A Jovian Night's Election Dream
The 2143 Dacia premier election was the third three-way race in four elections, once again pitting a Republican against a Democrat and a conservationist splitter. Incumbent Republican Premier Warner Mendoza was not personally popular, with his own popularity rating hovering in the mid to low 40s during his first term, with most voters finding him cold, aloof, abrasive and stand offish. His press conferences were often mocked by comedians and the late night monologues, as it was obvious which news outlets Mendoza owned and those he didn't. However, Deputy Premier Cameron Chen was very popular--charming and popular, Chen was often used as the public face of the administration. Mendoza's policies were also popular, as the occupation of Kitasik was being drawn down and Dacia experienced significant economic growth as relations with the Whaling Congress were normalized. There were rumblings that some in the Republican establishment wanted to dump the abrasive Mendoza from the ticket and replace him with Chen, but the Mendoza/Chen ticket was renominated by acclimation.
The Democrats did not believe that they had a very good chance at unseating Mendoza. Former Deputy Premier Riley Martinez declined to run, as did 2139 nominee James Haley. The early frontrunner again was former Dacian Secretary of Public Works Wallace MacElroy, now a Commonwealth Senator. However, MacElroy's campaign was derailed early after it was uncovered that he had accepted significant bribes and other gifts from a lobbying firm lead by Claire Montez. The resulting scandal destroyed any hope of a MacElroy campaign. The Democratic campaign was split between numerous second-tier candidates, including Melissa Behrman, the former Attorney-General of Skeleton Coast, and Governor Royalle Callahan of First Landing. With the nomination split and deadlock between Behrman and Callahan, a compromise campaign (lead by several labor leaders) quickly coalesced around David T. Barber, a labor lawyer and General Counsel to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers' Dacian branch. The Democratic Party slowly coalesced around Barber, who, in an attempt to win over the political establishment, named former Governor Webb Bryant of Boudica as his running mate.
Many fishermen and members of the longshoremen's unions were upset at the selection of both Mendoza and Barber, both of whom took loose stances against the Whaling Congress. Republican Senator Michael Lemiux of Skeleton Coast appealed to both, and with backing from many former Seabreeze Party members, Lemiux ran as a third party candidate under the New Breeze banner. Running on a platform of conservation and enforcing the various whaling treaties, Lemiux was a more left-wing choice when compared to Mendoza and Barber, both of whom seemed to be racing each other to the right. In order to appeal to Democrats, Lemiux tabbed International Longshoremen's Association President May Stevenson to run with him.
With another splinter in the Republican Party, the Democrats hoped that they could capture another election, much like Kylie Kirner did previously. However, Michael Lemiux was no Todd Hanazawa and Warner Mendoza was no Charlie Phelps. Mendoza once again saturated the airwaves, massively outspending both Barber and Lemiux combined. Most of Lemiux's support eventually came from Democrats and not Republicans, though even without Lemiux, the election wouldn't have been close. Despite the electorate's general dislike of Mendoza, Mendoza's policies and the fact that they were even more unimpressed with Barber and Lemiux meant that Mendoza easily won reelection for a second term.
Harriman v. Peña
Ionian Mutiny
2127 Dacia
2131 Dacia
2131 Galileo
2132 Mexico, 2133 Australia, 2133 Scotland
2133 Xanadu
2134 Annam and 2131 Argentina
2135 Dacia
2135 Galileo
Second Whaling War
John Lyman Sears
2137 Xanadu
2139 Dacia
2141 Xanadu & 2143 Barasses
2145 Xanadu & 2147 Barasses
2149 Xanadu & 2151 Barasses
2153 Xanadu