumbent Governor of Armstrong-Aldrin is Jessica Williams. Williams is a Republican, and before she was elected governor she served in the state senate and the state assembly. Williams is from a middle-class Republican family that influenced her political beliefs. She is a native of Glenn, and she rarely had challengers in the state assembly and senate. Williams won by a comfortable margin, defeating Democratic Shepard County Commissioner, Kevin Perone, a former Republican, by almost 10 percent. Her main issues on the campaign trail were lowering taxes on the middle class and eliminating regulations for agribusiness. Williams has remained popular with Democrats and Republicans in her home state. Since this is her first term, Williams will be eligible to run for re-election in 2141.

#### Lieutenant Governor

*See Also: List of Lieutenant Governors of Armstrong-Aldrin*

Armstrong-Aldrin is one of the three states on Mars that elects its lieutenant governor on a separate from the governor. The incumbent Lieutenant Governor is David Bush. A democrat, Bush comes from a family of farmers in Shepard County. He became an agribusinessman, heading Bush Farms, a group of 8 sweet corn farms in Western Shepard County. Bush then ran for Armstrong-Aldrin Commissioner of Agriculture in 2133. He defeated the incumbent commissioner, Miya Wade, by 22 points. That was the largest defeat of an incumbent in the history of the state. The state's democratic party then recruited him to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2137. He ended defeating his Republican challenger, Commonwealth Congresswoman Vanessa Osbourne by a five-point margin. The lieutenant governor can run for two consecutive terms. However, there is talk within the party to recruit Bush for a Gubernatorial run in 2141.

#### U.S. Congressional Delegation

##### **Senators**

Both of Armstrong-Aldrin's United States Senators are Democrats.

John Eisenberg is the Senior United States Senator from Armstrong-Aldrin. Eisenberg is a native of McAuliffeville, the largest city in Challenger County. The senator, like most Aldrin-Armstrong Democrats, comes from a long line of farmers. Shortly after starting a family of his own, Eisenberg successfully ran for Mayor of McAuliffeville. During his tenure, he helped small agribusinesses thrive and brought trade programs involving farming into schools. After serving two terms, Eisenberg successfully ran for an open seat in the Artemis Senate defeating his Republican challenger, State Senator Michelle Vélez, by less than two points. In 2129, Eisenberg was asked to join Artemis Premier Erica Baker's cabinet as Secretary of Small Business. He accepted. Eisenberg was confirmed unanimously by the Artemis Senate month after the announcement of his nomination. In 2131, he announced that he would run for the United States Senate against the incumbent Republican, Geoffrey Tinsley, who had just been indicted on bribery charges. Eisenberg defeated Senator Tinsley by 9 points.

    Nicole Lin is the Junior United States Senator from Armstrong-Aldrin. Senator Lin is a first-generation American. Her parents immigrated from the short-lived Yangtze Republic during its 2103 recession. Lin was born in New Philadephia, Muhlenberg and then moved to Giffordsville, a relatively smaller city in Kelly County with her parents at the age of two. Lin went to law school and started her own private practice as an immigration lawyer. She spent 5 years as a lawyer before unsuccessfully running for Armstrong-Aldrin State Senate. In 2137, she launched a run for United States Senate. She was the only Democrat that had announced she was running for the open seat before the filing deadline. After the primaries, Lin was 38 points down in the polls against U.S. Congressman Xavier Rogers. At the time, she was given no chance to win the election. Month after month, she gained momentum in the race. However, many were expecting her to lose by ten or more points until the only Senate debate. Rogers did a terrible job defending his record as a U.S. Congressman and Lin did an excellent job pushing her progressive message. After that debate, the margin dropped to five. On election day, Lin, whose only political experience was running for state senate in 2135, shocked Republicans and Democrats, winning the seat by 129 votes. While in office, Senator Lin has fought for easier immigration laws, increasing funding for the United States Department of Environmental Protection, and voting rights protections for immigrants and naturalized citizens.