2016 United States Presidential Election (The Great Split)

The 2016 United States Presidential Election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election. In a huge electoral upset, the third-party Constitution ticket of businessman Donald Trump and doctor Ben Carson defeated three challengers; Democrat Hillary Clinton, Republican Marco Rubio, and Independent Bernie Sanders.

This was the first election in history in which the winning candidate was not of a major party, and the first since 1860 in which four candidates each took states. Trump took office as the 45th President, and Carson as the 48th Vice President. This was the biggest defeat for the Republican Party since 1936, and the biggest defeat for the Democrats since 1984.

During the primary process, major splitting took place as two populists, Trump and Sanders, fought for the nomination of their respective parties. However, Trump, who was considered a "dangerous" candidate by GOP leadership, was narrowly defeated by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, while Sanders was defeated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had the Clinton name recognition behind her.

Due to this, both Trump and Sanders abandoned the major parties and drifted to small ones. Trump forged an alliance with the Constitution Party, Libertarian Party, and Reform Party, bringing them together, though he mainly ran as and emphasized Constitution. Sanders, with his home state's Vermont Progressive Party, allied with the Greens. He also brought in the Working Families Party of New York State, and various Green Party state branches, though he kept himself officially independent, using this to get on the ballot in as many states as possible.

Almost immediately, this split the main parties. Almost all of Trump's supporters flocked to his new campaign, and many more Republicans also joined him. With Clinton, many of her younger supporters deserted her for Sanders, though she still had a rather solid progressive base. Rubio, meanwhile, had a very small base consisting of only anti-Trumpers and loyalist Republicans, as Trump's populist and nationalist rhetoric gained him sweeping support across the nation.

The election was widely considered one of the most divisive in history, characterized by Clinton referring to Trump and his supporters as a "basket of deplorables", a remark which backfired on her and was widely adopted by Trump's campaign. Trump promised to "Make America Great Again", his chief slogan, while Clinton promised to continue the policies of incumbent President Barack Obama. Rubio attempted to frame himself as the true conservative against Trump, while Sanders promised a wide range of social democratic policies.

Clinton's chances were severely harmed by an ongoing FBI investigation into her improper use of a private email server while Secretary of State, and Trump's by inappropriate sexual remarks and alleged misconduct.

Polls widely projected Clinton to win, while many commentators believed a deadlocked Electoral College was ahead. Most polls put Clinton in first, Rubio in second, Sanders in third, and Trump in last. Ultimately, however, these pollsters would be humiliated on Election Day as Trump won a stunning landslide victory of over 320 electoral votes, sweeping most of the nation. Clinton would finish second, taking the West Coast and segments of New England.

Rubio, in a total embarrassment, would finish third, only carrying Utah and Arizona by slim margins. Sanders, finally, finished last, taking three states. The election was possibly the biggest upset in American history, and shattered expectations. Many termed it the Great Split, or the Major's Fall.

Trump would take office as the first third-party president and the first without military or political experience.

Ballot Access
Trump's alliance of parties was able to get ballot access in every state, while Sanders failed to obtain ballot access in Nevada, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. His campaign was purely a write-in in Georgia, Indiana, and North Carolina. Due to this, Sanders made ballot access one of his campaign points.