2020 Groupy McGroupface Presidential Elections

**The 2020 Groupy McGroupface Presidential Elections** were the sixth Groupy McGroupface Presidential Elections to take place within the Group Chat (in canon), but the fourth to be performed by group chat members. Incumbent President Josiah Bartlet of the Democratic Party was eligible to run for re-election, and consequently did so. Other major candidates included Boris Johnson, Hercule Poirot, Bustopher Jones and Figel Narage. This election was the first to implement electoral reforms, whereby the winning candidate had to receive a majority of the votes to win. Prior to this point, a candidate could be elected on a simply plurality. Therefore, if no candidate wins a majority in one round of voting, then the vote continues to a second-round between the top two candidates. Another electoral reform that was introduced during this election cycle were the changes made to the primary system. As a result of these reforms, all of the primaries took place at once, and new methods of voting were introduced.

The initial election saw Republican Party Presidential Nominee Boris Johnson and President Josiah Bartlet as the top two candidates, meaning that an ensuing run-off election took place. In the second round however, Bartlet won a considerable majority over Johnson, allowing him to win re-election. Bartlet and his Vice President Matt Santos were thus re-inaugurated shortly after. As a consequence of this, the Democratic Party held onto the White House for a sixth consecutive term.

## Candidates

### Baker Street Party Candidates

* Hercule Poirot (WINNER)
* Hank Schrader
* Frank Columbo

### Cat Party Candidates

* Bustopher Jones (WINNER)
* Ollie the Polite Cat
* Hugo S. Catman

### Republican Party Candidates

* Boris Johnson (WINNER)
* Cornelius Moss
* Donald Trump
* Conrad Dalton
* Ronald Reagan

### Libertarian Party Candidates

* Figel Narage (WINNER)
* Count Binface
* Dick Braine

### Third Party and Independent General Election Candidates

* Count Binface [INDEPENDENT]
* Raymond Holt [LGBTQ+ PARTY]
* Oswald Cobblepot [INDEPENDENT]
* Madeline Wuntch [INDEPENDENT]
* Agatha Christie [WRITER'S PARTY]
* Hugo S. Catman [INDEPENDENT]
* Donald Trump [INDEPENDENT]

### Vice Presidential Candidates

* Matt Santos [DEMOCRATIC PARTY]
* Arthur Hastings [BAKER STREET PARTY]
* Jennyanydots [CAT PARTY]
* Dominic Cummings [REPUBLICAN PARTY]
* Harland Sanders [LIBERTARIAN PARTY]
* Vermin Supreme [INDEPENDENT: Count Binface]
* Kevin Cozner [LGBTQ+ PARTY]
* Edward Nygma [INDEPENDENT: Oswald Cobblepot]
* Bob Annderson [INDEPENDENT: Madeline Wuntch]
* Arthur Conan Doyle [WRITER'S PARTY]
* Glupi Petkat [INDEPENDENT: Hugo S. Catman]
* Stephen Bear [INDEPENDENT: Donald Trump]

## Pre-Primaries

In the run-up the Presidential Election, there were rumours that several members of the Democratic Party did not want President Jed Bartlet to run for re-election, despite his desire to do so. Prior to the primaries, Bartlet met with former First Lady and incumbent Democratic Party Senate Whip Claire Underwood, as well as Senators Bob Birch and Catherine Durant, in order to discuss their concerns in relation to his re-election bid. Underwood proved extremely hostile to his plans, and warned him against running. After doing so, she vowed to anything and everything within her power to stop him in his tracks, and prevent him from being re-elected.

Shortly after this, Underwood held a press conference alongside Durant and Birch, announcing that they were all leaving the Democratic Party. Instead, they would be forming 'The Independent Group'; a new centrist political party. Underwood mercilessly criticised Bartlet in her speech, referring to him as ineffective and weak. Following this point, Bartlet pondered as to whether he would go ahead with his re-election bid, and seriously doubted doing so. During this period of time, his faith wavered, and he became increasingly skeptical of the world around him. He ultimately decided however that he would run for re-election, out of a desire to continue helping people and increasing citizen's quality of life.

In the meantime, another significant event to have happened during this period of time was the resurrection of Edward Nygma, a.k.a. The Riddler (who had died during the events of The Vindicators). After gathering Nygma's dead body, gangster and crime lord Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. The Penguin, teamed up with scientist Dr. Strange and attempted to bring him back to life. After using 6 trillion gigawatts, Nygma's body suddenly became reanimated, and he was officially resurrected. Upon breathing once again, Nygma is informed by Cobblepot that he wishes to run for President, and consequently wants him to serve as the running mate. Nygma agrees to this, and the two men begin their partnership. Whilst Nygma would have been prosecuted for previous crimes committed during his past life, the two men found a legal loophole whereby Nygma's death exonerates him for all past crimes. Therefore, Cobblepot and Nygma ran as independents in the Presidential Election.

## Presidential Primaries - The Campaign

The Libertarian Party Presidential Primary included former Libertarian Party presidential contender Figel Narage, intergalactic space lord Count Binface and Congressman Dick Braine. Throughout the Libertarian Party Debate, Dick Braine faced multiple instances of being mocked and ridiculed, primarily as a result of his unfortunate name and perceived stupidity. Count Binface was largely responsible for the jokes made at the expense of Braine, with the moderator Judge Gen occasionally joining in. In the meantime, Narage primarily spoke about Kentucky Fried Chicekn (KFC) for most of the debate.

The Republican Party Presidential Primary included Senate Leader Boris Johnson, Senator Cornelius Moss, Penguin Club politician Donald Trump, former CIA Director Conrad Dalton and actor Ronald Reagan. This was viewed as an ideological war between factions of the Republican Party, with Moss and Trump assuming the mantle of the far-right, Johnson and Reagan fighting for the centre-right and Dalton advocating for the party to shift to the radical centre. The different factions hit out at each other multiple times, each arguing that they were individually best positioned to win the Presidency. At the Republican Party Debate, there was significant discord between Cornelius Moss and Boris Johnson. Moss heavily condemned Johnson's support of GroupCare, arguing that Johnson should not be classed as a "true Republican". For the hostile nature of his comments, Moss was asked to leave the stage. After refusing to do, he was forcibly removed.

The Cat Party Presidential Primary included aristocratic cat Bustopher Jones, 2019 Cat Party Presidential Nominee Ollie the Polite Cat and former independent Presidential candidate Hugo S. Catman. At the Cat Party Debate, there was evident friction between Jones and Catman, with the two exchanging catty remarks to one another throughout. In the meantime, Ollie continued to be polite throughout, and did not say a bad word to anyone.

The Baker Street Party Presidential Primary included 2018 & 2019 Baker Street Party Presidential Nominee Hercule Poirot, Drug Enforcement Administration agent Hank Schrader and Lieutenant Frank Columbo. At the Baker Street Party Debate, Poirot and Schrader engaged in an exchange of views over the matter of intelligence and law enforcement agencies being merged into one. Whilst Poirot was passionately in favour of this idea, Schrader was very much against it, and argued that his experience in the Drug Enforcement Administration made him the most qualified to speak on this particular topic. The two men debated this issue for a certain period of time, before simply agreeing to disagree. In the meantime, Columbo continuously agreed with Poirot and did not appear to have any significant policies of his own.

## Presidential Primaries - Voting

The new Presidential Primaries system incorporated delegates more so than previous years. Members of each party would vote for their selected candidates throughout the length of one week, and these votes would then be transferred proportionally into delegates. Candidates had the option of dropping out of the primaries during the week if they wished to do so, but there was no one that chose to do so. Different results were released throughout the course of this week, and the front-runner status was juggled around often. At the end of the week however, the final results were as follows:

**RESULTS**

***Baker Street Party***

* HERCULE POIROT - 240 DELEGATES
* HANK SCHRADER - 150 DELEGATES
* FRANK COLUMBO - 60 DELEGATES

***Cat Party***

* BUSTOPHER JONES - 180 DELEGATES
* OLLIE - 180 DELEGATES
* HUGO S. CATMAN - 90 DELEGATES

***Republican Party***

* BORIS JOHNSON - 150 DELEGATES
* CORNELIUS MOSS - 90 DELEGATES
* DONALD TRUMP - 60 DELEGATES
* RONALD REAGAN - 30 DELEGATES
* CONRAD DALTON - 30 DELEGATES

***Libertarian Party***

* FIGEL NARAGE - 210 DELEGATES
* COUNT BINFACE - 180 DELEGATES
* DICK BRAINE - 60 DELEGATES

In the immediate aftermath of the final results, it became clear that there was a tie in the Cat Party Presidential Primary between Bustopher Jones and Ollie. Shortly after this news however, Ollie delivered a press conference declaring that he would be withdrawing his candidacy, arguing that it would be the "polite" thing to do. As a consequence, Jones became the presumptive Cat Party Presidential Nominee. Ollie declined to attend the convention, but did offer his endorsement to Jones. On the other hand, Catman dismissed the primary results, and consequently declared that he would be standing as an independent presidential candidate.

Senator Cornelius Moss delivered a press conference declaring that the Republican Party Presidential Primary had been rigged in Boris Johnson's favour, and that the results were unfair. As a result, he refused to attend the party convention and ruled out endorsing Johnson at that point in time. In the meantime, Libertarian Dick Braine declined to attend his respective convention, though he did offer Figel Narage his endorsement on Twitter.

At the Baker Street Party National Convention, Hank Schrader and Frank Columbo both gave speeches conceding the race and offering their endorsements to Poriot. Former Baker Street Party presidential candidate James Comey also gave a speech, declaring his support for Poirot's candidacy. After accepting the nomination, Poirot announced that Arthur Hastings would be his running mate for the third consecutive year. Meanwhile at the Cat Party National Convention, Former Cat Party Presidential Nominee Wagahai Natsume and Senator Larry both gave speeches in favour of Jones' bid for the Presidency. Jones took to the stage at the end to announce that his close friend and ginger tabby cat Jennyanydots would be the Cat Party Vice Presidential Nominee.

At the Republican Party National Convention, Donald Trump took the opportunity to announce that he would be launching an independent bid for the Presidency, dismissing the primary results out of hand. Despite this, the remaining candidates, Dalton and Reagan, both endorsed Johnson and claimed that they would help him to win the Presidency. Johnson's pick for Vice President was Dominic Cummings; his Chief Advisor. In the meantime, at the Libertarian Party National Convention, Count Binface spoke and did not immediately endorse Narage. Instead, he said that he would spend the coming days assessing his political future. Despite this, Libertarian Party House Leader Lord Buckethead supported Narage nevertheless and endorsed his candidacy. Shortly thereafter, Narage announced that he had selected his boyfriend Colonel Harland Sanders to serve as his running mate.

At the Democratic Party National Convention President Jed Bartlet and Vice President Matt Santos were both re-nominated to represent the party at the upcoming General Election. Former Republican Presidential Candidate Paul Atishon gave the opening address at the convention, endorsing Bartlet and denouncing the "hateful politics" of the Republican Party. Former President James Hewett also endorsed Bartlet, and commended his actions as President.

Shortly after the Conventions took place, Count Binface re-emerged to announce that he would be running as an independent candidate for the Presidency. His selected running mate was Libertarian Party Senate Whip Vermin Supreme.

## General Election

The first Main Party Presidential Debate featured Jed Bartlet, Hercule Poirot, Bustopher Jones, Boris Johnson and Figel Narage and was moderated by Judge Gen. Throughout the debate, Bartlet criticised Johnson for making promises without full-proof plans, arguing that actions speak much louder than words. When making his point to Johnson, he made the following statement: *"Winning is easy, my friend, but governing's harder."* Hercule Poirot continued with his rhetoric from the previous years, stressing the importance for 'change' and 'equality'. Meanwhile, Bustopher Jones called out his fellow candidates for their lack of knowledge in the department of cat-related issues, whilst Figel Narage repeatedly spoke of his love for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

A few days after this, the Third Party and Independents Presidential Debate was held, featuring Count Binface, Raymond Holt, Oswald Cobblepot, Madeline Wuntch, Agatha Christie, Hugo S. Catman and Donald Trump. It was hosted by Disco Janet; a type of 'Janet'. The main source of conflict at the debate came between Binface and Catman, with the former provoking the latter throughout by hurling constant insults at him and calling him a 'second-rate Deadpool'. There was also a small argument that took place between Holt and Wuntch; a duo that had been self-professed enemies for a prolonged period of time.

The Vice Presidential Debate took place next, with the participants including Matt Santos, Arthur Hastings, Jennyanydots, Dominic Cummings and Harland Sanders. Similar to the first Main Party Presidential Debate, it was moderated by Judge Gen. The first question dabbled in hypotheticals, with Gen asking the candidates how they would react if the President were either assassinated or incapacitated. In response to this question, Jennyanydots shocked viewers when she promised to hunt down the person responsible for such an assassination, and consequently allow group chat members to "feast off of the cold-blooded killer". The first source of tension took place between Santos and Hastings, with the former criticising the latter over suggesting bold policy proposals with no concrete plans. In the meantime, Dominic Cummings refused to take the debate seriously throughout, and ultimately concluded his closing statement by reciting the entirety of the Bee Movie Script.

The second week of the General Election was plagued by fake news, primarily set in motion by Lord Squidy in collusion with Donald Trump. President Bartlet denounced the spread of deliberate disinformation, and advised voters to remain vigilant to it. In the meantime, Donald Trump's running mate Stephen Bear delivered a speech stating that the campaign had obtained DNA evidence that Boris Johnson had been fathering a secret love child in Penguin Club. As well as this, Bear also turned press attention to Bustopher Jones's previously unseen criminal record, which showed that he had previously stolen from the popular restaurant 'The Lasagna Factory'. Whilst Johnson refused to comment the matter, Jones publicly confessed to the accusations at hand.

In the run-up to the final few days of the election, Claire Underwood once again re-emerged and delivered a press conference, where she spoke alongside fellow Independent Group Senators Catherine Durant and Bob Birch. She declared that her political group would soon begin functioning as a fully-formed political party, and that this was only the beginning. Whilst they would not be putting forward a candidate in this particular election, they announced that they would all be endorsing Boris Johnson for President.

The final Main Party Presidential Debate took place two days before the vote was held, and was yet again hosted by Judge Gen. The first major clash on policy took place between Bartlet and Johnson, with the two men disagreeing on how to handle a viral outbreak. Whilst Bartlet stated that he would implement a border shutdown, Johnson begged to differ, arguing that such a shutdown had the potential to ruin people's holidays. Bartlet was bewildered by this argument, and stated that Johnson had befuddled him to the point where he was at a loss for words. Poirot sided with Johnson, though Bartlet continued to state his bafflement at Johnson's line of reasoning. Throughout the debate, Bartlet continued to stress his experience and the achievements of his administration, whilst Johnson, Poirot and Jones all considered themselves to be an upgrade on the incumbent President. In the meantime, Narage continued to speak of his love for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

### **General Election Results (First Round)**

* **1ST PLACE: Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings (Republican Party) - 156 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES**
* **2ND PLACE:** **Josiah Bartlet and Matt Santos (Democratic Party) - 126 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES**
* **3RD PLACE: Count Binface and Vermin Supreme (Independent) - 90 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES**
* **4TH PLACE [JOINT]: Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings (Baker Street Party) and Bustopher Jones and Jennyanydots (Cat Party) - 66 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES EACH**
* **6TH PLACE: Figel Narage and Harland Sanders (Libertarian Party) - 36 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES**
* **7TH PLACE: Raymond Holt and Kevin Cozner (LGBTQ+ Party) and Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma (Independent) - 30 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES EACH**
* **8TH PLACE [JOINT]: Madeline Wuntch and Bob Annderson (Independent), Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle (Writer's Party), Hugo S. Catman and Glupi Petkat (Independent) and Donald Trump and Stephen Bear (Independent) - 0 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES EACH**

No candidate received anywhere near a majority of the electoral college votes (301), and as a consequence a tie-breaker election ensued between the two leading candidates: Boris Johnson and Josiah Bartlet. Both men released statements after the first round of voting, thanking all of those that voted for them and encouraging undecided voters to join their campaign. The run-off election was conducted the following day.

### **General Election Results (Second Round)**

**1ST PLACE: Josiah Bartlet and Matt Santos (Democratic Party) - 360 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES**

**2ND PLACE: Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings (Republican Party) - 240 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES**

## The Aftermath

After the final results had been announced, the majority of the other candidates conceded the race and thanked those that had voted for them. In his concession speech, Poirot announced that the Baker Street Party would be merging with the Writer's Party in order to pool together their resources. The newly-formed party would consequently be called the 'Detection Party'.

Bustopher Jones however did not concede the election, and claimed that the election had been rigged against the Cat Party. During the course of his speech, Hugo S. Catman burst in to object, claiming to have evidence that Bustopher was not who he said he was. He claimed that, whilst the allegation of stealing from The Lasagna Factory was true, this was not the whole story. The real Bustopher had been arrested for this crime, meaning that this was an imposter. He subsequently blasted 'Bustopher Jones' with a gun of some sorts, with the intention of revealing his true form. This proved successful, and after a haze of smoke had disappeared, the imposter was revealed to be James Corden; actor, comedian and television host. After being exposed as pretending to be a cat, Corden fled the room, and was consequently followed by a herd of angry cats.

In the meantime, Figel Narage's concession speech also proved rather eventful. Whilst preparing to give his speech, Narage was struck with a sudden heart attack from eating too much KFC. Upon falling to the floor, he was greeted by the ghosts of Batte S. Casey and Larack Tobama, fellow former Libertarian Party candidates, who welcomed him in to the after-life. Narage consequently died, and was discovered by his lover and running mate, Harland Sanders.

After the concessions had taken place, Jed Bartlet and Matt Santos delivered their victory speeches. Bartlet congratulated Johnson for a hard-fought race, and similarly commended Binface, Poirot, Jones, Narage and Holt for well-run campaigns. He subsequently called for unity across the group chat, and promised to champion bipartisanship in his second term.

Shortly after the Presidential Election results were announced, it was then time for the Congressional Election results to be declared. The Democratic and Republican Parties both gained seats, whilst the Cat and Detection (formerly Baker Street) Parties lost seats. As for the Green Party, they lost their one seat within the House of Representatives. In the Senate, the Republicans maintained a minority of 7 seats, with the Democrats holding on to 5 seats.

Beyond this news, Bartlet’s minor cabinet re-shuffle was also revealed at this time. Whilst the vast majority of the cabinet retained their positions, Secretaries Tom Kirkman, Percy Fitzwallace and Vince Cable all departed their respective positions. It was subsequently announced that Elizabeth Warren would assume the role of Treasury Secretary, Ellen Hill would become Defence Secretary and Jay Inslee was to be appointed as Interior Secretary.

A number of days later, Bartlet and Santos were re-inaugurated as President and Vice President respectively. Bartlet once again took the opportunity to thank all of those that voted for his campaign, and promised to ensure that their trust would be repaid. He then committed to increasing military spending, and said this would be a priority of his second term in office. Bartlet also expressed a willingness to work with the Vindicators, a newly-formed superhero team, in order to secure a path forward that could benefit the group chat's security.

## Cast

**Altamont / Red498**

* Boris Johnson
* Hercule Poirot
* Figel Narage
* Frank Columbo
* Hugo S. Catman
* Ollie the Polite Cat
* Donald Trump
* Raymond Holt
* Madeline Wuntch
* Oswald Cobblepot
* Agatha Christie
* Dominic Cummings
* Arthur Hastings
* Harland Sanders
* Kevin Cozner
* Bob Annderson
* Edward Nygma
* Arthur Conan Doyle
* Glupi Petkat
* Hugo Strange
* Wagahai Natsume
* Larry the Cat
* James Hewett
* Stohk Ihmage

**Buttons99999**

* Josiah Bartlet
* Bustopher Jones / James Corden
* Hank Schrader
* Conrad Dalton
* Cornelius Moss
* Ronald Reagan
* Count Binface
* Dick Braine
* Count Binface
* Matt Santos
* Jennyanydots
* Stephen Bear
* Vermin Supreme
* Claire Underwood
* Catherine Durant
* James Comey
* Lord Buckethead
* Lord Squidy
* C.J. Cregg
* Stohk Ihmage

**GrandpaGames**

* Bob Birch