East America - officially the American Socialist Republic - was a single-party socialist republic from 1950 until it's unification with it's western cousin West America - officially the Union of America - in 1997. In 1996, under the leadership of reformist President George H.W Bush, Secretary of the Communist Party, the countries' first national democratic elections were held. While initially a shoe-in for Abraham, the election became more competitive as multiple other political parties threw their hats in the ring, with the populist Collar Party under communist-turned-populist Senator Trump emerged as a competitor, while the Liberal Party, formed in 1995, nominated Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, two nationally-known Senators for the race. The Nationals nominated Senator Coats, while the Alliance 89 nominated Boschwitz. With the seeds for democracy already planted in the 1995 Senate election, many political parties saw the presidential race as a chance to get national attention and support. Eventually, Abraham would win the election with a plurality of the popular vote, while winning a majority of the electoral college as well, but barely. Within the next year, East America would disappear from maps as it was admitted to West America, officially, the Union of America, ending multiple decades of separation.
