Luka Thomas

**Luka Christopher Thomas** (born May 8, 2168) is an American politician, and lawyer who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2209 to 2213 under President Justice Franklin. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Governor of Galileo from 2203 to 2209. Thomas was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2201 to 2203.

Thomas was born and raised in Galilei, Galileo. He graduated from the University of Galileo and earned a law degree from the University of Ganymede Dawn K. Laadimi School of Law before entering private practice. After losing two bids for a congressional seat in 2194 and 2196, he began his own firm with his friend, Linsay Teigan. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2200 and represented the 2nd district of Galileo from 2201 to 2203. While in the U.S. House he was a member of the Red Dog Coalition during the duration of his term. Thomas described himself as a "principled Democrat" and supporter of the Outer System liberal isolationism.

Thomas successfully sought the Democratic nomination for the 2202 Galileo gubernatorial election when term-limited Melissa Brown Daniels retired. He defeated former Republican Galileo House speaker Sara Almauger in one of the closest gubernatorial elections in the state's history. Upon becoming governor in January 2202, Thomas initiated his revolutionary job expansion plan, which created a total of 400,000 jobs in the state by the end of his first year. Thomas signed bills to lower taxes for citizens, and corporations in the state. After Thomas signed the Environmental Regulation Reform Act, he encountered fierce resistance from more liberal members of his party and environmental activists.

After much debating with the national party, Thomas was chosen as Democratic nominee Justice Franklin's running mate in the 2208 United States presidential election. He was inaugurated as vice president of the United States on January 20, 2209. As vice president, Thomas chaired the National Space Council. In 2211, he was appointed Chair of the Mars Military Task Force, which worked to ease rising tension between the United States government and Martian Separatist groups.

After Franklin declined to run for re-election in 2212, Thomas announced his own election bid. He lost in the Democratic primary to Abigail Saylor.

## Early Life

Luka Christopher Thomas was born on March 8, 2168 in Galilei, Galileo, Galieo. His family was a poor, working-class family that valued hard work. Thomas was excelled as a student and was given the opportunity to attend Horizons College Preparatory School. While at Horizons College Prep, Thomas was given the opportunity to be a Congressional intern in his senior year. He graduated with high honors and attended the University of Ganymede, also located in Galilei. While at the University of Ganymede he served in student government and became a member of Sigma Pi Epsilon. After graduated from with a bachelor's degree in political science, he stayed at the University where he earned his law degree.

## Early Career

After graduating from law school, Thomas opened up a private practice in Galilei. He took cases from everything to real estate to criminal defense. Thomas was known for his work-ethic and relationship building schools, making many connections with judges. He had gotten many offers to join the county prosecutor's office. He declined, saying that the Galilei County Prosecutor's office was "corrupt and disgustingly prejudiced." He instead launched a bid for Congress.

### 2194 Congressional Bid

In January 2194, Thomas announced that he would run for Congress in an open seat vacated by Republican Mimi Hilton. This seat was trending Democratic, and the commonwealth party wanted to make sure this seat flipped in the midterms. According to a rule that was seat by outer system members of Congress, party leadership and the DCCC was not allowed to participate in competitive primaries. This left the field wide open. Thomas ran as a Red Dog Democrat. "I'm a bridge-builder," he said in his first campaign ad. Thomas took many moderate and conservative stances such as the re-privatization of transportation, and his opposition to expansionism. He was however, a proponent of increased infrastructure funding and criminal justice reform. Thomas faced Former Press Secretary to the Premier Cheyenne Meza and Commonwealth Senator Daniella Preston in the primary. Preston, a progressive legislative champion squeaked out a win in the primary. She eventually lost to Galilei City Councilmember Rick Nelson in the general election.