2020 United States Presidential Election (Nixon Retires)

The **2020 United States presidential election** was the 59th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of Incumbent Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin and Texas Representative Julian Castro defeated the Republican ticket of Incumbent President Rand Paul and Vice President Nikki Haley. Baldwin would become the first LGBTQ+ President in American History.

Rand Paul was a controversial figure in American politics, with conservatives loving him, and liberals hating him. He had built the border wall and was about 75% through. He had also made a law cutting taxes. On the other hand, his anti-LGBTQ+ laws had been despised, but his Gay marriage banned wasn't able to get through the senate.

Despite having mixed reviews at the start, public favor turned against him with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had infected over 3 million people, and killed over 350, 000 people during the time. America had quickly turned against Paul.

Despite his low approval ratings during COVID, Paul was easily nominated by his party, because he was still popular within the GOP.

On the Democratic side, there were many candidates who threw their names in for nomination. In the end, Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin won the nomination, and named Texas Representative Julian Castro as his running mate.

Baldwin had ran on many ideals, Paul's failure during the pandemic, his anti-LGBTQ+ stances, the wall, and many others. Baldwin declared Paul a pseudo-fascist who didn't know how to run a democracy, with the pandemic as proof. Paul declared anyone who voted for Baldwin as a communist traitor, and that she would fall flat as President, declaring "America wouldn't want a female President acting like a man." Many outlets and people were angry at Paul's sexist comments, and soon it was more and more clear that he would lose.

In the end, despite not winning in a landslide as many expected, Baldwin won the election over Paul. Paul would refuse to concede, declaring the election was rigged and that he had won. His repeated claims of election tampering, along with combined resentment of Baldwin from conservatives, culminated in the January 6th riots, where pro-Paul supporters raided and broke into the capital, killing 15 people and injuring over 100. After this, Paul would concede, but not after his Vice President, Nikki Haley resigned.

The main issues of this election were the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Mexican Border Wall, LGBTQ+ Rights, the Supreme Court after Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, tax cuts, and civil unrest after the effects of George Floyd's murdering.

## Primaries:

### Republican Primaries:

Paul and Haley were easily nominated despite the effect COVID had on their approval ratings, as they were still universally liked by the GOP. Bill Weld ran in an anti-Paul movement, but debates were cancelled due to the pandemic, and Paul won.

 Rand Paul

### Democratic Primaries:

In the primaries a frontrunner was unknown, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg had an impressive run but fell short. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the primaries due to declining health. At the end the main candidates left were Texas Represntative Julian Castro, former Secretary of State Barrack Obama, and Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin. Eventually, it was Baldwin who won the Democratic nomination, naming Castro as her running mate, and also making her the first LGBTQ+ person to win nomination for a big party.

 Tammy Baldwin

## Campaign/Issues Unique to the Election:

### Republican Campaign:

Paul campaigned on the success of the economy before COVID, declaring China had intentionally released it to "clown him." He also called Baldwin a radical, who would stop at nothing to see the American dream burn. He also campaigned on security and the border wall, saying Baldwin would let illegal immigrants enter all over again.

### Democratic Campaign:

Baldwin campaigned on Paul's failures during COVID, as well as his far-right social positions, deeming him a "pseudo-fascist." She also campaigned that Paul broke a promise with Ruth Bader Ginsburg to nominate someone to the court after the election, calling him a back-stabber and a liar.

### The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic:

Under President Paul, the COVID-19 virus was infecting many people in China, in January of 2020, it reached America. Paul, however, downplayed the virus, calling it a Chinese hoax. However, when it gained more ground, more people started being infected and dying. Baldwin called Paul's downplaying a move of unrecognizably idiocy from the top of the white house.

### Immigration after the Border Wall Construction:

Baldwin was sharply critical of Paul's immigration policies, declaring he had hurt the people he intended to help. Paul declared Baldwin supported open borders that could endanger the country, but Baldwin said that while she didn't support completely open border, she supported laws that would treat immigrants like human beings.

### LGBTQ+ Rights:

Baldwin was an open lesbian, so it was no surprise when she called out Paul's gay marriage ban bill, along with a ban on transgender military members and other anti-LGBTQ+ bills, including a reinstatement of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell bill. Paul would declare "Pedophiles shouldn't be allowed to represent our nations values." This quote hurt Paul severely, with many accusing him of both homophobia and transphobia.

### The Supreme Court:

Long time judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away in 2020, and while Paul said he would not replace her until after the election, he instead nominated Amy Coney Barret to the court, and with a tied majority, Nikki Haley passed Barret to the court. Baldwin declared when Paul made a promise, he immediately lied about it, while declaring he had spit in the face of Ginsburg's legacy.

### Tax Cuts:

Under Paul, he had made new tax cuts, which saw corporations receive over $100 billion dollars in benefits. Baldwin declared the tax cuts a gift to wall street instead of focusing on the American people, she declared Paul only wanted corporate support.

### Civil Unrest after the Murder of George Floyd:

Officer Derek Chauvin had killed George Floyd, who had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face-down in a street. Prior to being placed on the ground, Floyd had exhibited signs of anxiety, complaining about having claustrophobia, and being unable to breathe. After being restrained, he became more distressed, still complaining of breathing difficulties, of the knee on his neck, and of fear of imminent death. After several minutes, Floyd stopped speaking. For the last few minutes, he lay motionless and Officer Kueng found no pulse when urged to check. Despite this, Chauvin ignored pleas from bystanders to lift his knee from Floyd's neck. After this, riots broke out in the country, with Black Lives Matter at the forefront. Baldwin said that while Floyd deserved to be arrested he didn't deserve death, while calling Chauvin's actions misguided at best, and horrific at worst.

## Results and Aftermath:

Because of the unrest of the pandemic, and Paul's low approval ratings, Baldwin would win the election, without carrying a single southern state other than Virginia. Paul declared the election was rigged and made false claims throughout the Presidential transition. It would culminate in the January 6th assault on the capital, where pro-Paul supporters attacked after a rally in Washington DC. At the capital, 15 people, including 9 officers were killed, and over 100 others were injured. This would cause Nikki Haley to resign from the Vice Presidency, and Paul later gave a speech apologizing for his actions and he gave the claims of election fraud up.

On January 20, 2021, Baldwin and Castro were nominated as the 46th President and 49th Vice President specifically.