United States of Almeria Presidential Election of 620

The **United States presidential election of 620** was held on Tuesday, November 7, 620, and was the electoral contest to take control of the White House between the New Red Party, Blue Party, and Secessionist Party. It was the 156th quadrennial election for President and Vice President and the first election held after the Reunification of Almeria.

## Nominees

### New Red Party

* Jacob Winters, 98th of the President of the United States
* Norman Hill, 5th and 7th President of the Second Confederacy

### Blue Party

* Terry Greer, Second Confederacy Senator from New Mexico
* Curt Bell, Representative from Missouri

### Secessionist Party

* Mark Reese, 4th and 6th President of the Second Confederacy
* Clay Byrd, Second Confederacy Senator from Arkansas

## Election

### Nominations

On his first day in office new Northern President Jacob Winters made good on his campaign promise to negotiate an immediate ceasefire with Southern President Norman Hill, and the two administrations began work on more comprehensive plans to end the war and reunify Almeria. This culminated in the South rejoining the North, on the condition that the North grant Canada's longstanding request for independence and alter the federal government to be more like the Southern government. This drastically changed the electoral map for the upcoming election, weakening the Blue Party and opening over a dozen new states for the Progressive Red Party to compete in. After the two year long transitional efforts wound down, President Winters approached the now retired Norman Hill about the possibility of running together on a reelection ticket, replacing Vice President Edwin Bennett who had clashed repeatedly with the president on reunification. Despite their friendship Hill initially turned down the offer, believing it to be a cynical political play to capture the south, but was convinced to join when Winters revealed his hopes of culturally unifying Almerians around the popular presidents and a new political party.

Once the change was officially announced many pundits declared the race all but over before it began, buoyed by 79% approval ratings of the ticket. Quietly writing the election off, the Blue Party decided to spend the campaign reforming their image with the public, playing down their former opposition to reunification and pushing progressive labor laws instead. To bolster this more pro-Southern message the Blue Party establishment approached Progressive Red Party Senator Terry Greer, whose relatively moderate social record and progressive economic policies served as a good example of the kind of voter the Blue Party wished to make gains with. Greer agreed with the direction of the party and switched his party registration, choosing Curt Bell, another former Progressive Red member, as his Vice Presidential pick over a more liberal option.

Any focus there might have been on the reformed Blue Party shattered when President Winters announced the reformation of the Progressive Red Party as the New Red Party, a north-south unity party that would be big tent on social issues and populist on economics. Directly following the announcement the New Red Party opened up a 48 point polling lead, the largest ever recorded. Despite the reunification, a vocal minority in the South still supported independence from the North, and former Southern President Mark Reese chose to jump into the race after his mortal enemy Norman Hill announced his candidacy. Reforming the southern Red Party as the Secessionist Party, Reese hoped to win enough electoral college votes to play kingmaker and indirectly control the two main parties.

### Campaign and Issues

The campaign was mostly a victory lap for the victorious President Winters and former Southern President Norman Hill, who each saw their popularity become nearly universal after the reunification. The two promised to spend the next four years healing divisions in the country, with little substance as to what that looked like. At the presidential debate Blue Party nominee Terry Greer hit Winters hard on the specifics of his economic proposals for the country, but while the attack did damage Winters' polling lead stayed commanding.

### Results

President Winters won reelection within minutes of polls closing across the country, marching to an easy 420-105-13 stomp of his two competitors. His popular vote win of 10.5 points was the largest landslide in almost 70 years after a generation of nail biter elections. The election solidified the New Red Party as having a significant advantage over the Blue Party going forwards.

Only three states were decided by two points or less this election, none of which would have swung the results of the election. Winters won Texas by the barest of margins over Mark Reese thanks to strong support from swing voters, while Terry Greer managed to barely hold on in the once safe blue states of Hawaii and Connecticut by the barest of margins. Overall the Winters/Hill ticket managed to flip 9 blue states and 6 Secessionist states into their column along with every swing state.