2020 South Greater Bernheim by-election
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A by-election was held in the Sierran Parliament constituency of South Greater Bernheim on July 14, 2020 to replace resigning incumbent MP Nemesis Heartwell. Heartwell, who had served as Prime Minister and later Leader of the Opposition resigned from the House of Commons following the Royalist Party's defeat in the May 2020 federal election. Primary elections were held in May with the main candidates being Eli McAfee, member of the San Joaquin House of Assembly for the 19th district, as the Democratic-Republican nominee and Wilbur Mason, former Assembly Member for the 31st district, as the Royalist Party nominee. The first debate was held on June 7 and the final debate occurred on June 30 between the candidates.
It is the first by-election of the 78th House of Commons, which was elected in the 2020 Sierran federal election. The by-election was also the first by-election in the province of San Joaquin since the 2016 Sierran federal election.
The election was held on July 14, 2020 and Mason won, holding the district for the Royalists, albeit with a smaller margin than Heartwell.
Background
During the 2020 Sierran federal election held on May 1, Nemesis Heartwell had won re-election as she was not only the incumbent representative of the district, but was also Prime Minister which gave her an advantage. While she would survive re-election, Heartwell won with only a 5% lead over her opponent, the lowest share of any sitting Prime Minister during a federal election to the House of Commons, which showcased the deep unpopularity Heartwell and the Royalists were suffering from towards the end of her premiership fueled by the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra. After the Royalists lost a net of 40 seats in the May 2020 federal election, Heartwell opted to resign from the House, trigging the by-election in South Greater Bernheim.
2020 federal election result
Candidates
Royalist primary
Nominee
- Wilbur Mason, former member of the San Joaquin House of Assembly for the 31st district
Democratic-Republican primary
Candidates
- Eli McAfee, Member of the San Joaquin House of Assembly for the 19th district
- Gabriel Lawson, political activist and head of the San Joaquin chapter of Black Lives Matter Sierra
Nominee
- Eli McAfee, Member of the San Joaquin House of Assembly for the 19th district
Campaign
Opinion polling
Results
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Royalist | Wilbur Mason | 36,166 | 50.1% | ||
Democratic-Republican | Eli McAfee | 34,650 | 48.0% | ||
Turnout | 70,816 | 53.3% | |||
Majority | 1,516 | 2.1% | |||
Royalist hold | Swing |