2018 Presidential Election

[lord caedus]

Is this guy playing anything at the moment?

Not that I'm aware of.

 

[lord caedus]

In a bit of lighter news, the president remembers his secretary's birthday, but not to shave:

OOC:
New casting
Andrea Bowen as Paige Simmons

 

[PNWKing]

Who is the Deputy Secretary of Commerce at this point?

 

[lord caedus]

Monday, April 20th, 2020

Illinois Democrats override gubernatorial veto to legalize recreational marijuana

Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly successfully overrode Governor Teddy Hart (R)'s veto of a cannabis legalization bill today to make Illinois the 11th state in the country to allow adults to possess and consume marijuana. Led by Senate Majority Leader Kim Olford (D), the state senate voted 39 to 20 in favor of legalization, surpassing the three-fifths threshold needed to override a gubernatorial veto. Olford said that legalization will allow police to "concentrate on more pressing matters than an adult using marijuana for their personal pleasure", while bring in millions of dollars in tax revenue for Illinois.

Hart, who stated his opposition to legalization due to his belief that it would make the drug easier for teenagers to acquire, said he was disappointed in the override. "The legislature acted, in my opinion, irresponsibly and recklessly in legalizing marijuana," the governor said in a statement. "This decision will make our work to keep Illinois' children and communities safe much more difficult."

While the federal government still classifies marijuana as a schedule I drug (a category describing drugs of "no medical value" and with high potential for abuse), and bans the interstate transportation of it, it has chosen to allow states to adopt legalization or the use of medical marijuana after the Supreme Court ruled in the 2013 case Nevada v. Luevano that federal officials cannot force state officers to enforce federal regulations on marijuana when the state or territory's laws differ. As a result, almost every state and territory now allows for some form of medical marijuana. Attorney General George Montgomery, who represented Illinois in the Senate from 1993 to 2017, has described enforcement of federal laws against marijuana possession and usage as "very low on the list of priorities" for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), adding that most DEA and DOJ enforcement of federal marijuana laws were in cases where individuals or groups attempted to smuggle cannabis into, or out of, the country.

 

[lord caedus]

OOC: Looking back on it, I messed up a couple of the leadership/whip positions from what had been previously established in the course of doing infoboxes for former congressional leaders. To iron out matters, here's the revised list of party leaders and officers in Congress since the 1985 constitutional crisis that realigned the presidential election cycle.

Senate​

President of the Senate
Jan 20, 1981 – Jan 20, 1987: George P. Bush (R-KY)
Jan 20, 1987 – Jan 20, 1991: Roland Pierce (D-MA)
Jan 20, 1991 – Jan 20, 1999: Lewis D. Eisenhower (R-OH)
Jan 20, 1999 – May 2, 2003: John Hoynes (D-TX)
May 2, 2003 – Jul 14, 2003: vacant
Jul 14, 2003 – Jan 20, 2007: Bob Russell (D-CO)
Jan 20, 2007 – Jan 30, 2007: vacant
Jan 30, 2007 – Sep 3, 2009: Eric Baker (D-PA)
Sep 3, 2009 – Sep 10, 2009: vacant
Sep 10, 2009 – Jan 20, 2011: Wendell Tripplehorn (D-SD)
Jan 20, 2011 – Jan 20, 2019: Elizabeth Clark (R-TX)
Jan 20, 2019 – present: Jack Hunter (R-MN)

President pro tempore of the Senate
Jan 3, 1981 – Jun 26, 1989: Jesse Calhoun (R-SC)
Jun 26, 1989 – Jan 3, 1991: Bill Glomer (R-IA)
Jan 3, 1991 – Feb 5, 1996: Patrick Little (D-DE)
Feb 5, 1996 – Jan 3, 1999: Anthony Gianelli (D-NY)
Jan 3, 1999 – Apr 20, 2009: Joseph Furman (R-TX)
Apr 20, 2009 – Jan 3, 2015: Robert Miner (R-AR)
Jan 3, 2015 – Jan 3, 2017: William Wiley (D-WA)
Jan 3, 2017 – present: Samuel Wilkinson (R-KS)

Senate Majority Leader
Jan 3, 1985 – Jan 3, 1991: Joseph Furman (R-TX)
Jan 3, 1991 – Jan 3, 1995: Tony Berelli (D-RI)
Jan 3, 1995 – Jan 3, 1999: John Hoynes (D-TX)
Jan 3, 1999 – Jan 3, 2003: Earl Dern (R-UT)
Jan 3, 2003 – Apr 7, 2003: Jack Moseley (R-CO)
Apr 7, 2003 – Jan 3, 2015: Robert Royce (R-PA)
Jan 3, 2015 – Jan 3, 2017: Arthur Breech (D-HI)
Jan 3, 2017 – present: Cody Riley (R-AL)

Senate Minority Leader
Jan 3, 1985 – Jan 3, 1991: Walter Milton (D-ME)
Jan 3, 1991 – Jan 3, 1995: Robert Miner (R-AR)
Jan 3, 1995 – Jan 3, 1999: Earl Dern (R-UT)
Jan 3, 1999 – Jan 3, 2009: Wendell Tripplehorn (D-SD)
Jan 3, 2009 – Jan 3, 2011: Tom Grissom (D-WA)
Jan 3, 2011 – Jan 3, 2011: Arthur Breech (D-HI)
Jan 3, 2015 – Jan 3, 2017: Cody Riley (R-AL)
Jan 3, 2017 – present: Jimmy Fitzsimmons (D-MA)

Senate Majority Whip
Jan 3, 1985 – Jan 3, 1987: Steve Gaines (R-AK)
Jan 3, 1987 – Jan 3, 1991: Mackland MacAllum (R-VA)
Jan 3, 1991 – Jan 3, 1997: Martin Dale (D-NJ)
Jan 3, 1997 – Jan 3, 1999: Dave Canton (D-ND)
Jan 3, 1999 – Jan 3, 2003: Jack Moseley (R-CO)
Jan 3, 2003 – Apr 7, 2003: Robert Royce (R-PA)
Apr 7, 2003 – Jan 3, 2007: Jack Moseley (R-CO)
Jan 3, 2007 – Jan 3, 2009: Mark Ramsey (R-MN)
Jan 3, 2009 – Jan 3, 2015: Seth Randall (R-FL)
Jan 3, 2015 – Jan 3, 2017: Harry Conroy (D-ND)
Jan 3, 2017 – present: Max Lobell III (R-GA)

Senate Minority Whip
Jan 3, 1985 – Jan 3, 1991: Sean Bruce (D-AK)
Jan 3, 1991 – Jan 3, 1999: George "Hawk" Fuller (R-KY)
Jan 3, 1999 – Jan 3, 2005: Dave Canton (D-ND)
Jan 3, 2005 – Jan 3, 2013: Lloyd Russell (D-NM)
Jan 3, 2013 – Jan 3, 2015: Harry Conroy (D-ND)
Jan 3, 2015 – Jan 3, 2017: Max Lobell III (R-GA)
Jan 3, 2017 – present: Sarah O'Brien (D-VT)

House of Representatives​

Speaker of the House of Representatives
Jan 3, 1977 – Jan 3, 1987: Tip O'Neill (D-MA)
Jan 3, 1987 – Jan 3, 1997: Jim Cor (D-TX)
Jan 3, 1997 – Jan 3, 2001: Jim Hoehner Sr. (R-IL)
Jan 3, 2001 – May 8, 2003: Glen Allen Walken (R-MO)
May 8, 2003 – May 9, 2003: vacant
May 9, 2003 – Jan 3, 2007: Jeff Haffley (R-WA)
Jan 3, 2007 – Jun 24, 2010: Mark Sellner (D-MA)
Jun 24, 2010 – Jan 7, 2017: Carol Gelsey (D-FL)
Jan 7, 2017 – present: Daniel Maddox (D-IL)

House Majority Leader
Jan 3, 1977 – Jan 3, 1987: Jim Cor (D-TX)
Jan 3, 1987 – Jan 3, 1995: Kim Sanderson (D-PA)
Jan 3, 1995 – Jan 3, 1997: Mark Sellner (D-MA)
Jan 3, 1997 – Jan 3, 2007: Pete Ross (R-CA)
Jan 3, 2007 – Jan 3, 2011: Drake Headley (D-WI)
Jan 3, 2011 – Jan 3, 2013: Mark Richardson (D-NY)
Jan 3, 2013 – present: Noah Gellman (D-VA)

House Majority Whip
Jan 3, 1981 – Jan 3, 1989: Nathan Templeton (D-SC)
Jan 3, 1989 – Jan 3, 1997: Tom Peterson (D-IN)
Jan 3, 1997 – Jan 3, 2001: Glen Allen Walken (R-MO)
Jan 3, 2001 – May 9, 2003: Robert G. Mitchell (R-OH)
May 9, 2003 – Jan 3, 2005: Alan Ross (R-CA)
Jan 3, 2005 – Jan 3, 2007: Jim Arkin (R-ID)
Jan 3, 2007 – Jun 24, 2010: Carol Gelsey (D-FL)
Jun 24, 2010 – Jan 3, 2013: Noah Gellman (D-VA)
Jan 3, 2013 – present: Eve Howard (D-CA)

House Minority Leader
Jan 3, 1985 – Jul 2, 1994: Ronald Swayze (R-AK)
Jul 2, 1994 – Jan 3, 1995: Chuck Webb (R-CA) (acting)
Jan 3, 1995 – Jan 3, 1997: Jim Hoehner Sr. (R-IL)
Jan 3, 1997 – Jan 3, 2001: Jim Cor (D-TX)
Jan 3, 2001 – Jan 3, 2005: Sheila Fields (D-AZ)
Jan 3, 2005 – Jan 3, 2007: Mark Sellner (D-MA)
Jan 3, 2007 – Jun 1, 2007: Jeff Haffley (R-WA)
Jun 1, 2007 – Jan 3, 2015: Jim Arkin (R-ID)
Jan 3, 2015 – present: Mitchell Harris (R-IN)

House Minority Whip
Jan 3, 1985 – Jan 3, 1993: Chuck Webb (R-CA)
Jan 3, 1993 – Jan 3, 1995: Jim Hoehner Sr. (R-IL)
Jan 3, 1995 – Jan 3, 1997: Glen Allen Walken (R-MO)
Jan 3, 1997 – Jan 3, 1999: Tom Peterson (D-IN)
Jan 3, 1999 – Jan 3, 2003: Howard Van Gelt (D-NC)
Jan 3, 2003 – Jan 3, 2007: Marilyn Haas (D-NY)
Jan 3, 2007 – Jan 3, 2011: John Connally (R-TX)
Jan 3, 2011 – Jan 3, 2013: Brad Gilmore (R-CA)
Jan 3, 2013 – Jan 3, 2017: Barbara Layton (R-NC)
Jan 3, 2017 – present: Andrew Casey (R-NY)

Spoiler: Notes for irregular term ends/beginnings

• VICE PRESIDENT
  • John Hoynes resigned in May 2003 due to a sex scandal. Bob Russell was confirmed by Congress as his replacement two months later.
  • Eric Baker resigned in September 2009 after suffering a brain hemorrhage that rendered him unable to perform his duties. Wendell Tripplehorn was confirmed by Congress a his replacement one week later.
• PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE
  • Jesse Calhoun died in office in June 1989. Bill Glomer succeeded him as the most senior serving majority party (Republican) senator.
  • Patrick Little died in office in February 1996. Anthony Gianelli succeeded him as the most senior serving majority party (Democratic) senator.
  • Joseph Furman died in office in April 2009. Robert Miner succeeded him as the most senior serving majority party (Republican) senator.
• SENATE MAJORITY LEADER
  • Jack Moseley resigned his position in April 2003 after a series of interviews damaged his image and reputation. Robert Royce was elected to succeed him by the majority (Republican) caucus.
• SENATE MAJORITY WHIP
  • Robert Royce was elected to the position of Senate Majority Leader after the resignation of Jack Moseley. Moseley was elected to replace Royce in the role of majority whip by the majority caucus.
• SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
  • Glen Allen Walken resigned in May 2003 to assume the duties of Acting President during the Zoey Bartlet kidnapping crisis. Jeff Haffley was elected by the House to replace him as Speaker one day later.
  • Mark Sellner was defeated during a caucus vote ahead of the June 2010 election for the Speaker of the House and was not a candidate for the House vote. The House elected Carol Gelsey to succeed him.
  • Carol Gelsey did not contest the January 2017 election for the Speaker of the House. The House did not meet to elect her successor, Daniel Maddox, until four days after it had begun its new term.
• HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP
  • Robert G. Mitchell resigned his position to contest the May 2003 election for Speaker of the House. The majority caucus elected Alan Ross to succeed him.
  • Carol Gelsey was elected to the position of Speaker of the House in June 2010. The majority caucus elected Noah Gellman to succeed her to the position of majority whip.
• HOUSE MINORITY LEADER
  • Ronald Swayze died in office in July 1994. The minority caucus elected Chuck Webb to succeed him on an acting basis before electing Jim Hoehner Sr. to the position in January 1995.
  • Jeff Haffley resigned his position as minority leader in June 2007. The minority caucus elected Jim Arkin to succeed him.

 

[Marky Bunny]

Tuesday April 28th 2020

Saddam Hussein misses 83rd birthday celebrations amid further questions about his health

There are new questions surrounding the health of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein after his reported absence from his 83rd birthday celebrations which where held without him in Baghdad today. Hussein has only been seen in public twice since last August , once in November & in February, and his appearance in the latter lead to continued speculation over his health that he had a stroke when he didn't speak and he kept his hands out of sight of the cameras.

State controlled media released a photo image of the President surrounded by his surrounded by his son and heir apparent Qusay Hussein, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, his official deputy and other members of his inner circle. The military parade in central Baghdad was attended by both men as well as Hussein's oldest Son Uday and the dictator's extended family.

Saddam's health is of crucial importance because of worries that the serious illness or death of a leader who is depicted by the Iraqi government as a "living god", Iraqis could cause instability in the impoverished country. The Iraqi government exerts extremely tight control on information about its leadership, making it virtually impossible for outsiders to find out what's going on at those senior levels.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media, said the latest rumours about Saddam's health had not changed the U.S. assessment of the information as "speculation." He added "even if Saddam was seriously ill, Iraq won't likely face a serious immediate turmoil even if Saddam is incapacitated or dies because someone else like his influential youngest son Qusay and his nominated successor would likely quickly step in, though the prospect for Iraq's long-term political future would be unclear in the long-term after any such events".

 

[lord caedus]

Thursday, April 30th, 2020

Same-sex marriage ban in North Dakota ruled unconstitutional

The two judges of the United States District Court for North Dakota ruled today that state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. In the case of Equality ND v. Herweck, Chief Judge Peter Kemper's decision struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage as an unconstitutional infringement on the rights of same-sex individuals that failed to meet any legal test "that would justify the state's exclusion of same-sex couples as a class" from obtaining a marriage license. The court similarly returned a verdict today recognizing the out-of-state marriage license granted to two men now residing in Burleigh County as valid per the Supreme Court's 2019 Wilson v. Levin decision.

Governor Sandra Middleton (R) called the decision "disrespectful to the voters of North Dakota", who had incorporated an amendment to the state constitution in 2004 defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Both of North Dakota's senators, Matt Chantler (R) and Jamie Muller (R), both expressed the idea that the district court had "overreached" and expressed support for retaining the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Chantler expressed disappointment in both judges, who were appointed by President Seaborn, would "so quickly abuse the trust North Dakotans have placed in them [in order] to ram their own ideas down their throats."

Attorney General Jack Herweck (R), the respondent in the suit, requested and was granted an injunction by the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which oversees the district court, staying the ruling. North Dakota is one of only ten states that does not allow for same-sex marriage licenses to be issued. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in the case of Layton v. Kansas on the issue of state bans on same-sex marriage. The court is expected to rule on the case at the end of its current term in June.

 

[Marky Bunny]

Friday May 1st 2020
Special Report
Saddam Hussein health: What if the Iraqi dictator dies?

Speculation is increasing about the health of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein after he missed his own 83rd birthday parade in Baghdad on Tuesday. He has only been seen in public twice in the last six months promoting continued reports that he had suffered a stroke and was no longer actually in control. Of course we don’t yet know whether these reports are credible. The Iraq government keeps a tight control on information coming in and out of the hermit nation, and the recent absences from official state media often spark speculation about his health. Monitors in Syria and Saudi Arabia have so far been unable to confirm whether his health is in serious jeopardy. But if the rumours are true, what will it mean for the Iraqi people, as well as the rest of the Middle-East and the US?

The US government has contingency plans in place in the event Saddam should die after reports that his health was in grave condition. Sources discussed the plans but urged caution about the veracity of the reports, which claimed he is in bad shape after continued reports that he has suffered a stroke. These plans include the possibility of a mass-scale humanitarian crisis inside the hermit nation such as a famine, according to the report. One official described a scenario in Iraq that could include millions of people facing starvation and a mass exodus of refugees both north into Syria and possibly south into Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

While Iraq has not made clear who would potentially succeed Saddam, most experts believe his youngest son Qusay, would take over as leader. The ambitious 54-year-old is the single most important figure in the Iraqi regime after his father, and is seen as key to keeping the Hussein dynasty in power. In 2000 he became Saddam's designated successor, but that is disputed by many. His likely main rival is his own older brother, Uday, who is believed that he had been pushed down the pecking order in the Hussein clan by his father. Another candidate would be Saddam's current number two and deputy President Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri - who has become the leader's "go to" man in recent years but he is only six years younger than him. The other contender could be the lesser known Rasim Khalid al-Faruq who is the current Supervisor of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Khalid is a distant cousin and son-in-law of Saddam, being married to Hussein's daughter Rana. After Uday Hussein was replaced as heir apparent by Qusay in 2000, it was rumoured that Khalid would eventually emerge as the younger Hussein's top lieutenant. However, reports from Iraqi defectors say that the two men have fallen out after Khalid successfully convinced Saddam Hussein to avoid supporting Syrian dictator Jamil al-Hassan during the Syrian War which Qusay openly supported. There are reports that on the day of the Jerusalem attacks in December 2011, Qusay ordered an alert of Iraqi army units towards the Syrian and Jordan border before a heated argument with al-Faruq who spoke direct to Saddam and with his permission in turn reduced the alert status of the Republican guard and ordered it back to barracks.

Today national security adviser Jack Reese told reporters at the White House that the administration was “watching reports closely.” “We are monitoring these reports very closely and as you know, Iraq is a very closed society, there is not a free press there, they are parsimonious with the information they provide on many things, including the health of Saddam Hussein,” Reese said, adding that the US intelligence community and Defence Department were watching the situation.

 

[lord caedus]

Some infoboxes for everyone in these trying times:

Cast
Andrew Bowen as Paige Simmons

Spoiler: Notes

• Just a reminder that states that outlaw same-sex marriage are bound by Supreme Court ruling to recognize same-sex marriages performed out of state.
  
• As the note in the same-sex marriage infobox points out, Native American reservations have their own laws regarding same-sex marriage, so there are reservations in states than ban it that can and do perform same-sex marriages.
  
• Simmons is the most recent in a long line of presidential secretaries, and like her predecessors in the Bartlet era, is willing to push back on the president when he steps out of line. Unlike the three executive secretaries we see in the show (Mrs. Landingham, Debby Fiderer, Ronna Beckman) she also has to make sure the leader of the Free World doesn't bang his shins on the Oval Office furniture too often.
  
• The total deaths and injuries include not just those killed or injured in the explosion, but also by the fires that the explosion caused.
  
• There is still no officially-released cause of the explosion, in part because the fires destroyed or contaminated most of the evidence that could be used to reconstruct its root cause.

 

[lord caedus]

Tuesday, May 5th, 2020

Conklin reverses course after winning renomination; declares he will not seek reelection

Congressman Wallace Conklin (D-AR), the dean of Arkansas' congressional delegation, has announced that he will not seek reelection despite winning the Democratic primary unopposed in March. Conklin, who has represented the state's first district since 1985, said that he came to the decision after a recent campaign tour of his rural district left him "exhausted" and questioning whether he was physically fit enough to serve for an nineteenth term.

"I'm sorry to cause a ruckus for the [Arkansas Democratic Party], but I can't in good conscience run to represent the people of my district if I don't know if I could withstand the rigors of travel and campaigning for another two years," Conklin said in an interview at his Pocahontas, Arkansas home.

Conklin, 80, is one of the most popular politicians in Arkansas, noted for both accurately reflecting his district's feelings on key issues and for his many gaffes, including mistaking then-vice president Lewis D. Eisenhower for a bellhop at an event in 1992, or getting sick on a C-SPAN camera in 1997 while presiding over the House while ill with a stomach bug. Elected as a moderate Democrat in 1984, he has gradually become one of the party's most conservative House members on a number of issues, including abortion and gun control, as the party continued to lose ground in rural districts. After campaigning alongside then-senator Sam Seaborn in 2018, Conklin was targeted by Second Amendment rights groups and sympathetic super PACs, despite his "A" rating from the National Rifle Association. He wound up winning by just over four percent, a far cry from his thirty-point victory just eight years earlier in 2010. Henry Shallick defeated Seaborn by nearly fifty percentage-points (72.9% to 23.1%) in the district during the presidential election.

The Arkansas Democratic Party will meet in a special session on May 27th to decide on a new nominee. NBS' Elections Headquarters has changed the status of the race in Arkansas' 1st district from "toss-up" to "safe Republican" with the news of Conklin's retirement.

 

[PNWKing]

I can't find anything about Andrea Bowen online, who the f**k is she?

Pocahontas, Arkansas? Is that a reference to the city having a battleship named after it in the Southern Victory series?
Why hasn't this had an analogue to the #MeToo movement, which could really hurt Sam when I think about it........ (Considering that he was written off because his actor had a sex scandal on the actual show, maybe it might be a little sensitive.)
I actually thought it would be interesting to have Zoey Bartlett deal with PTSD, but it might seem tasteless due to Charlie Sheen's IRL mental health issues almost a decade ago. (really, time flies by fast when you think about it.......)

 

[MountainDew17]

I can't find anything about Andrea Bowen online, who the f**k is she?

Pocahontas, Arkansas? Is that a reference to the city having a battleship named after it in the Southern Victory series?
Why hasn't this had an analogue to the #MeToo movement, which could really hurt Sam when I think about it........ (Considering that he was written off because his actor had a sex scandal on the actual show, maybe it might be a little sensitive.)
I actually thought it would be interesting to have Zoey Bartlett deal with PTSD, but it might seem tasteless due to Charlie Sheen's IRL mental health issues almost a decade ago. (really, time flies by fast when you think about it.......)

1st off, Andrea Bowen is an actress (best known for her role in "Desperate Housewives"). She portrays the President's executive secretary, Paige Simmons, as stated clearly above.

2nd, Pocahontas, Arkansas is a real place. Its the seat of Randolph County in NE Arkansas

3rd, Rob Lowe left the show because of a dispute with NBC executives. His sex tape scandal was in 1988, a full decade before the West Wing began filming.

4th, This TL is written as its covered by the news, not a tv show.

 

[lord caedus]

Thursday, May 7th, 2020

NBS Election HQ: Initial House race ratings

With just under six months from the 2020 midterms, NBS Election Headquarters is pleased to release our first batch of projections for the House of Representatives.

The full details for each of the 435 races are on our site, but here are, according to the Elections HQ, the 95 races that will decide the makeup of the "people's House".

Note that Ohio's seventh district is currently vacant. A special election will be held on June 9 to decide who will hold the seat until January 3, 2021.

SAFE DEM
CT-05 (Brennan)
NJ-09 (Sheare)
NC-06 (open)

LEAN DEM
AK-AL (Woodside)
CA-09 (Joseph)
CA-21 (Gorman)
CA-24 (Wade)
CA-31 (Portillo)
CA-36 (Lopez Estudillo)
CA-46 (open)
CA-53 (open)
CO-06 (Hill)
CT-04 (Brantley)
DE-AL (Mathis)
FL-09 (Baker)
FL-13 (Minnear)
FL-24 (Montero)
GA-02 (Hayward)
IL-12 (Newhouse)
IL-17 (Kramer)
IA-01 (Branson)
IA-02 (open)
ME-02 (Zelowsky)
MD-06 (Phelps)
MN-03 (Granholm)
NH-01 (open)
NJ-05 (Perry)
NM-03 (Cabello)
NY-04 (Tuccinelli)
NY-18 (Powell)
NC-01 (Borden)
OH-02 (Reese)
PA-08 (Cipriani)
WA-06 (Thompson-Cline)
WA-10 (Vanier)

TOSS-UP
AZ-02 (Reilly)
AZ-09 (Avila)
AR-02 (Stanton)
CA-10 (Pittman)
CA-20 (Howard)
CA-26 (Hightower)
CA-45 (Perrin)
CO-03 (Sweet)
CT-02 (Mazur)
FL-03 (Fearon)
FL-18 (Johnson)
FL-19 (Gelsey)
IL-14 (Davis)
MN-07 (Grunder)
MN-08 (Samuels)
MT-AL (Price)
NJ-03 (Branson)
NM-02 (Oswald)
NY-02 (Dellinger)
NY-03 (Tucker)
NY-11 (Rosen)
NY-21 (Voight)
NY-24 (Rivers)
OH-01 (Ferris)
PA-01 (Nelson)
PA-07 (open)
PA-17 (Gatwood)
SC-04 (Barclay)
TN-05 (Helton)
TX-23 (open)
VA-02 (Donovan)
VA-09 (Gellman)
WA-03 (Ohanko)
WI-08 (Henderson)

LEAN REP
AZ-01 (Collier)
CA-16 (Durham)
FL-07 (Weaver)
FL-25 (Judge)
KS-03 (open)
MN-01 (open)
NV-03 (Ackland)
NC-13 (Schreibman)
NY-17 (open)
OH-10 (DiMarco)
OR-04 (Zucker)
PA-06 (Pitter)
SC-07 (Bamber)
TX-32 (open)
VA-10 (Cameron)
WA-08 (Leggitt)
WI-06 (Heinsohn)

SAFE REP
AR-01 (open)
CA-07 (Brass)
CA-25 (Vazquez)
IL-06 (Cohen)
NJ-02 (Fitzpatrick)
OH-07 (open*)
OR-05 (Young)
PA-04 (Daniels)
WV-02 (open)

 

[dmg86]

Did Pennsylvania have it's congressional districts reappointed by the courts like in otl 2018?

 

[lord caedus]

Did Pennsylvania have it's congressional districts reappointed by the courts like in otl 2018?

Yes. All House districts are the same ITTL as OTL for simplicity's sake.

 

[Marky Bunny]

Saturday May 9th 2020
Mixed local election results for all major UK parties

It was a mixed set of local election results for all the major UK parties which where held on Thursday. Labour secured the highest % of the vote winning 34.2% with the Conservatives gaining 32.4%, Labour ending with 2,663 to the Conservatives 2,053, although the Conservatives gained net more councillors 280 to Labour's 56. Labour made a net gain of control of three councils but they lost control in a surprise result in the Wirral. The Conservatives also had a mixed night making gains and losses, and they in a shock they took outright control of Derby Council from no overall control.
The NPP gained outright control in Hartlepool, the first time they have taken control of a Council outside of Essex, and they also became the largest party in Burnley replacing a Labour minority administration. They also made big gains in Yorkshire, taking seats from Labour in Barnsley (+6), Rotherham (+7), Leeds (+5) & Sheffield (+5) although not enough to deprive Labour control, Although it was not as good news in Essex, where they lost control of Southend.
It was not a good night for the Liberal Democrats, losing net 153 councillors, with the Greens and the Socialist Alliance more or less staying the same with the Socialist Alliance making a net gain of 4 councillors, with the Greens down net 12.
In the three Mayoral Elections, Labour retained control in Bristol and Liverpool, whilst the Conservatives held Norwich.

(Thanks to @lord caedus for the Wiki box)

 

[KingCrawa]

I can't find anything about Andrea Bowen online, who the f**k is she?

I mean her Wikipedia article would probably tell you something

 

[lord caedus]

Tuesday, April 12th 2020

Kazuki Kamei wins Japanese leadership race

Tokyo — The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan has elected Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuki Kamei to be its new leader, setting him up to become prime minister pending a vote in the House of Representatives. Kamei secured a victory in a run-off election against former Minister of Finance Heiji Nagasawa, winning 347 votes to Nagasawa's 259 after an inconclusive first-round. Minister of the Environment Eiichiro Kubo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Shōzō Nomura and deputy minister Takeo Yoshihara were also candidates in the first round.

Outgoing LDP president and prime minister Ayeka Jūchirō formally tendered her resignation after Kamei's victory was announced. She will remain prime minister until the House of Representatives can vote on her replacement.

Kamei, who served as Jūchirō's chief cabinet secretary for the past five years, has signaled that he would be more willing to listen to LDP factions that have been sidelined during Jūchirō's long tenure as party president. He also has signaled less interest in constitutional tinkering over Japan's military, instead sparking hints that he will seek to improve relations between Japan and its neighbors (especially the People's Republic of China), and focus on rural revitalization as prime minister.

The leadership contest is the final chapter in a long send-off to the Jūchirō premiership; the nation's first female prime minister returned the formerly dominant LDP to power after a brief absence in the 2012 election and signaled a new era for the socially conservative nation by her very presence at the head of the nation's government. The "Iron Lady of the East" became oversaw the abdication of Emperor Akihito in 2019 and the coronation of his son, Naruhito, ushering in the so-called Reiwa era after the name Naruhito will be known by after he dies (Akihito's "era name", which will similarly be retroactively applied to him after his death, is "Heisei"). A few months later, her LDP-led coalition lost its two-thirds super-majority in the country's House of Councillors, meaning it could not push through a constitutional amendment on its own. Finally, the Hachinohe radiation accident and ensuing radioactive waste disposal scandal in March caused Jūchirō's personal popularity to plummet, allowing her rivals within the party to force her to resign her post as LDP president (and prime minister) ahead of the term's scheduled end in October.

Kamei (photo by Hiroyuki Sanada)​

 

[ajm8888]

I suspect much like Thatcher, Jūchirō will not be quiet about her displeasure with moves towards improving Japanese Chinese relations.

 

[PNWKing]

1st off, Andrea Bowen is an actress (best known for her role in "Desperate Housewives"). She portrays the President's executive secretary, Paige Simmons, as stated clearly above.

2nd, Pocahontas, Arkansas is a real place. Its the seat of Randolph County in NE Arkansas

3rd, Rob Lowe left the show because of a dispute with NBC executives. His sex tape scandal was in 1988, a full decade before the West Wing began filming.

4th, This TL is written as its covered by the news, not a tv show.

I know Andrea Bowen is an actress, its just that she hasn't been in anything major since 2007-2008, so I might have not heard of her.
I probably knew it was a real place, but I wonder if the choice of town was a reference............
I legit thought the sex tape scandal was in the 2000s. (Probably would have been different with all of the attention that Oprah and John Walsh gave the issue of child molestation in the 1990s.)
I knew that, I just thought that shining a spotlight on Zoey Bartlett's mental health issues might not seem in good taste, being that IRL Martin Sheen has a kid who had real mental health issues within recent memory of some people.