- Pronouns
- He/Him
With just over two days until polls open in the upcoming senatorial general election, let's take a look at how it's played out so far and our predicted results. The latest edition of the Citizen's Smokin' Poll asked Europeians who they expected to cast their votes for. The results were thus:
Smokin' Poll: Senate Race June '14 said:
Down For the Count
Senator Raging Zen Master has withdrawn his candidacy citing his nomination to be the next Minister of Communications and his desire to commit fully to those duties should he be confirmed. This comes on the heels of seemingly growing criticism of his service in the Senate. Coincidence? It's hard to tell but in any case, he's out.
Apollo, to date, has still not posted a campaign thread in the Oval Room. He hasn't engaged any of his opponents in their threads either. This would hurt any candidate but add to the mix the fact that younger Europeians are not necessarily familiar with him or his record and you have one dud of a senate bid. At this late stage, we have every reason to believe that Apollo will not be elected to the Senate this time around.
Our friend Matthew Vinage has had a rough go of it. After posting an underwhelming platform, having his only idea shot down, and finishing dead last in polling behind, count 'em, three candidates who couldn't be bothered to post a platform he hasn't made any visible effort to right the ship. It's a dead stick. We predict Matthew Vinage will not be elected to the Senate on Friday.
Frontrunners
PhDre, as stated before has produced the best platform in this race. He has demonstrated an exceptional grasp of issues facing the Senate and has put forth specific, realistic, and relevant plans. He has proven his comfort with well reasoned debate among his potential colleagues. The only reason he won't garner the most votes is because of perceived activity liability. We predict PhDre will be elected comfortably to the Senate and grant him our full and unfettered endorsement.
Senator modernsin is perhaps the safest of incumbents going into Friday's voting. His measured, no nonsense approach garners him a wide base of support and that's reflected in poll numbers. He's perceived as a steady hand and his ability to communicate his positions with voters is enviable. We predict MS will win re-election comfortably and also offer him the endorsement of the Citizen.
HEM is black in black...or whatever color he wants. I've know this fellow for a long time, guys. You can tell when he's dipping his toe in the water and when he's pushing all his chips into the middle. When he's all-in, he's a hell of a guy to work with and it's my opinion that this is one of those times. Given his conduct throughout the campaign, his decent platform, his strong showing in the polls, and his status as the almighty Founder of Europeia, HEM cruises to victory and has earned an endorsement from this outlet.
Do I really need to talk about Anumia? The guy can write like Shakespeare, think like Socrates, and I learned on EuroChat yesterday that he can sing too. I bet he's hung like a bull moose. In all seriousness, his platform impressed even if it lacked detail. He maintains overwhelming affection from the community excepting PhDre. His legislative record is impressive. This will be a walk in the park. Anumia wins big and receives an enthusiastic endorsement from us.
Drecq's campaign thread was bare-bones. Nobody seems to care. Frankly, neither do we. The Speaker is a proven commodity and it would be a travesty if he were to be unseated, not to mention highly unlikely. Drecq is the last of our frontrunners and is projected to be very successful in his bid for re-election. To him goes our final endorsement. We love us some Drecq.
Stuck In The Middle With...Himself
PASD is a puzzling case. His platform wasn't going to knock anyone's socks off and he hasn't been the most active guy as of late but he enjoys some strong numbers in our poll. We're not exactly sure where that support is coming from but based solely on that we expect him to be likely to fill one of the two remaining seats however his position is far from comfort or stability.
Wildcards
Zenny Anumia has neglected to post a platform thread. Whether this is because she expects her friends to vote for her, is truly afraid to be shouted down as she has asserted, or doesn't care it's not what Europeians have historically expected from its senatorial candidates. She has questioned other candidates about their stance on the obscenity clause, an issue she feels strongly about. She also garnered some decent numbers in polling. Will she get one of those remaining two swing seats? It's a toss-up.
Imperium is the true wildcard in this race. Frankly, we expected him to do better in polling than he did which was fairly poor. It will be interesting though to see where RZM's supporters go, if anywhere. Imperium has as good a chance as anybody of scooping them up. Do not be shocked if he steals the last seat on Friday. I won't be.
Parting Thoughts
It would behoove the incoming Senate to facilitate a battle for the speakership. Send a message right off the bat that this term is going to be different. Fabricate some enthusiasm for and interest in our legislative affairs. Trust us, it will serve you well. A three way slugfest between Drecq, MS, and PhDre should do the trick.
Good luck to all the candidates. Let the responsibility of victory weigh upon you as you dispense your duties to the Republic and let a defeat serve as motivation to better yourself and try again. Don't take your ball and go home.
Still, we could see some surprises.
