Presidential Candidate Help

[Ghost who Walks]

Whenever possible, I try and run my game within the current timeframe.

Having said that, a Presidential election is coming up, and I need some candidates.

Currently, the office is filled by one Enrique Espinosa. Placed on the VP ballot back in 1996 to appeal to Hispanic voters, he is the son of Brazilian immigrants who ran an electronics company in Seattle. Secretly, he is a retired superhero, his leg irreparably damaged in battle.

He got the job back in 1999, when alien invaders captured the White House and demanded the serving President fire nuclear missiles at targets they designated around the world. Fearing for his life, the President was about to comply upon recieving a "guarantee" that no more Americans would be killed. He was killed shortly before launching teh missiles, by an unknown gunman.

Rallying the Secrecy Service, the VP organized several dozen superheroes who just happened to be in Washington to repel the invading Aliens. In the fighting, numerous senators and congressman were killed, and the Pentagon was destroyed.
(Note: this was played out before 9/11. The cynic in me actually had them attack a different group of aliens than the ones who actually attacked.)

Declaring limited emergency powers, now President Espinosa won reelection in 2000, on a platform of avenging the sneak attack upon the USA. With the help of other alien allies of Earth, many of America's government and military metahumans left to go fight the wicked aliens.

During his first term, VIPER attempted to sieze control of Long Island and proclaim a "Kingdom of VIPER", Environmentalist Alien cyborgs invaded and destroyed much of the worlds oil industry resultiung in shortages of fuel and electricity. Fighting continues in much of the Middle East against the cyborgs, and Russia has reintroduced the Monarchy. No word has yet returned from the forces taken to invade the alien aggressor planet (no FTL radio in the campaign)

So anyway, a new election is coming up. The economy is in shambles, and the USA has been attacked on several occasions. There are lines at the gas stations, when there is gas. Smuggling and crime is on the rise, and the military is stretched thin. The sitting President was formerly a super-vigilante, and often sponsors clandestine operations of questionable legality. The United Nations has disbanded, and replaced by a group of extraterrestrial powers who established a "protectorate".

Who will run against him?
I'm probably going to need a main Republican challenger, a Challenge from his own party, and some wacky independent to split the final vote three ways.

Anyone have any ideas?

As a note, my campaign may sound a little strange, but it has been going on for over 10 years. It started off as an exact copy of Earth, with just the addition of superpowers in its history. Things have been changing ever since.

[Ranxerox]

A sitting president usually receives so little challenge from his own party that they aren't even worth mentioning. So I wouldn't mention them if I were you.

As for Republican and independant opposition, IMO there are are two routes you can go.

The first route is to consider this a wartime president in a deadly serious war not of his choosing. If the public of your world by in large view him in these terms, they will endure the poor economy and the gas lines and stay behind their leader. In other words, the opposing party and any independant candidates won't stand any chance whatsoever. Knowing this the Republicans will put forward a sacrificial lamb type candidate and independate candidates will be unable to find donors and their campaigns won't be able to get off the ground.

The second route you can take this can be summed up in 2 words: Lex Luthor

[Blue]

Are you looking to stay stereotypical or break the mold?

I'd think that a female war-hero might be a new twist. The men always have the war accomplishments for their credit, but if a woman who was a high ranking militarist from the gulf war(s) has gotten public attention she might be a good candidate to run (and eventually wind up as the VP candidate for her party).

You can always have a rift in the president's party. The VP can break away from the ticket and run against him. That's just for political intrgue junkies (like me).

There's the right-wing religious extremist; A guy who is everyone-phobic (afraid of foreigners, homosexuals, etc.) who can lead the country toward a darker time of rolling back freedoms. It's fun to throw heroes into darker times (said the evil GM).

And there's the obligatory "Independant" candidate. Fun thing is that you can use him to cause the "wrong" candidate to win. You can say that he stole enough of one candidates votes to cause the other candidate to slide into office.

I'd consider making the president someone who did some serious covert ops. Maybe a guy with a past unknown to the american public. He'd be somewhat sympathetic to heroes in that regard, and willing to call them in for operations that the public shouldn't know about.

[Battlestaff]

For the Independent, you could have a villain run for office in her secret ID, which the President knows, but no one else does. Then, when he tries to dig up dirt on her, prove she's a villain, etc., he'll look like the bad guy trying to smear her because she's a woman.

I don't remember which supplement it was, but didn't one have a villain openly running for office on the platform of "Would you rather be represented by a crook who admits what he is, or one that doesn't admit he's a crook?" Could be fun.

Then there's always the charismatic puppet that's thrown up to look good and make people feel good, but when in office is actually run by someone else.

[ChuckB]

A possible rival candidate could be either military (maybe a recent war-hero , famous for his deeds during the alien wars)
or a retired (or still active) superhero or both.

[Mayday]

How about a religious candidate? A prominent tv evangelist or minister known for his public works (sort of Martin Luther King type). Someone with boatloads of charisma and popular support. With dark days, alot more folks turn to religion, and I've read a few sci-fi stories where the US becomes a religious Theocracy.

It has to be an ideas guy, or a guy perceived to have them as opposed to someone perceived to follow the polls. It isnt what he is that matters so much as what people think he is.

In desperate times in the past some leaders have been chosen for their um... flexibility... (give Hitler this tiny little country, I'm sure he wont invade Poland and force us into a war with blood and everything, he promised!)(If we let the aliens alone, they will leave us alone!) or their ruthlessness (Stalin) or charisma (Teddy Roosevelt (the ultimate wild card candidate) or because they make people feel safe and secure (Ahnold).

Another option is if a popular Super Patriot (female or male) still on Earth is wounded and unable to continue as a hero/ine but s/he could then be convinced to run for Office.

And of course, there is the option of the mentalist candidate. In the Wild Card books there was a candidate who by touching you had a sort of mental control and he went around shaking everyones hands and implanting commands to vote for him. In key states this could be really useful.

And last, the candidate backed secretly by the aliens. Unknown state representative from somewhere noones heard of and several hundred people are attacked at a football game/concert/political rally. He makes like Rambo and DieHard in one, saving the hundreds of hostages and splashing across every news outlet in the US. Instant candidate. The aliens play along with the "alien beater" angle for a few months with the agreement that once hes elected he hands them the rest of the Govt for execution while he lives on as their regional governor flunky, ruling in their name.

This last candidate could also be the superhero too wounded to continue. S/he was captured, brainwashed, and "escapes heroically" (saving a few other prisoners along the way) and then goes on to run for office.

[Argus]

You could have a known Super Hero run against him. I did this once with a super hero who’s only real power was 7 body regeneration usable on others.

He was upset with the anti META view of the US and decided that the only way to change it was to run.

He got other META’S to run for Governors at the same time.

Starting a third party with world attention was a big help the only problem was when Cerebral won California.

A.