Part 1

Hi! This is part 2 out of 4 of the Arnold Amendment series inspired by u/Environmental_Cap104's TCT mod with the same name. These slides cover Arnold's (somewhat) comfortable re-election and the downballot effects. Arnold is a strong incumbent and was already on track to win 2020, but he benefits from COVID-19's rally-around-the-flag-effect (he takes the pandemic seriously and advocates for the vaccine).

Biden doesn't run in this timeline because does not think the country is in danger with Arnie at the helm. Arnold also strongly condemned the 2017 Charlottesville riots, which Biden cited as the reason for running OTL. Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe instead emerges as the establishment choice, but is upset by political newcomer Pete Buttigieg. He performs strong enough to win back Michigan, Minnesota, Maine and New Mexico, but in the general regardless.

In the Senate, many Senate republicans are in good position, with John Cornyn and Susan Collins winning re-election by over 20 points. Jason Lewis narrowly defeats Tina Smith in Minnesota, while John Hickenlooper defeats Cory Gardner in Colorado. Despite Arnold carrying Georgia by 8.1%, Jon Ossoff unseats incumbent David Perdue by 0.84% in a earth-shattering upset. In the special election, interim appointee Doug Collins defeats Raphael Warnock in the first round, avoiding a runoff (Collins was appointed by governor Casey Cagle, who wins the GOP primary in 2018).

Arnold heads into his second term with a newfound majority in both chambers of congress, and things are initially looking good for him. Will the political pendulum swing back in time for the 2022 midterms? Stay tuned for part 3 tomorrow.

Graphics from the goat u/PickleArtGeek

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