Oh I Wish I Was in Dixie: A Different North America
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Even though I'm not much of a fan of the French Algeria in 2019 trope I have to admit this is really good
2019 Commonwealth of America Election
2019 Commonwealth of America Election
In the 2019 federal election, Prime Minister Mike Madigan's Labor Party lose the majority that they won 5 years earlier, but would still remain the largest party at 262 seats leading to the first hung parliament in America since 1991. Despite trailing to the Liberals in the weeks leading up to the election, Labor outperformed their polls and was able to keep their losses to the Liberals small enough to retain their status as the largest party in Parliament. However the surge in support of the right-wing Democratic People's Party and the left-wing Progressive Party, prevented any party from achieving a majority in the House of Commons. This is the first election in American history where 5 different parties all won at least one province-wide popular vote.
Labor campaigned throughout the election on the healthy state of the economy and against the "extremism" of the DPP and the Progressives. The Labor campaign rarely ever spoke of the Liberal leader Rob Portman at all, instead focusing on attacking DPP leader Sarah Palin and painting her as the kingmaker should the Liberals gain the most seats in Parliament but not a majority. PM Madigan however was largely absent from the campaign trail. The PM despite his party's favorable ratings was deeply unpopular and instead chose to send out his cabinet ministers to campaign events for him. The other parties of course did not shy away from attacking the Prime Minister with each party leader making continuous attacks on The Velvet Hammer. Palin and Sanders would particularly attack the PM with both calling him a corrupt, out-of-touch, backroom dealer who has been able to rule Parliament has his personal fiefdom for too long. When the possibility of a hung parliament began to reveal itself, Sanders was asked if he would enter into a coalition with Labor and he responded, "With Labor, maybe. With Madigan, no."
Following the election, Madigan would attempt to form a government, but would realize that his options were limited and would resign as Prime Minister shortly thereafter.
Cartogram of 2019 Election by riding
In the 2019 federal election, Prime Minister Mike Madigan's Labor Party lose the majority that they won 5 years earlier, but would still remain the largest party at 262 seats leading to the first hung parliament in America since 1991. Despite trailing to the Liberals in the weeks leading up to the election, Labor outperformed their polls and was able to keep their losses to the Liberals small enough to retain their status as the largest party in Parliament. However the surge in support of the right-wing Democratic People's Party and the left-wing Progressive Party, prevented any party from achieving a majority in the House of Commons. This is the first election in American history where 5 different parties all won at least one province-wide popular vote.
Labor campaigned throughout the election on the healthy state of the economy and against the "extremism" of the DPP and the Progressives. The Labor campaign rarely ever spoke of the Liberal leader Rob Portman at all, instead focusing on attacking DPP leader Sarah Palin and painting her as the kingmaker should the Liberals gain the most seats in Parliament but not a majority. PM Madigan however was largely absent from the campaign trail. The PM despite his party's favorable ratings was deeply unpopular and instead chose to send out his cabinet ministers to campaign events for him. The other parties of course did not shy away from attacking the Prime Minister with each party leader making continuous attacks on The Velvet Hammer. Palin and Sanders would particularly attack the PM with both calling him a corrupt, out-of-touch, backroom dealer who has been able to rule Parliament has his personal fiefdom for too long. When the possibility of a hung parliament began to reveal itself, Sanders was asked if he would enter into a coalition with Labor and he responded, "With Labor, maybe. With Madigan, no."
Following the election, Madigan would attempt to form a government, but would realize that his options were limited and would resign as Prime Minister shortly thereafter.
Cartogram of 2019 Election by riding
2019 Arkansas House Special Elections
2019 Arkansas House of Delegates Special Elections
On November 1, 2019, the second round of four special House of Delegates elections were held in Arkansas. In June of 2019, the Dixie Supreme Court struck down the 4 districts because of discrimination against francophones in Southeast Arkansas. The Court order the AR state legislature to redraw the four districts and to hold special elections for the districts as soon as possible. The new map of the districts included a francophone majority district and one now much more National Party friendly district (all 4 previously had Unionist incumbents). The first round of the special elections was held in October and had all four Unionist incumbents proceeding with 3 National challengers and one PLL challenger in the now francophone majority district.
6th District
In the 6th district, Unionist incumbent Mike Ross of Nevada County defeated AR State Delegate Sonia Barker of King County. The 6th is the most Unionist of the 4 districts and the one that Mitch Landrieu won by the largest margin in 2018. Ross who serves as a member of House leadership as Chair of the Unionist Policy Committee comfortably defeated Barker carrying 9/10 counties in the district, however his 9 point win over Barker is his closest election since he was first elected to the House in 2000. Ross also carried the 6th by a smaller margin than Landrieu 1 year earlier. This is largely attributed to the low turnout in the special elections. Barker only carried one county in the election which includes her district in the AR House.
7th District
In the 7th district, Parti La Louisiane member Jean Bergeron of Lincoln County (who started the suit that led to the Supreme Court case in the first place), defeated incumbent Eddie Cheatham of Ashley County. Bergeron ran in the old 7th district in both 2015 and 2018 as the PLL nominee but failed to make the 2nd round in both cases. Bergeron performed best unsurprisingly in the higher French-speaking areas in the center of the district. Cheatham did the best with the higher Anglo areas in the South and Northeast of the district. Bergeron's win was mostly attributed to his surprising strength in Alcorn County, the largest in the district by population and includes most of the city of Bonneville. With his win, Bergeron became the first PLL member to hold federal office in Arkansas.
8th District
In the 8th district, Unionist incumbent Phil Reynolds of Woodruff County was defeated by AR State Delegate Johnathon Dismang of White County. This district was changed by the National controlled AR State Legislature to be much more National than its predecessor. Some of the more heavily Unionist parts of this district were moved to the 7th while the very National Lonoke County was moved into the 8th. Even though Reynolds would win the non-Lonoke parts of the district by 21 votes, the inclusion of Lonoke would be enough to swing the election toward Dismang.
14th District
In the 14th district, Unionist incumbent Reginald Murdock of St. Francis County defeated Cross County Commissioner Ronald Caldwell. The 14th is the district that changed the least in its redrawing and the Unionist-favored district only moved slightly to the right with the redraw. Murdock would perform best in the more heavily black areas of the district. Caldwell would carry is home county of Cross and would do well in the newly added Independence and Jackson Counties, handily winning the former and only narrowly loosing the latter.
With the loss of two districts in the special elections, the Unionists go from 192 seats in the House to 190 shrinking their 4-seat majority to only 2. The Nationals gain from 143 seats to 144 and the PLL from 16 seats to 17.
On November 1, 2019, the second round of four special House of Delegates elections were held in Arkansas. In June of 2019, the Dixie Supreme Court struck down the 4 districts because of discrimination against francophones in Southeast Arkansas. The Court order the AR state legislature to redraw the four districts and to hold special elections for the districts as soon as possible. The new map of the districts included a francophone majority district and one now much more National Party friendly district (all 4 previously had Unionist incumbents). The first round of the special elections was held in October and had all four Unionist incumbents proceeding with 3 National challengers and one PLL challenger in the now francophone majority district.
6th District
In the 6th district, Unionist incumbent Mike Ross of Nevada County defeated AR State Delegate Sonia Barker of King County. The 6th is the most Unionist of the 4 districts and the one that Mitch Landrieu won by the largest margin in 2018. Ross who serves as a member of House leadership as Chair of the Unionist Policy Committee comfortably defeated Barker carrying 9/10 counties in the district, however his 9 point win over Barker is his closest election since he was first elected to the House in 2000. Ross also carried the 6th by a smaller margin than Landrieu 1 year earlier. This is largely attributed to the low turnout in the special elections. Barker only carried one county in the election which includes her district in the AR House.
7th District
In the 7th district, Parti La Louisiane member Jean Bergeron of Lincoln County (who started the suit that led to the Supreme Court case in the first place), defeated incumbent Eddie Cheatham of Ashley County. Bergeron ran in the old 7th district in both 2015 and 2018 as the PLL nominee but failed to make the 2nd round in both cases. Bergeron performed best unsurprisingly in the higher French-speaking areas in the center of the district. Cheatham did the best with the higher Anglo areas in the South and Northeast of the district. Bergeron's win was mostly attributed to his surprising strength in Alcorn County, the largest in the district by population and includes most of the city of Bonneville. With his win, Bergeron became the first PLL member to hold federal office in Arkansas.
8th District
In the 8th district, Unionist incumbent Phil Reynolds of Woodruff County was defeated by AR State Delegate Johnathon Dismang of White County. This district was changed by the National controlled AR State Legislature to be much more National than its predecessor. Some of the more heavily Unionist parts of this district were moved to the 7th while the very National Lonoke County was moved into the 8th. Even though Reynolds would win the non-Lonoke parts of the district by 21 votes, the inclusion of Lonoke would be enough to swing the election toward Dismang.
14th District
In the 14th district, Unionist incumbent Reginald Murdock of St. Francis County defeated Cross County Commissioner Ronald Caldwell. The 14th is the district that changed the least in its redrawing and the Unionist-favored district only moved slightly to the right with the redraw. Murdock would perform best in the more heavily black areas of the district. Caldwell would carry is home county of Cross and would do well in the newly added Independence and Jackson Counties, handily winning the former and only narrowly loosing the latter.
With the loss of two districts in the special elections, the Unionists go from 192 seats in the House to 190 shrinking their 4-seat majority to only 2. The Nationals gain from 143 seats to 144 and the PLL from 16 seats to 17.
In Dixie, there is a stark racial divide in pop culture in Dixie. In the pre-Equal Rights Era, while Afro-Dixians were barred from White Business and School, Black musicians and actors were also largely barred from appearing in TV, movies, or on the radio. In the mid-20th century, an organization called the Council for the Advancement of Separate Societies or CASS would being to would begin to heavily gain popularity in Dixie among Whites. CASS wished to help Afro-Dixians not by integrating them into white society, but by giving them the means to create their own society wholly separate from that of whites. CASS emphatically believed that the two races would not be able to harmoniously mix, but also did not necessarily place black Dixians below white Dixians (though many of the organization definitely did).
CASS advocated and funded many projects in black communities and pushed for laws that would allow for black people to own business in certain heavily black areas. CASS's most well known contribution however would be in entertainment. CASS was able to successfully lobby the Montgomery, AL city government to allow for a black-only radio station to be started in the city; the first of its kind. CASS would do this all over the country and by 1970 there would be 19 radio stations wholly owned by black Dixians. CASS would also start small TV and movie studios aimed only at black Dixians. Due to the monetary success of these endeavors many white businessmen would start to invest in black entertainment media, though the budget of these projects was still woefully lower than white media. CASS would heavily police the content of the radio, TV, and movies they helped produce to remove what they called "possible civil disruptions". In 1968 Jacksonville, CASS along with the city government would shut down a black radio station after a DJ made a pro-voting rights comment on air.
CASS would fade from relevance by the 1980's, but the idea of separate entertainment by race would endure. The Record Music Industries which ranks the performance of songs and albums like the CoA's Billboard Charts would even have a separate chart for black and white musicians til 2002. While TV and movies have integrated more successfully, music still remains very separated with only the most popular artists managing to cross between both worlds.
These racial divides of course don't exist much in the media that comes from the Commonwealth which most of the huge budget movies and big music idols that spread into Dixie tend to be based.
I'm currently living in Albuquerque, and it would be interesting to see how west Albuquerque in the Commonwealth and east Albuquerque in Texas differ and co-exist. One imagines there is a lot of cross-river traffic, both legal and shady: the Rio Grande north of Texas is not exactly a mighty barrier.
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In light of there being RL elections tonight, what does the Virginia legislature look like ITTL, @RoxyLikeAPuma ? Any chance we could get a look at its election ITTL like with other states/provinces? 
I’m working on the MS legislature right now, but I can definitely do the VA legislature next.In light of there being RL elections tonight, what does the Virginia legislature look like ITTL, @RoxyLikeAPuma ? Any chance we could get a look at its election ITTL like with other states/provinces?
2018 Mississippi State Legislature Elections
2018 Mississippi State Legislature Elections
In 2018, Mississippi held its elections for both houses of its state legislature. Mississippi is the only majority black state in Dixie making up 52% of the population, and it is also the most Unionist state in Dixie. Unsurprisingly in this heavily Unionist state, the Unionists kept their large majorities in both chambers. The Unionists have drawn the districts for both houses in their favor and to weaken the Nationals as much as possible, ensuring super-majorities for their party in the state legislature.
Despite having a vice-grip on state politics, there are still divisions within the Unionist Party largely along racial lines. There have been several very bitter fights within the Unionist primaries for statewide office between the more left-leaning black members and the more moderate white members of the dominant party. In the state legislature, this division still exists dividing the members of the legislature. Though for the past couple decades there has been an unofficial truce between the two where the state House of Delegates would elected a black Speaker and the state Senate would elect a white President pro tem. One area where the two factions are in lockstep are in their dislike of the Nationals, so the two routinely draw district lines in their favor in the state legislature (where they aren't as heavily monitored by the Redistricting Act of 1983). Even with a 10 point swing towards the Nationals, the Unionists would still hold 2/3's super majorities in both chambers.
In 2018, Mississippi held its elections for both houses of its state legislature. Mississippi is the only majority black state in Dixie making up 52% of the population, and it is also the most Unionist state in Dixie. Unsurprisingly in this heavily Unionist state, the Unionists kept their large majorities in both chambers. The Unionists have drawn the districts for both houses in their favor and to weaken the Nationals as much as possible, ensuring super-majorities for their party in the state legislature.
Despite having a vice-grip on state politics, there are still divisions within the Unionist Party largely along racial lines. There have been several very bitter fights within the Unionist primaries for statewide office between the more left-leaning black members and the more moderate white members of the dominant party. In the state legislature, this division still exists dividing the members of the legislature. Though for the past couple decades there has been an unofficial truce between the two where the state House of Delegates would elected a black Speaker and the state Senate would elect a white President pro tem. One area where the two factions are in lockstep are in their dislike of the Nationals, so the two routinely draw district lines in their favor in the state legislature (where they aren't as heavily monitored by the Redistricting Act of 1983). Even with a 10 point swing towards the Nationals, the Unionists would still hold 2/3's super majorities in both chambers.
So do the SDP not operate in Mississippi, @RoxyLikeAPuma? I seemed to notice they overlapped a lot with (ITTL at least) majority-minority districts in GA and elsewhere; did they not organize in MS, or are they just merged into the Unionists/there's no need for them?
Great maps/boxes as always!
Great maps/boxes as always!
They do operate in MS (they hold one of MS's House and Senate seats), but they have not been very successful in the state legislature though they have held a few seats in the past. Alyce Clarke the current SDP member of MS's House delegation was a member of the state House before being elected.
The relatively small size of Jackson (MS has the smallest biggest city out of all 13 states in Dixie), the dominance of the Unionists in state politics, and the much larger influence that black voters have on the Unionist Party compared to other states have all dampened the SDP's prospects and brought much of the voters that the SDP would usually have over to the Unionists.
Erie Commonwealth Day Bombing
(The NYT article about Madigan should say 15 years not 20)
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