Wabbit Season

**Wabbit Season** refers to the massive blue wave during the 2008 U.S. Senate Elections. The name comes from the 2008 presidential election, where Chairman Wabbit won the presidency in a landslide.

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## Before the elections

The U.S. Presidency had been held by left-wing parties in a coalition lead by the Liberal Democrats since 1997, when Selina Guthrie was inaugurated. Thea Onpiates refused to run for a second term in 2008, and Wabbit became the presumptive nominee. Wabbit was known for holding unusual amount of power, and he was a great speaker. Ever since 2002 the National Conservatives had controlled Congress, and their power seemed almost unbeatable, with the Rs even flipping Minnesota. However, earlier on in the year, the economy collapsed due to a major crash in the housing market and working class Americans became much poorer.

## 2008 elections

Wabbit began to campaign with left-wing senate candidates, drawing huge crowds who were highly impressed with his speeches, which became infamous for their passion and fury. He talked about UBI and radical policies which shocked even some of the most left-wing members of the coalition. He spoke about the flaws of capitalism and these speeches were seen around the world. He spoke about the recession and his plans to solve it for the working class American. He drew criticism from the National Conservative controlled Congress, with Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) calling him a "pinko waste", something which ultimately lead to his downfall.

## Key Races

### Mississippi

Incumbent U.S. Senator Thad Cochran ran for re-election in 2008. He refused to implement policies to solve the recession in Mississippi, and the average quality of life in the state dropped heavily. Cochran claimed that the policies which needed to be implemented were "socialist propaganda" and "a communist ploy". Wabbit called Cochran "Fat Cockrun", which pissed off Cochran, and he released the "Wabbit Waste" speech, which tanked his popularity further.

*"Wabbit has used immature language to try and stop me from doing my job in protecting Mississippi from leftist ploys. This pinko waste must not become our President or we shall turn into a communist dictatorship. I trust that the citizens of this state will agree with me, and help me with my plan to fight off socialist influences in our beautiful state and Union."*

Wabbit later released the following statement:

*"I remember that Senator Cochran called me a waste, or something of the sort. I personally think that self love is important, and self-projection is a call for help. I pray for my dear friend, Fat Cockrun."*

Cochran later lost the election by a margin of 4% to Liberal Democratic challenger Erik R. Fleming. This was a key moment, as a popular R incumbent in a R state had been defeated by a little known D challenger. This proved to be the key victory and a defining moment of Wabbit Season.

### North Carolina

North Carolina's senate seat had been a Republican stronghold for 36 years, since Jesse Helms's win in 1972. Helms decided to retire in 2002 due to health complications, and had died of vascular dementia shortly before the election. Elizabeth Dole, wife of 42 year Kansas senator and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, had been elected to succeed Helms and was inaugurated on the 3rd of January, 2003. Earlier on, most news sources predicted an easy re-election for the popular Dole, however, Wabbit's most aggressive campaign was waged in North Carolina, and Kay Hagan used this to her advantage, riding the blue wave to a very easy victory.

Dole had done minimal campaigning, and later remarked: "I felt sad that I lost, but I felt very relieved too. Like, thank god I don't have to deal with the Senate anymore."

Hagan's win mainly relied on the eastern counties of the state, something that had saved Dole in 2002 and helped Helms win landslides in the elections prior. Helms's widow called Hagan's win "a great tragedy" and Bob Dole told reporters that he was "devastated by the loss, yet congratulating the winners". This was the first Lib Dem win in a U.S. Senate race in North Carolina since 1966, 42 years before. This was a defining moment in North Carolina's history and effected it's politics for a long time following the victory.

### Alaska

During the 2002 wave, long-time U.S. Senator Alamkan M. Countryball Sr. had campaigned for many other senators, yet he was facing Mayor of Anchorage, Mark Begich. Operation Polar Pen had gone after many different politicians in Alaska, with Alamkan Countryball being under investigation for accepting bribes from corporate executives. Wabbit rallied on Begich's side, and Begich was leading in the polls by just over 2%. However, shortly before the election, Alamkan was found innocent, which boosted Cuddy's approval and rating in the polls. Begich soon saw a small surge when he was endorsed by Alaska's other senator, Liberal Democrat Tony Knowles, who had served since 2005. The election was close, but for most of it, Alamkan had the upper hand, and he pulled through with a hefty 61.9%. This, however. was a 16.3% underperformance from his 2002 performance, and a 37.0% underperformance from his 1996 performance.
Alamkan would rebound, however, and win 100% of the vote in 2014, as he was unopposed. Begich would have many unsuccessful future runs for the Senate and to become Governor, becoming a perennial candidate. However, he remained popular, and Alamkan called him a "hard-working man" and "legend" upon his death in 2052.