Yet another "X-in-Canada", it's Montana!
No Steve Bullock? Is he off being Prime Minister?
Yet another "X-in-Canada", it's Montana!
Thriving remnants of once-dominant parties are always fun to see.
What's the story behind the Montana Party? Are they supposed to represent some existing segment of the electorate, or is it wholly original?
No Steve Bullock? Is he off being Prime Minister?
NoIs it deliberate that the guy who's last name is the Barsoomian for "rat" looks like Tony Blair?
Yet another "X-in-Canada", it's Montana!
-------------------The 2017 Montana election was the 30th general election since that province joined the Confederation in 1890, the last to do so in the 19th century. The incumbent New Democratic (NDP) government, led by Premier Mike Cooney, had let the previous legislative assembly run its full five year-term. Cooney had won the poisoned chalice to replace Brian Schweitzer, the blunt and colorful leader who had led the NDP to victory in both 2012 and 2008, after Schweitzer's antics stopped being amusing and starting becoming an embarrassment, leading to an abrupt forced departure in early 2014. The new premier, a fixture in provincial NDP politics, had struggled to right the ship that Schweitzer had left him, including an increasing budget deficit. Cooney's decision to increase provincial sales tax to begin closing the deficit was, while a political and economic necessity, unpopular among the electorate and the NDP entered the campaign trailing significantly.
In contrast, the Official Opposition, the Social Credit (Socred) Party, was eagerly anticipating facing the voters. Leader Steve Daines had been buoyed both by the low approval ratings both Schweitzer and Cooney had received during the life of the assembly and the performance of the federal Conservatives in the 2015 election, with Trudeaumania again finding no traction in the Big Sky Province. Daines, learning lessons from his party's loss in 2012, had walked the fine line to keep his party palatable to both swing voters in the province as well as soft supporters of the populist, right-wing Montana Party. Supporters of that party had felt past Socred premiers had moved too far to the centre and vote-splitting on the right had been a large factor that had led to the NDP to winning re-election in 2012.
From the outset, the result was seemingly preordained. The NDP trailed the Socreds by double-digits for almost all the campaign, and leader debates between Cooney, Daines and Montana leader Cindy Hill were essentially both Hill and Daines ganging up on the premier and slamming him for raising Montanans' taxes, while Cooney tried to point to increased infrastructure and education spending the NDP had brought to Montanans as reason to give them a third term. Daines and Social Credit led a cautious campaign, content to leave the NDP to desperately fear-monger about what a return to Socred government would bring to Montanans and the Montana Party tried to marshal enough disaffected Socred voters to win one of their targeted ridings.
The defeat of the NDP and replacement by a Socred majority was never in doubt, but even so, the size of the defeat was surprising to many observers. Hill had failed to improve on the Montana Party's 2012 performance, helped out by the Socred strategy and the bandwagon effect. The result allowed the Socreds to win an extra handful of ridings that pushed their total to 43, with the remaining 17 staying with the NDP. Cooney, as expected, resigned after the scale of the defeat became evident and Daines inaugurated a new government two weeks later.
While the NDP has regrouped under new leader Amanda Curtis, the only electorally-viable remnant of the once-widespread Social Credit movement in Canada continues to lead in polling by large margins. While the new premier's own approval rating is rather pedestrian for a new premier, his handling of affairs, such as the sacking of Education and Finance Minister Greg Gianforte after Gianforte body-slammed a reporter inquiring about the lopsided distribution of the government's planned tax cuts, has earned approval of most Montanans. This has lead most Montanans to speculate that, unlike his predecessor, Daines will go to the voters well before the assembly's five-year term ends in 2022.
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- Platte is OTL Casper, Wyoming
- Tomah is OTL Helena, Montana
- Although not stated outright in the write-up, the Social Credit Party no longer actually promotes the social credit ideology and is essentially a generic center-right, fiscal conservative party.
- For those keeping track, that's 10 insets being necessary, with 4 of them (Kalispell, Bozeman, Laramie & Green River-River Springs) being for just one riding.
X-in-Canada
Minnesota
Dakota
Alaska
Wisconsin
Maine
Oregon
Yeah, especially how @lord caedus would handle creating ridings from scratch for a country which used Nationwide At-Large Party-List PR for all eternity.Oooh. I want to see this.
Can you do one for Maryland?
Or for Israel?
Yeah, especially how @lord caedus would handle creating ridings from scratch for a country which used Nationwide At-Large Party-List PR for all eternity.
Maryland's too far south for what I'm planning for Canada, I'm afraid.
Maryland's too far south for what I'm planning for Canada, I'm afraid.
tfw noArizona/New MexicoMontezuman Canadian provincial results by sempai.
Ah, harlotsAlso because it would be weird to have a country whose symbols are maple leaves, moose and loons rule over a place that would kill any of those things within days because of the heat.
I said:Come Home, America
On April 11, 1972, Arthur Bremer successfully assassinates President Richard Nixon. President Agnew receives an outpouring of public sympathy at first, but quickly squanders his popularity over a series of stupid shenanigans that nearly start World War III. Mindful of Agnew's popularity with conservatives, Republicans turn to Governor Ronald Reagan to mend fences and head up the ticket in November. Reagan initially holds what seems to be an insurmountable lead over Democratic nominee George McGovern, but a certain president decides to burn all bridges and attempt a third party run. Unthinkably McGovern squeaks to victory in a five way race for California, winning Regan's home state and the presidency.
I kinda love how McGovern and Reagan are smiling, and Agnew is all frowny.