Lelouch of the Senate
Prologue: Rise
Lelouch took a good look at the crowd that had gathered in the hotel ballroom. Yes, he could not be feeling any better right now. Being elected to the United States Senate has that effect on people.
It was a hard-fought campaign. The independent candidate, 30-year old Lelouch Lamperouge, due to not being affiliated with any party, fought an uphill battle against both the Democrat and the Republican candidates. Being in Florida also didn't help Lelouch win this election.
Lelouch had three things that won this election. The first was his prior four years in the House of Representatives. Lelouch, in that time, was the chamber's young, dashing voice of reason, and had managed to clear the highway for Republican president, Charles Zimmer. Zimmer was elected the same year Lelouch won his second two year term as representative.
Lelouch's second advantage was his independent appeal. Lelouch made it clear to the Florida electorate that he had no party allegiances. Lelouch, being nonpartisan, led the voters to believe that he was the only bipartisan candidate, who wouldn't have to be limited by the constraints of party lines. In truth, Lelouch, privately, was a pretty liberal guy, but didn't want to be bound to the Democrats, who were still in recovery from the epic collapse of the president before Charles Zimmer, Democratic President Genbu Kururugi. Republicans held control of both chambers, and now the presidency, due to the brazen craziness of Kururugi's one term.
The final reason, and the most influential one, was Lelouch's strategic and tactical handle on this election. Lelouch really needed no advisers on how to win this election. Lelouch had served in the army for seven years before he ran for the House of Representatives, and worked his way high up in the officer ranks due to his strategic and tactical brilliance. He managed to move up to Lieutenant General before he left, to pursue a career in politics. He knew what steps he had to take, managed to get major financial backing for his attacks, and had all of the controversy cards in his hand. It also helped that Lelouch completely destroyed both of his challengers in the debates, and launched maybe the greatest ground campaign since World War II, maneuvering the counties along with his group of volunteers, the Black Knights, and turning out a very large turnout, especially for a midterm.
In the final days of the campaign, Lelouch's poll lead rose exponentially, and it became clear, before election day even came, that he would win this election. The people in the hotel ballroom really never worried about the outcome. They knew what that final result would be. That didn't stop them from giving a great cheer at 8 PM, when the networks called the race for Lelouch Lamperouge as soon as they could.
Lelouch knew he was on the highway to great power. President Zimmer promised Lelouch a high-up position in the second term cabinet if Lelouch were elected senator. Lelouch wouldn't be selected as VP. No, Vincent Vance, the current Vice President, was a lock. However, the positions of Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense would be open in that cabinet.
Yes, the path looked bright for Lelouch. He could even see himself running for president after President Zimmer leaves office, though even he admitted that he needed to get those kinds of thoughts out of his head. The path to power was open.
With a great, possibly devilish smile, Lelouch finally broke his own silence.
"Well then..."