2018 Presidential Election Season 12

## Overview

The Season 12 Presidential Election took place on February 10, 2018. The incumbent President, Jon S. Überfeld, won the election in a landslide against four different candidates. This election is known for being one of the biggest electoral and popular vote landslides for a Presidential candidate to date, and the first time a third party has won electoral votes since Season 5.

## Candidates

### Democratic Party Candidates

* Jackson Hitchcock (Nominee)
* Bill Clinton (Defeated)
* (Defeated)
* Ethan Fitzgerald / Claudio Aleman (Withdrew)
* Oran Mulcahy / Rafael Munguia (Withdrew)
* Rafael Munguia / Michael Walker (Withdrew)
* Raz Weiss / Nathan Brown (Withdrew)
* Nathan Brown (Withdrew)
* Joshua Huntington (Defeated)
* Nicklas Zande (Defeated)
* Joey niestroy (Defeated)

### Republican Party Candidates

* Jon S. Überfeld (i) / Joe Portillo (Nominee, winner)
* Fernando Diaz (Defeated)
* Rogue Thing (Defeated)

### Independent Candidates

* Mish Fox (Defeated in general)
* Independent Conservative (Withdrew)
* The Terrifying Cthulhu (Withdrew)
* Independent Moderate (Withdrew)

## Primaries

### Democratic Primary

The Democratic Party had many candidates and front runners come and go throughout the race. The first main front runner, D-5 Representative Oran Mulcahy, announced his candidacy early on and was tied with President Überfeld in many polls. Later he dropped out of the Presidential race right after his running mate, D-3 Representative Rafael Munguia, announced his run for President. He chose Michael Walker as his running mate and campaigned regularly, yet he was trailing in polling. His campaign was short lived, as he dropped out of the Presidential race shortly after a debate between him and President Überfeld. With no major Democratic candidates in the race to challenge Überfeld, former President and D-1 Senator Ethan Fitzgerald announced his candidacy with Claudio Aleman as his running mate. He would later go on to win the Democratic nomination, but a load of chaos and drama erupted within the Democratic Party and the community when he suddenly dropped out of the Presidential race right after the DNC. The party had to redo the ballot, and as a result D-7 Representative Jackson Hitchcock won the Democratic nomination. Jackson would choose Ryan Servis, a Republican, as his running mate.

There were also a few other Democratic candidates during the race, some to challenge the front runners and others to deliver their platform. One such candidate was newcomer Raz Weiss, who announced his candidacy in mid December with Nathan Brown on his ticket. He and front runner Oran Mulcahy campaigned regularly for the next few weeks, however he abruptly dropped out due to personal reasons, so Nathan Brown took over the ticket. He also dropped out not long after. Former VP Joshua Huntington entered the race twice, once was to challenge the front runner at the time with a moderate platform, and the second time was right after Fitzgerald dropped out to challenge Jackson Hitchcock for the nomination.

### Republican Primary

The Republican Party wasn't as controversial, with there not being any front runners going in and out. D-3 Senator Fernando Diaz announced his run for President, and stated that he wasn't trying to beat Überfeld, but instead giving him competition. Rogue Thing was also a candidate in the race, but was inactive and didn't win any delegates in the Primaries. The front runner, former D-3 Representative and current President Jon S. Überfeld, announced his run for re-election on February 10th with his running mate Joe Portillo. He easily won the Republican nomination with the necessary delegates needed. Conservative Chico, who wasn't seeking the Republican nomination, won West Virginia through faithless delegates.

### Republican Primary Results

 Fernando Diaz
 Conservative Chico

## General Election

Based on polling in the days leading up to the general election, Überfeld was expected to win in a landslide with around 70% of the vote. Former VP Braden Hart joined the race two days before the election, beating out the other third parties in polling. On Election Day, Überfeld started out with a strong lead and maintained it until the results were certified. Braden Hart surprisingly received more votes than Jackson Hitchcock, the Democrat. Mish Fox (an Independent) and Luca (the Green Part candidate) were also candidates, but they didn't receive much attraction.

Once the results were certified, Überfeld won with a 45 state landslide, flipping many solid Democratic states, most notably Maryland, California, and Hawaii. This was the biggest electoral landslide for a Presidential candidate in MEC history until Season 14. Jackson Hitchcock only won DC and his home state of Michigan, marking the worst performance by a Democratic candidate to date. Braden Hart did extremely well for a third party candidate, winning his home state of Massachusetts, as well as Vermont, Rhode Island, and Delaware. Ultimately he received more electoral votes than the Democrat.

### General Election Results

 Braden Hart
 Jackson Hitchcock/Ryan Servis
 Mish Fox
 Luca