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| Presidential election results map. Blue denotes states won by Coleman/Knights, Red denotes those won by Batson/Pearce. Numbers indicate electoral votes allotted to the winner of each state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The United States presidential election of 2040 was the 64th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2040. The election, taking place amongst the backdrop of the Lesser Depression, it was won by the Democratic candidate and former President Donald Coleman against the incumbent Republican President Denise Batson.
Coleman, who won his party's primary in a landslide, united the various wings of the Democrats into a socially conservative, economically liberal bloc that overcame the numerous divisions within party, choosing the New Jersey moderate Catherine Knights as his running mate. President Batson on the other hand had to face division and sectarian violence within the Republican Party, further weakening her already lofty position.
Amidst a rising unemployment rate and hyperinflation, Coleman repeatedly attacked Batson on her repeated failure to end the spiralling economic position, all whilst promising that his New Recovery Policy would bring about a decisive end to the crisis. Furthermore, his socially conservative campaign (which was part of a worldwide conservative reawakening in the early 2040's) pulled many in the south towards the Democrats, reigniting the so-called "solid south" that would linger for the rest of the century.
Ultimately, Coleman won in a electoral and popular vote blowout, ensuring that Batson would be the first President to lose re-election since George H. W. Bush in 1988 whilst also becoming the first candidate since Grover Cleveland in 1892 to be elected to a second, non-consecutive presidential term.