2004 Republic of Superior Presidential Election (1983: Doomsday)

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Republic of Superior Presidential Election, 2004
November 2, 2004
	Presidential election results map. Blue states are those that voted for Sarick. Red states are those that voted for Gruszynski. Orange states are those that voted for Symes.
	President before election; Randy Sarick; Conservative Elected President; Randy Sarick; Conservative

The 2004 Presidential Election in the Republic of Superior was the sixth held in its history, with the major opponents being Former Vice-President Stan Gruszynski of Menominee for the Liberal Democratic Party, President Randy Sarick for the Conservative Party, and Former Governor Cyril Symes of Chippewa for the Socialist Party. Former Mayor Joe Fratesi of Sault Ste Marie of the National Republican Party also ran. President Sarick would coast to an easy victory over Gruszynski, though his victory would be less substantial than in 2000, as the issues in Madison had lessened in the minds of the general public.

Candidates[]

Liberal Democratic Nomination[]

Superiordemocraticprimary2004 — Gruszynski in the blue, Lindberg in the yellow, Feingold in pink, McDowell in green, Crochet in orange, and St. Jean in purple

Former Vice-President Stan Gruszynski, Menominee
Governor Steve Lindberg, Marquette
Governor Gary McDowell, Chippewa
Former Speaker of the House Jeffrey S. Crochet, Mackinac, 1984 VP Candidate
Senator Russ Feingold, Iron
Senator Marvin St. Jean, Baraga, 2000 Presidential Candidate

Unlike in 2000, the election this year was seen by the Democratic Party as something they had a chance to win. As a result, several viable candidates ran for the nomination.

Former Vice-President Gruszynski, having decided that enough time had passed since the 2000 election so that the Madison uproar had passed in the minds of the public, was considered the front-runner throughout the primaries, which was proven to be true when he won enough of them over his divided opposition to win a majority of delegates.

At the convention itself in Menominee, a location promised to the former VP in 2001 for his political support, long before he decided to run, Gruszynski was easily given the nomination. The Vice-Presidential nomination, however, was divided between his opponents for the nomination, with only Senators Feingold and St. Jean having no interest, jointly declaring that it would be, for them, "everything or nothing." Eventually, Governor Lindberg of Marquette was handed the nomination on the 7th ballot.

The convention was held from September 25th-27th, 2004, in Menominee.

Presidential Ballot		Vice-Presidential Ballot
Stan Gruszynski	347	Steve Lindberg	321
Steve Lindberg	85	Jeffrey S. Crochet	280
Russ Feingold	79	Gary McDowell	25
Gary McDowell	77	David Orazietti	1
Jeffrey S. Crochet	29
Marvin St. Jean	10

Conservative Nomination[]

President Randy Sarick
Vice-President Terrance Newman
Territorial Commissioner Becky Weber, Kewaunee

Weber ran because she felt the President was too liberal, but failed to gain any delegates, and the President and Vice-President were nominated again unanimously. Shortly afterward the convention, she would switch to the National Republican Party.

The convention was held from August 11th-13th, 2004, in Houghton.

Socialist Nomination[]

Superiorsocialistprimary2004 — Symes in the blue, Prusi in the yellow, Tompkins in the pink, and Wardlaw in the green

Congressman Peter Denley, Chippewa, 2000 VP candidate
Senator Mike Prusi, Marquette
Former Governor Arlen Tompkins, Delta, 1992 and 1996 VP Candidate, 2000 Presidential candidate
Territorial Representative Barbara Wardlaw, Pukaskwa
Former Governor Cyril Symes, Chippewa

The Socialist nomination was very much in question from the beginning, with no one candidate being favored in straw polls. However, it became quickly apparent after a month of primaries, that Former Governor Symes of Chippewa would likely have a majority, winning the Chippewa primary by a huge margin and then winning the Mackinaw primary comfortably, among others. Within days, Congressman Denley and Representative Wardlaw dropped out of the race and endorsed Symes, assuring him of the nomination, over Prusi, seen as inexperienced, and Tompkins, seen as past his prime.

At the convention, hosted by Senator Prusi in Marquette, Symes would easily get the nomination. Prusi would eventually get the nomination for the lower slot on the ticket, capitalizing on the well-organized convention.

The convention was held from July 21st-23rd, 2004, in Marquette.

Presidential Ballot		Vice-Presidential Ballot
Cyril Symes	346	Mike Prusi	320
Mike Prusi	163	Peter Denley	109
Arlen Tompkins	67	Barbara Wardlaw	97
Barbara Wardlaw	35	Arlen Tompkins	91
Peter Denley	6

National Republican Nomination[]

Former Mayor Joe Fratesi, Sault Ste Marie, 2000 VP Candidate
Territorial Commisioner Frank Lasee, Kewaunee
Mayor Dan Benishek, Iron River

As with 2000, the National Republicans held a convention where they nominated their candidates, but held no primaries, holding that they were a waste of money. They did, however, ensure that they would be on the ballot in each state this time.

Agramant LeGarde, the 2000 Presidential Candidate, had no interest at all in running, and stayed home, especially since he refused to travel.

The convention was held in the city of Iron River, in which a National Republican, Dan Benishek, had been elected mayor in 2002, the highest office the party had yet managed by 2004. He also ran for the presidency, alongside Joe Fratesi, and a commissioner from Kewaunee Territory, Frank Lasee.

Joe Fratesi, the VP candidate from 2000, was eventually nominated for the Presidency, with the promise that he would campaign more. The Vice-Presidential slot was chosen nearly unanimously to be Mayor Benishek, given that Commissioner Lasee did not come from a voting area of the republic.

The convention was from May 12th-14th, 2004, in Iron River.

Presidential Ballot		Vice-Presidential Ballot
Joe Fratesi	244	Dan Benishek	243
Dan Benishek	2	Frank Lasee	3

Campaign, and the Election[]

Despite the passing of four years, it was obvious throughout the campaign that the other parties had not forgotten the Madison debacle, and they used it like a bludgeon against Gruszynski. It was obvious to all that he should have waited until 2008, for while he did far better than St. Jean in 2000, he still lost by a wide margin. All four candidates or the VP candidates for the first time attended the debates, held in Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, and Mackinaw.

Perhaps the biggest issue of the election, however, was not the intervention. It was actually the question on relations with the Canadian government, and indeed, the outside world, since 2001, when contact was finally restored. More specifically, the anger and claims of the Canadian government with regards to the northern shores of Lakes Huron and Superior. The Republicans held that they had abandoned it, so it was theirs. The National Republicans were angered by the claims and took an extreme stance. The Liberal Democrats and Socialists both preached moderation, which helped their causes none. In the end, the results spoke for themselves: the majority of citizens agreed with the Republicans.

Otherwise, there was a slight recession in the Republic, as, following the renewal of contact in 2001, imported products, made easier elsewhere, began to appear in markets, hurting some local manufacturers slightly. The Conservatives wanted some sort of tariff system installed, the Democrats wanted to let it ride out, the National Republicans wanted to lower taxes, and the Socialists wanted to raise taxes and then use the funds to help those put out of place by the recession. A minor tariff system - half a percent on goods imported from outside of North America - would be instituted by the Conservative-dominated Congress in 2005, far less than the two percent they had originally planned, in the name of compromise. The funds would then be used to subsidize the troubled manufacturers, and add to the defense budget.

The results were not good for the other parties: the Conservatives won both the popular and electoral votes, and the Socialist numbers dropped. The National Republican numbers tripled, not surprising since they ran nationally this time. But, the Liberal Democrats rebounded slightly, regaining some of the popular vote and placing ahead of the Socialists in the electoral vote again. The voter turnout increased as well, meaning the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives both saw their overall number increase in size as well. Out of an estimated total voting population of 488,082, 75.38%, or 367,919 people, voted, in an eight percent rebound over 2000.

Presidential Candidate	Political Party	Home State	Popular Vote Count	%	Electoral Vote Count	Running Mate	Home State
Randy Sarick	Conservative	Marquette	173,142	47.06%	81	Terrance Newman	Keweenaw
Stan Gruszynski	Liberal Democrat	Menominee	138,411	37.62%	30	Steve Lindberg	Marquette
Cyril Symes	Socialist	Chippewa	44,960	12.22%	28	Mike Prusi	Marquette
Joe Fratesi	National Republican	Chippewa	11,406	3.10%	0	Dan Benishek	Iron