The 1989 Tevitheimer grand chancellery election was the fifth sextennial grand chancellery election in Tevitheim and the first since 1977, as the 1983 election was cancelled due to martial law throughout most of Tevitheim due to the Third Great War. Social Union nominee and former commanding general James Clinton and his running mate, Councilor to the Jarl of New Tremblant Jonas Støre won a landslide victory against Republican nominees of Councilor to the Assembly of New Hammerfest, Jakob Eraldsen and his running mate, president of the Industrial Union of Tevitheim, Olaf Hrvada of Nellsheim.

Eraldsen emerged victorious on the third ballot at the Republican convention, defeating Olaf Hrvada, the president of the Industrial Union, the largest union in Tevitheim. Hrvada would become Eraldsen's running mate for the general election. Clinton, a general during the Third Great War, was hailed as a war hero and wildly popular, especially among men under the age of 40 (the primary demographic of those who served under Clinton during the war). Despite a challenge from the conservative Eldegard Alnatingsrepresentant Robert Tonal, Clinton was nominated by a wide majority of the Social Union convention. Due to concerns about Clinton's age (he turned 69 three weeks before election day), he selected the relatively youthful 48 year-old Jonas Støre as his running mate.

Clinton touted his connections to popular incumbent Grand Chancellor Wade Mannerheim, his role as the head of the Reconstruction Authority, a military joint command responsible for rebuilding the wartorn northern regions of Tevitheim, and his retaining of his enormous popularity from the war. At 69, Clinton was the oldest person to ever be elected as grand chancellor, while Eraldsen, who was slightly older than Clinton at 70 years and 121 days on election day, was the oldest person ever nominated by a major party for grand chancellor, a record which still stands. The Clinton campaign produced effective television advertising and was able to neutralize concerns about Clinton's age due to Eraldsen's similarily advanced age. Eraldsen criticized the possibility of the Social Union being power since 1977 and called the party's grip on power "a one party state".

Clinton won the election in a landslide victory, carrying 310 electoral votes, 14 jarldoms, and 58.5% of the popular vote. Eraldsen won 30 electoral votes: 25 from his home jarldom of New Hammerfest, which he won by less than 151,000 votes of 4.8 million cast, and 5 from Elveanna, which is historically one of the most consistently Republican jarldoms in Tevitheim. This was the largest share of the electoral college since Jens Vealund won 100% of all votes when he ran unopposed in 1959. This election also represents the largest share of the popular vote in any two-way election in Tevitheimer history. Clinton became the first Natalian speaker to be elected as grand chancellor, and his victory represents the most recent election in which a grand chancellor's successor was a member of the same political party and the last victory for the Social Union until 2019.

Electoral System

1989 Tevitheimer Grand Chancellery Election
340 members of the Electoral Council; 171 votes needed to win
Registered	103,976,083; (XXpp)
Turnout	76,171,660 (73.3%) (XXpp)
	Map of jarldoms by first-place winner: Dark blue indicates jarldoms won by Clinton/Støre. Red indicates jarldoms won by Eraldsen/Hrvada.
Grand Chancellor before election; Wade Mannerheim; Social Union	Elected Grand Chancellor ; James Clinton; Social Union

Under Article 2 of the Constitution of Tevitheim, the grand chancellor is elected to a six-year term in an indirect election. Voters vote for slates of electors, who then elect the grand chancellor. Electors are distributed by population, with the smallest jarldom receiving five votes and all others receiving votes in proportion to their relative populations compared to the smallest jarldom. In 1989, territories were not permitted to vote. The least populous jarldom was Elveanna. The most populous Hellighjerte, which had 40 votes. All electoral votes were distributed on a winner-takes-all basis. If no candidate secures an absolute majority of electoral votes in the first round a contingency election is held with each jarldom's delegation casting one vote.

Campaign

Nominations

Social Union Nomination

The moderates of the Social Union, primarily in the in the southern and eastern parts of Tevitheim, were led by incumbent Grand Chancellor Wade Mannerheim, who had taken office via emergency election and appointment by the governments of the various jarldoms. Moderates tended to be economically distributionist and moderately conservative on social issues, willing to accept the reforms and increased liberalization pushed by Republican politicians during the war. Moderates were also concerned about increasingly isolationist tendencies in the Social Union, and were worried that the Social Union would be blamed for the war and its initial failures, and hand over power to the Republicans. Thus, the moderates favored the nomination of Mannerheim, whose popularity from the war remained steady. Mannerheim's popularity was so great that a 1988 resolution by the legislature declared Mannerheim as being eligible to run in 1989, regardless of constitutional text. However, Mannerheim declined nomination, ostensibly out of constitutional concerns but in reality due to health issues. Thus, the popular general James Clinton was selected.

The conservatives, who were more capitalist in outlook and more socially conservative, were based in the far west and north of the country. The north in particular was a bastion of isolationism due to much of a war that was perceived as being started because of Tevitheim's international entaglements being fought in the northern jarldoms. The conservatives, led by Jomfra Councilor to the Legislature Adrian Olsson tended to be more hawkish but isolationist in foreign affairs and opposed social reforms pushed during the war. Olsson had previously sought nomination for the 1977 Tevitheimer Grand Chancellery Election and was considered the frontrunner for 1983 had that election been held. As Olsson was 66 years old, he felt it was his last chance to run for grand chancellor (had he failed, his next chance would be at age 72 in 1995). His feelings were correct, as Olsson would die at the age of 71, in 1994.

In the end, Clinton defeated Olsson on the first ballot. To heal the wounds and reunite the party, he visited with Olsson. Olsson was persuaded to congratulate and endorse Clinton, but he was bitter for the loss. Clinton promised certain concessions to Olsson and his supporters. Clinton had apparently given little thought to his vice chancellor. When asked, he replied he assumed the party would pick someone. As Olsson was both old (66 to Clinton's 68 years) and refused the position, it fell to the conservative but relatively young Alnatingsrepresentant Jonas Støre of New Tremblant. Støre was an aggressive campaigner and interventionist, but was not seen as extreme as some of the other conservatives. Most historians have ascribed Clinton's nomination due to his perceived electability compared to the conservative Olsson.

Nominees

Candidate	Born	Most recent position	Home Jarldom	Ballot
Nominee for Grand Chancellor of Tevitheim
James Clinton	January 15, 1920 (age 68) Kirkeby, Ditka	General of the Army	Gulkystheim	First Ballot: 2,127 votes
Nominee for Vice Chancellor of Tevitheim
Jonas Støre	November 18, 1936 (age 51) Søndaby, Søndaga	Alnatingsrepresentant from New Tremblant	File:Flag of Tremblant.svg New Tremblant	First Ballot: 3,109 votes

Candidates not Nominated

Candidate	Born	Most recent position	Home Jarldom	Ballot
Adrian Olsson	April 13, 1922 (age 66) Edwardville, Jomfra	Councilor to the Legislature from Jomfra	Jomfra	First Ballot: 1,145 votes

Republican Nomination

The moderate Eastern Republicans were led by New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, the party's presidential nominee in 1944 and 1948. The moderates tended to be interventionists who felt that the country needed to fight the Cold War overseas and confront the Soviet Union in Eurasia.[5] They were also willing to accept most aspects of the social welfare state created by the New Deal in the 1930s but sought to reform the programs to be more efficient and business-friendly. The moderates were also concerned with ending the Republicans' losing streak in presidential elections and felt that the popular Eisenhower had the best chance of beating the Democrats.[6] For that reason, Dewey declined the notion of a third run for president despite his large amount of support within the party. The Republicans had been out of power for 20 years, and there was a strong sentiment that a proper two-party system needed to be re-established. It was also felt that the party winning the White House would have more incentive to rein in radicals and demagogues such as Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy.

The moderates of the Social Union, primarily in the in the southern and eastern parts of Tevitheim, were led by incumbent Grand Chancellor Wade Mannerheim, who had taken office via emergency election and appointment by the governments of the various jarldoms. Moderates tended to be economically distributionist and moderately conservative on social issues, willing to accept the reforms and increased liberalization pushed by Republican politicians during the war. Moderates were also concerned about increasingly isolationist tendencies in the Social Union, and were worried that the Social Union would be blamed for the war and its initial failures, and hand over power to the Republicans.

The conservative Republicans, led by Taft, were based in the Midwest and parts of the South. The Midwest was a bastion of conservatism and isolationist sentiment. Dislike of Europeans, in particular the British, was common, and there was a widespread feeling that the British manipulated American foreign policy and were eager to kowtow to the Soviet Union, although such attitudes had begun to change among the younger generation who had fought in World War II. In addition, the conservatives opposed much of the New Deal, regarding these programs as diminishing individual liberty and economic freedom. Taft had unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in the 1940 and 1948 presidential elections but lost both times to moderate candidates from New York: Wilkie and Dewey respectively. At the age of 63, Taft felt that it was his last chance to run for president so his friends and supporters, encompassing many party regulars, worked diligently on his behalf. His feelings were correct, as he died about nine months after the election.

In the end, Eisenhower narrowly defeated Taft on the first ballot. To heal the wounds caused by the battle, he visited Taft's hotel suite and met with him. Taft issued a brief statement congratulating Eisenhower on his victory, but he was bitter about the accusation that he had stolen delegates and withheld his active support for Eisenhower for several weeks after the convention. In September 1952, Taft and Eisenhower met again at Morningside Heights, in New York City. Taft promised there an active support of Eisenhower in exchange for the fulfillment of a number of requests such as a demand that Eisenhower would offer Taft's followers a fair share of patronage positions if he won the election and that Eisenhower would agree to balance the federal budget and "fight creeping domestic socialism in every field." Eisenhower agreed to the terms, and Taft campaigned assiduously for the Republican ticket.[7] In fact, Eisenhower and Taft agreed on most domestic issues, and their disagreements were primarily on foreign policy.[8]

Eisenhower had apparently given little thought to choosing his running mate. When asked, he replied that he assumed the convention would pick someone. The spot ultimately fell to the young California Senator Richard Nixon, who was viewed as a centrist. Nixon was known as an aggressive campaigner and a fierce anti-communist but as one who shied away from some of the more extreme ideas of the party's right wing, including isolationism and the dismantling of the New Deal. Most historians[who?] now believe that Eisenhower's nomination was the result of his perceived electability against the Democrats. Most of the delegates were conservatives who would probably have supported Taft if they felt that he could win the general election.

Results

Popular Election


Candidate for Grand Chancellor	Party	Home Jarldom	Popular Vote		Electoral Vote	Vice Chancellor
			Count	Percentage		Candidate for Vice Chancellor
			Count	Percentage		Candidate for Vice Chancellor	Home Jarldom	Electoral Vote
James Clinton	Social Union	Gulkystheim	44,522,667	58.45%	310	Jonas Støre	New Tremblant	310
Jakob Eraldsen	Republican	New Hammerfest	30,581,020	49.15%	30	Vulkan Mortison	Nellsheim	30
All Other Candidates			624,782	0.82%	0	All Other Candidates		0
Discarded Votes			443,191	0.58%
Total			76,171,660	100%	340	Total		340
Required for Victory					171	Required for Victory		171

Popular Vote

Clinton			58.45%
Eraldsen			40.15%
Others			0.82%

Electoral Vote

Clinton			92.65%
Eraldsen			7.35%

1989 Tevitheimer Grand Chancellery Election

Contents

Electoral System

Campaign