2024 Democratic-Republican Party of Sierra leadership election
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TBD delegates to the Democratic-Republican National Convention | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 678,098 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
The 2024 Democratic-Republican Party of Sierra leadership election was held on Thursday, February 8, 2024 to determine who will serve as the next leader of the Democratic-Republican Party of Sierra. The election was triggered following incumbent leader and prime minister Maggie Chan announced her intention to resign from both positions on January 20, 2024. She later disclosed her reasoning for her abrupt resignation was occupational burnout and a recent diagnosis of Stage II colorectal cancer. The general membership of the party elected the leader by either vote-by-mail or in-person ballot; the result was announced on February 9, with Cedric Harrison being elected as the leader.
Registered members of the Democratic-Republican Party and the Honeybee Party were eligible to vote in the leadership election. The deadline for candidate declarations was February 1, and a debate between the six registered candidates will occur on February 6 in Porciúncula, hosted by RBS News. In the event of no candidate being able to secure a majority of delegates, a runoff vote between the top two contenders was to be held on Saturday, February 10. Harrison, as the leader-elect will be sworn in as party leader at the 2024 Democratic-Republican National Convention, which will be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco City on Monday, February 12, and will immediately succeed Chan as the prime minister.
Contested over a period of four weeks, the 2024 Democratic-Republican leadership election holds the record as one of the shortest leadership campaigns in Sierran history. As the winner of the race will also be sworn in as the next prime minister of the Kingdom of Sierra, there has been considerable domestic and international attention on the election and its victory along with speculations on the continuation of the Cornflower coalition government under Chan and a possible early federal election.
Background
Maggie Chan was first elected leader of the Democratic-Republican Party in 2017 where she succeeded Preston Bolivar as party leader, the latter of whom served in an interim capacity following the assassination of prime minister and party leader Steven Hong in 2016. Chan ran in a contested race as the party was dealing from its defeat in the 2016 Sierran federal election that occurred months after Hong's assassination and Bolivar had no intent on serving as party leader, feeling he wasn't up to the task. Chan stood out as she had only been a Member of Parliament since 2008 and lacked any major experience as party leader, but her progressive liberal vision and quasi-populist rhetoric helped her stand out and ultimately won the election in October 2017. Chan herself became the second woman to serve as leader of the DRPS after Melinda Peters who was first elected in 1989.
As leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, Chan's tenure first focused on rebuilding and reorganizing the party from its loss in 2016 and restructuring its messaging to help win future elections. Chan would emerge as the chief rival to Nemesis Heartwell as Leader of the Opposition. The 2018 Sierran Senate elections saw the Democratic-Republicans make significant gains despite the Royalist Party retaining their majority in the Senate. Two years later, the party won control over the Senate even after suffering historic losses in the concurrent elections to the House of Commons along with the Royalists. Despite these losses, the DRPS would join the Social Democrats in a coalition government with Chan serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first and second Kwon ministries. Chan remained as Foreign Minister until 2022 when she resigned, leading to a snap election that saw Chan be elected prime minister.
Chan's tenure as prime minister was marked with both successes and controversies. Chan would oversee an aggressive approach against the United Commonwealth and rescinded many Kwon-era labor policies. The cornflower coalition government was often difficult to maintain due to internal disputes between members of both major parties and political polarization remained a consistent problem. By December 2023, reports and rumors came out of Chan being visibly exhausted and showing signs of fatigue both during and after cabinet meetings and concerns over her physical and mental health had emerged before she would issue her formal resignation on 20 January 2024.
Campaign
Announcements
Kimberly Lincoln, MP from San Joaquin and Democratic-Republican Chief Whip, was the first candidate to enter the race, announcing her candidacy on January 21. Lincoln herself is the highest-ranking Dem-Rep to enter into the race serving as Chief Whip of the party in the House of Commons as well as being a close ally of Chan in parliament. Her announcement came in the form of a video released onto several social media platforms and later held a rally less than a day later in her home district. Lincoln's pitch was to continue Chan's liberal and socially progressive policies, commitment towards cultural republicanism, and seeking common ground with political opponents across the isle. In an interview held with the Porciúncula Times, Lincoln said that she would support continuing the cornflower coalition government so long as common ground is found and both parties want to continue it.
Cedric Harrison, MP from the Inland Empire and Minister of Education, announced his candidacy on January 22 at a press conference held within his district and released an announcement video the same day where he talked about his early life, reasons for getting involved in politics, and achievements over the course of his political career. Harrison stated support for subsidized housing, expansion of voting and LGBT rights in Sierra, a pragmatic-based foreign policy, and commitment towards social justice. Harrison is the first cabinet member to enter the race.
Oliver Havner announced his candidacy on January 24 after teasing a formal announcement three days prior. Havner is an MP from Wasatch and is the only Democratic-Republican MP representing a district from the Deseret as well as the first one to do so since 1983. Havner himself made his announcement during a rally in Salt Lake City where he laid out his support for multi-partisan cooperation, supporting expanding access to housing, and continuing an antagonistic stance against the United Commonwealth. His support for multi-partisanship has been highlighted in particular due to him representing a district in a conservative region of the country and successfully getting elected as a result.
The same day Havner announced his campaign, Jake Dayish also announced his candidacy and entered into the race. Dayish is the first Native Sierran and Navajo candidate to enter into the race and would be the first indigenous leader of a national political party if elected. Dayish campaigned on supporting social justice and addressing the socioeconomic problems and inequality effecting Native Sierrans and ethnic and racial minorities within the country.
Marcela Agbayani, MP from the Gold Coast, announced his candidacy on January 25 after five days of speculation and reporting. Agbayani has been a supporter of Chan since the start of her premiership and has served as Chair of the House Committee on Armed Services since 2023. Agbayani released a video announcement for her campaign where she stated her intention to continue Chan's progressive liberal policies, complete her legislative agenda, and seek to promote a greater sense of national unity within the country.
MP from Laguna Evelyn Lyerly entered the race on January 28, two days before the deadline to enter the race and is the second cabinet member to enter the race, serving as Minister of Culture since 2022 under Maggie Chan. Lyerly stated her cooperation with Chan and her role in supporting her agenda and policies as prime minister along with her other accomplishments. She also listed her connections with Royalist members of the cabinet and her ability to continue the coalition government and argued that she is the best one to ensure its continuity and prevent another snap election, the latter of which she has called "unnecessary" and "furthers our tiresome division and polarization".
Issues and developments
The topic of the cornflower coalition between the Democratic-Republicans, the Royalist Party, and both of their respective allies in parliament has been the main issue of discussion surrounding whether or not it will continue or if it's worth continuing and another early election should be called. Most candidates have stated their support for continuing the coalition, while acknowledging that it would depend on the Royalists also wanting to continue the government.
Candidates
Registered
| Candidate | Office(s)/Occupation | Candidacy | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
|
|
.jpg) |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
.jpeg) |
|
|
|
.png) |
|
|
|
.jpg) |
|
|
|
Results
Endorsements
Opinion polling
See also
| Senate | |
|---|---|
| Provincial | |
| Mayoral | |
| Party leadership | |
