CONTINGENCY 2036 United States Presidential Election

The 2036 United States presidential election was the 63rd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4th, 2036. Incumbent Vice-President Jon Ossoff and vice-presidential nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated the Republican ticket of Florida Senator Byron Donalds and former Representative from Colorado Lauren Boebert as well as the APP nominees of Florida Governor Matt Gaetz and media mogul Tucker Carlson. The election was the first to be held after the admittance of Puerto Rico as the 51st state which increased the number of electors to 541. It was also the first election to take place after the death of Donald Trump and the Ukrainian invasion of Rostov and Kuban. The election also took place during a period of increasing polarization among the American electorate.

Vice-President Jon Ossoff had token opposition in the Democratic primaries. Byron Donalds however only narrowly won the Republican primaries after sweeping the South and narrowly taking the Industrial Midwest; notably he won Ohio and Michigan. Matt Gaetz was the presumptive nominee after declaring his candidacy as the moderate wing of the APP had begun to die out.

The central issues of the election included the Second Russian Civil War and the Buttigieg administration's support for the United Federation of Russia; Ukraine's invasion of the Republic of Rostov and Kuban Oblast of the Russian National State; Increased polarization among the American electorate; and President Buttigiegs overall unpopularity. During the summer of 2035 massive riots began after the Buttigieg administration announced the beginning of Operation Dawn which led to a military victory but mass fear among Americans. This led to his popularity eroding. The 2034 midterm elections were also a boon for the Republicans, resulting in majorities in both chambers for the first time since 2027.

Ossoff ultimately won a majority in the electoral college and with it the election; winning 289 electoral votes. Key to Ossoff's victory were narrow victories in Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania which were all won by less than 1%. If those 3 states had flipped then Donalds would have won the election. Donalds won 226 electoral votes, reinvigorating the Republican Party and paving the way for a new generation of Republicans. Gaetz won 26 electoral votes, only narrowly carrying 4 states. Gaetz failiure to hold the improvement that Kari Lake made upon the APP's electoral results in 2032 would show the APP's continual decline with the APP performing the worst in the electoral college in its entire history and only narrowly securing federal funding for the 2040 elections.

After election day Donalds and Gaetz claimed electoral fraud. After an investigation by the Justice Department no fraud was found and the claims were considered baseless. Buttigieg increased security in Washington D.C. after anonymous threats were made against Ossoff and President Buttigieg. On January 6, 2037 a rally of Donalds and Gaetz supporters turned violent as both sides clashed, with the Republicans claiming that Gaetz spoiled the election and the APP claiming that Donalds and engaged in fraud in historically APP areas. The election results were certified without much interference besides an attempted incursion into the Capitol by Gaetz supporters. On January 20, 2037 Ossoff and Cortez were inaugurated without incident. Ossoff became the first Jewish President and Cortez became the second female Vice-President.