18 March 2023
Yesterday, the Ministry of Elections publicly announced the launch of several Presidential campaigns. Even though the 2nd General Election doesn't officially begin until mid-April, Minister of Elections Cooper Norfolk says he wanted to start the election process earlier in order to "give candidates a chance to grow support and cement their platform." This election will be extremely important for the future of Phillip, as incumbent President Jaxson Renny has stated that he does not intend to run for a second term. President Renny was instrumental in the establishment of the nation and his leadership in the past few months has allowed Phillip to prosper. It's going to be a challenge for candidates to gain the same respect that citizens have for President Renny. So far, three politicians have risen to the occasion.
At this time, candidate most-favored to win this election is National Assembly Rep. Reed Von. He is considered to be amongst some of the most respected politicians in Phillip, being well liked by former members of the now defunct Phillip National Front and even members of the Butter Butta Bentley Party. He's also brought on current Minister of Mint Ben Fitzgibbins to be his running mate, which in the eyes of many citizens is essentially a "perfect presidential ticket". When Von ran for President in the 1st General Election, he led a very successful campaign but ended up just barely losing. He is expected to lose some of his previous voters to other candidates, but will gain a lot of new voters from the Butter Butta Bentley Party.
Another popular candidate that was announced yesterday is National Assembly Rep. Iyan Seeker. Despite being a member of the BBB, Seeker may have a harder chance at winning for a number of reasons. As a member of the PNF, Seeker listened to whatever party chairman Cooper Norfolk would tell him to vote on, allowing him to have control over the majority of the Assembly. But after the dissolution of the PNF, he seems to have stepped up his autonomy from Norfolk and is voting based off of the needs of his constituents.
His candidacy may also be hindered by his choice of running mate, fellow National Assembly Rep. Madison Marcos. She lacks the popularity of other politicians in Phillip, only having a small group of supporters in the Calabaza District. Just like Seeker, she is a former PNF member and has a reputation amongst government members as out-of-touch in Phillip's politics. Seeker is also one of the biggest opponents of the Family Voting Bill. Even though discussion on the bill has died down significantly, many voters are still in support of it.
According to the Ministry of Elections, Seeker is predicted to perform well with voters in the Tarkis and Orue Districts, in which the majority of his family lives. Many Phillip political experts, such as VP Fitzgibbins, believe that Seeker could potentially win the election if he switched his platform to be more centrist and focused on the interests of older voters.
The third and final candidacy announced yesterday was National Assembly Rep. Riley Cook from the Cork Party. Although he did not garner many votes during the 1st General Election, he has subsequently gained growing respect from a few citizens in Phillip due to his independence from BBB's influence and his ability to stick to his platform. Along with his running mate Minister of Sports Nick DeVorb, he is expected to perform better than he did in the last election but is considered a long shot to win.
It should also be mentioned that along with being on Seeker's ticket, Madison Marcos has launched her own Presidential campaign. She only launched this campaign because of a constitutional requirement that political parties must put out a candidate for President every General Election. She is more focused on the Seeker-Marcos campaign and thus will most likely not receive many, if any, votes.
The only two parties that have not announced a Presidential candidate are Los Nacionalistas Libres led by Minister Owen Itzen and the Radical Party led by Port Phillip Governor Nick Waro. Before Von announced that Minister Fitzgibbins would be his running mate, Minister Itzen attempted to create a sort of "coalition government" with the BBB in which Minister Fitzgibbins would be President and he would serve as the Vice President. The two sides could not come to an agreement and plans were dropped. It's unclear if Minister Itzen will be launching his own presidential campaign, but an answer from the LNL is expected sometime this week. The Radical Party, which is for the most part unrepresented in Phillip's government, is expected to put out party chairman Nick Waro as their candidate. He only received 5.3% of the votes in the last election and is currently tracking to perform the same or possibly worse in this election.
So far, this election seems like it will be interesting. The Ministry of Elections has reported that they expect this election to have a slightly higher voter turnout than the 1st General Election. The Ministry also announced that they would be holding a twenty question debate in early April. It will be open to all candidates and citizens are invited to attend and watch it live.