2040 Reformed States presidential election
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430 members of the Electoral College 216 electoral votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 188,308,824 65.11% (  5.27 pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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  Presidential election results map. Light green denotes states won by Boldano/Richmond, red denotes those won by Jordan/Noem, blue denotes those won by Casar/Omar. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Presidential elections were held in the Reformed States on November 6, 2040. Joe Boldano, entrepreneur and CEO, alongside running mate Kyle Richmond, defeated the Republican ticket, Jim Jordan, Ohio congressman and Speaker of the House, and Kristi Noem, the junior senator from South Dakota; Democratic nominees Greg Casar, Texas congressman, and Ilhan Omar, the senior Senator from Minnesota; and Andrew Yang, entrepreneur and founder of the Forward Party, running with former Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema.
Though incumbent president Ron DeSantis could have run for a third term, his popularity after signing the Treaty of Carson City declined significantly. As a result, neither he nor incumbent Vice President Tim Scott chose to run, and they instead endorsed Jordan, then-Speaker of the House, as the Republican nominee. Jordan chose Noem as his running mate in April. Casar won the Democratic primaries, facing off against online personality Sarah Bivins and Minnesota governor Michael Steinmeier. Casar chose Omar as his running mate in an attempt to appeal to working class voters. Billionaire entrepreneur Joe Boldano launched his independent campaign, presenting himself as a centrist mediator between the progressive Democrats and the far-right Republicans. Boldano chose not to seek the Forward Party nomination, as he and Yang "had different ideals".
Campaigns focused mainly on domestic issues and the economy, as the nation was recovering from a brief recession in 2039. Boldano promised a balanced budget amendment if he were to be elected, while Casar ran on a platform of reducing military spending and diverting funds to education and welfare. Jordan seldomly brought up this issue, in part because of his involvement with the recession. Other key issues included cyberterrorism, LGBT rights, the aftermath of the Second American Civil War, and the potential collapse of the American two-party system. The Jordan campaign emphasized a "return to traditional American values" while the Casar campaign focused mainly on foreign policy and workers' rights.
By appealing to centrists and moderates, Boldano won a plurality of the popular vote with 34.5%, the lowest share of any elected president since 1824, and the lowest share to ever win the popular vote in the R.S.'s 272-year history. Boldano won every swing state, as well as his home state of New Jersey, his running mate's home state of New York, and Delaware. Boldano performed well in the Midwest and the East Coast, as well as the Southwest, where he won every single border state except New Mexico. Jordan won the core red states, as well as Maryland and New Mexico, a result of Boldano's vote splitting. Casar won just three states and the Template:Washington, D.C., the worst showing from a Democratic candidate since Walter Mondale in 1984, another result of Boldano's vote splitting. Polls indicated that Casar would have defeated Jordan if Boldano had not run (or had withdrawn), making Boldano the subject of heavy criticism from Democrats and those on the political left.
This was the last election to not feature Joseph Clarke or Diane Ryan on the ballot. This was the last election in which no incumbent president or vice president ran for president. This was also the last time New Mexico voted for a Republican, and the last election before the Compromise of 2042, which combined Maryland and Delaware into a single state; as such, this is the last time either state voted independently. This election was the last election in which a third party or independent candidate received electoral votes, and the only time since 1792 in which a third party or independent candidate won an election. This was the last time a non-Republican candidate won an election, and the only such election since 2020. As of 2048, this is the final election in which a candidate failed to break 50% of the vote in any state.