2018 United States of Quentin Presidential Election
| 2018 Quentinian Presidential Election | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Turnout: 73.8% | ||
| 130 Electoral Votes, Candidate with Most Electoral Votes Wins | ||
| <-- 2014 ・ 2022 --> | ||
| Candidates | ||
| Mild RePublican Party | ||
| Nominee | Kyle Lovestington | |
| Home State | Desert Area | |
| Running Mate | Steve Shamji | |
| Electoral Vote | 71 (55%) | |
| Popular Vote | 228,956,790 (50%) | |
| Environmentalist Party | ||
| Nominee | Thomas Kenoye | |
| Home State | Grassland Area | |
| Running Mate | Mason Pete-Cox | |
| Electoral Vote | 34 (26%) | |
| Popular Vote | 115,658,920 (25%) | |
| Fundamentalist Party | ||
| Nominee | Shubham Gupta | |
| Home State | Multi-Logan State | |
| Running Mate | Alexa Holcomb | |
| Electoral Vote | 25 (19%) | |
| Popular Vote | 92,502,228 (20%) | |
| Election | ||
| ||
| Other Candidates | Johnaha Baelsar (FRL) Gary Portnopt (GLB) Jeremy Bigsley Jr. (RCP) | |
| Previous President | Kyle Lovestington | |
| Elected President | Kyle Lovestington | |
The 2018 presidential election process began in 2016, with President Lovestington announcing his intention late that year to run for a third term after candidates declared themselves across all three parties that same year. The Mild RePublican nomination was contested more than Lovestington's second campaign, however it ended on March 15th, 2017 with the Mild RePublican primaries confirming Lovestington as the party's nomination for the third straight election. Lovestington's main rival, Governor Rajesh Muduganti, won only 25% of the primary vote. The Fundamentalist primaries were much more contested, with Bureaucrat Gupta barely defeating challengers including Kristie Biller and Tim Follingworth, though Follingworth dropped out of the race before its completion due to Gupta's lead. Finally, the Environmentalist primaries were also held on March 15th, and saw Governor Kenoye victorious over a diverse field of candidates including Dean Thomas and Xavier Ravenson. The conventions of the respective parties, held in May, finalized and made official the results of the primary elections.
Campaigning and major issues contested in the 2018 election were broad, with focus on the recent ratification of the 24th Constitutional amendment, which reinstated the death penalty, the stance of the country on the independence of Rullabellon and the overall interventionism of the country, as well as financial issues including overall taxes, drug and substance taxes, and military spending. The personal history of candidate Shubham Gupta was heavily discussed and debated, with many reports of Gupta's aggressive and temperamental leadership in the House of Bureaucrats surfacing and being capitalized on by his two opponents, though mainly by Governor Kenoye. Lovestington's neutrality and avoidance of Gupta's past issues during the debates was widely seen as a key quality of his victory, and overall the incumbent President performed well in polls after each debate. Additional topics of contention included infrastructure and energy debates, with Kenoye promoting vast and fast reforms in both sectors, and Lovestington supporting a more moderate approach. Gupta largely ran on a platform of inter-party cooperation, which was widely unsuccessful in execution but was adopted by Alexa Holcomb in the 2022 election to greater effect.
On election day, December 7th, 2017, incumbent Lovestington was able to win a substantial victory over the other two candidates, with Governor Kenoye finishing second, and Gupta third. Candidates from the Freelance, Globalist, and Reciprocal parties each won millions of votes as well, notably Reciprocal Party candidate Jeremy Bigsley Jr., who garnered nearly 23 million votes, though none of the three outlying parties won electoral votes. Lovestington secured his victory by garnering the most votes in the PEC, winning with 71 votes in the PEC (55%). Kenoye and Gupta gained only 34 and 25 votes, respectively, by comparison. Lovestington was able to retain the Desert Area for a third straight year, however by a much closer margin than in his two previous races. Long Beach Island and the lower portion of the Grassland Area were both expected but crucial wins for the incumbent President, and the unexpected Mild RePublican victory in the upper portion of the Chip Area strengthened the President's already large lead. Turnout was on the lower side, though still high, at 73.8%.
The 2018 election is seen as extremely impactful in continuing to develop what is now referred to as the Green Dip, a crucial and still-developing area including LBI, the northern sections of the DA and KUA, northern GA and Snowland which strongly supports the Environmentalists. The section was not fully developed in 2018, however closer margins were seen in all sections of the Dip than in previous races. Overall the election maintained the status quo for the third straight year, part of a pattern of overall Mild RePublican dominance in the 21st century which only ended with the 2022 election four years later.
Nominations
Mild RePublican Nomination
Main article: 2017 Mild RePublican Presidential Primaries
The Mild RePublican Party nomination was not highly contested, with the incumbent President Kyle Lovestington winning the nomination for the third straight year. Lovestington did have a minor challenger in Governor Rajesh Muduganti, and the two participated in one debate against the other. However, President Lovestington was able to hold a strong lead throughout, and eventually won the party nomination with 75% of the primary votes, to Muduganti's 25%. After the party's national convention in May of 2017, Lovestington's victory was made official as he gained the required number of delegates to win the party's nomination.
Ticket
| Campaign | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:|200px|center]] |
Other Challengers: Rajesh Muduganti | ||
 |
Kyle Lovestington (DA) |
20th |
425 delegates of 500 |
 |
Steve Shamji (CA) |
21st |
N/A |
