2096 US Presidential Election

The 2096 U.S. Presidential Election was the 76th such election in the history of the United States of America. It was held on November 6th, 2096 and was the last Presidential election held in the 21st century.

The incumbent, Susan Swann, and her running mate, Hillary Clinton Daniels, were defeated by Independent candidate Francis Alan, who became the first Canadian President of the United States and the second Independent to be elected to the Presidency. His election promted a flood of independent victories across the United States and elevated Independent candidates to a new status as major contenders for office.

Democratic Party
Incumbent President Susan Swann announced that she would seek the party nomination in 2096 and was initially expected to face no opposition. However, Senator David Chan Jr. of California entered the race in December of 2095, and feircely contested the nomination. Swann's popularity within the Democratic Party, however, led her to win the nomination, although by a slim margin. At the National Convention, Hillary Clinton Daniels was renominated for Vice President, despite speculation that she might be dropped in favor of Chan.

Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party, demoralized by their defeats in 2084, 2088, and 2092, held a lackluster primary in which Jeffery Gingrich won the nomination handily. He was contested briefly by Zachary Walters, Jennifer Pelon, and John Gundring, but Gingrich's prominence as former Speaker of the House and an ex-governor of Georgia allowed him to handily win the nomination. Two days before the National Convention, Gingrich selected Georgia Jones as his running mate.

Independents
Independent voters once again held an online convention in 2096, attracting nearly 6,000,000 attendees from all of the 62 states. The popularity of the Independents was due to American dissatisfaction with the two-party system, which they felt had offered them nothing new since Ralph Walderman's first victory in 2072. On the online convention, Francis Alan, governor of Quebec, was nominated for President, and Maya Garcia for Vice President.

New Union Party
The New Union Party nominated Pierre Morrell for President and Cherry Rhodes for Vice President.

The General Election
Initially, President Swann was favored by the media as the inevitable victor, the President's popularity being comfortably in the low fifties. Public dissatisfaction with the two party system, however, led billions of dollars in campaign contributions to be given to the Independent candidate, Francis Alan, who instantly became a major contender. In the first debate, Alan, Swann, and Gingrich came out about even, with Swann slightly in the lead. Alan led a robust campaign, however, and by the second debate he was slightly above the President, with Gingrich not far behind. In the third debate, Swann was declared the victor, but Alan soon rose again in the polls and by election day the two were neck and neck.

Swann's platform was based on a continuation of liberal reforms initiated by Marco Juarez and continued by Swann in her first term. These reforms were popular with most Americans, but Alan was able to undermine this popularity by arguing that these reforms had been in action for twelve years and would not bring about progress. He insetad called for new reforms and changes, many of them built on policies enacted by former Presidents Caal and Walderman. These reforms excited enought Libertarians and Democrats to give Alan a slight majority, although Swann remained a close competitor.

Results
Alan won the presidency barely, with 462 electoral votes and 50% of the electorate. He was the first Canadian to ever win the Presidency.