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United States presidential election, 2016 | ||||
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November 8, 2016 | ||||
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Nominee | Mike Huckabee | Hillary Clinton | ||
Party | Republican | Democratic | ||
Home state | Arkansas | New York | ||
Running mate | Meg Whitman | Evan Bayh | ||
Electoral vote | 295 | 247 | ||
States carried | 30 | 22 | ||
Percentage | 53% | 46% | ||
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President before election
Mike Huckabee Republican
Elected President
Mike Huckabee Republican |
The United States presidential election, 2016 was the 58th quadrennial election for President and Vice-President of the United States of America, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Incumbent Republican President Mike Huckabee won reelection fairly easily over former Senator and then-Governor Hillary Clinton of New York.
The unemployment rate had dropped from 25% to 10% during Huckabee's 1st term, showing a slow but sure resurgence in the U.S. economy. The world stage was mostly quiet, and Huckabee's approval rating was a very high 59%.
Democrat Hillary Clinton's attacks seemed trivial and stupid when compared to the real success of the Huckabee Administration. The excitement around her being the Democratic Party's first female nominee didn't last long, as she instantly began attacking President Huckabee on everything.
Democratic Primaries
- Governor Hillary Clinton (D-New York)
- Former Senator Evan Bayh (D-Indiana)
In 2014, most conservative and moderate Democrats became independents, Populists, or Republicans. Clinton and Bayh remained true to their party, and were its only presidential candidates in the upcoming election. Bayh did well in the Midwest while Clinton took the Northeast. The South was a battleground. Senator Bayh dropped his campaign after Super Tuesday, seeing the division in the party. Governor Clinton later chose him as her running mate.
Campaign
President Huckabee showcased his record of peace and economic stability via the FairTax. Clinton attacked him for being a flip-flopper, pointing out his relative fiscal liberalism as Governor of Arkansas. He stated, "That was then. This is now, and now I'm balancing the budget because we have a good tax structure, one that benefits the people, not the government hogs who spend it." Clinton still attacked him relentlessly, and slipped in the polls.
Aftermath
Republicans suspected an easy victory, but this wasn't so. Clinton picked 11 states off of the Republican column from 2012, and was able to come within 5 points of President Huckabee in Arkansas. Both Republicans and Democrats failed in the Congressional elections, crushed by third parties.