Got it! Here we go!
Surprised to see another Democrat victory, though perhaps that's a result of the political system being so...different. It's definitely interesting that Reform matches the disappointing OTL performance here, wonder where that actually leaves us this time. And the breakdown that Reform failed to become the dominant third party is definitely interesting, and it does really make for an interesting marker about which side of the fence certain politicians are on.
Feinstein finding her way back to the Senate makes a lot of sense, particularly given her victory in the governor's election, as is the return of JEB. Weird to see Olympia Snowe relegated to getting thrashed by Angus King. It's weird to see Schumer allying with Reform but it also makes a lot of sense considering his outreach skills. Ventura holding his senate seat is smart, and Jeffords I assume will have a far less consequential last term as a result. And it's interesting to see the Democrat-Reform tickets laid out here with Melcher, Sasser, Wilder, Ric and Vinich sticking around, I'm very pleased to see Carnahan's disaster butterflied away too, his victory and that of Blanchard's over Ronna Romney makes a lot of sense to me. Lincoln winning his dad's old seat back makes a lot of sense and Heinz retaining his own is really interesting too, curious that there's still a relatively moderate wing holding on there, even if Barton also won as well. Nevada going to the Republicans again is understandable, and I was quite surprised to see that a Reform boost did not help Corzine enter the senate this time around. Bob Franks seems primed for this new political landscape, I'm curious as to what he'll do there.
Now to the House! The seats in Alaska, Idaho and Kansas do seem to reflect the trend of the Reform party's downswing. Alabama and Arkansas are what they are, same goes to California save for Mike Thompson managing to win against Hamburg (Man, wonder what the story with that guy was, seems like he couldn't pick a lane to stick in here) and Barbara Alby's victory. Hoffman and Hollaway losing is quite shocking, especially the latter with Blanco taking over his seat, I had assumed he'd be in for the long haul. Definitely fun to see the Michigan redistricting process going differently and keeping a few people in the same districts and Stabenow going for the race here instead of the Senate opens up some curious avenues. Definitely funny to see Matthew Frumin enter elected office far earlier than OTL, at least I thought so right up until I realized that he actually ran in OTL! The Mayor of Pittsburgh entering the House is curious as is the return of everyone's favourite, Dick Zimmer! I'm curious as to why Virgil Goode didn't leap across to the Republicans or even become a Reform member, unless Gore has been so decently boring that nothing's offended him much, though Forbes makes a lot more sense. And sometimes history needs no altering, see Merrill Cook for an example, eh?
Overall, really enjoyed this! Curious to see where we go next and what the hell a Dick Gephardt presidency actually looks like.
