"Hello and welcome to ZNN's special Election Day coverage of the race for Mayor of Zootopia. I'm Robert Cape, joined tonight by my co-host Martin Hall bringing you the latest news from the polls, as well as both candidates' camps," the frame struggled to contain both the water buffalo and his smaller cohort, an orange Marten less than half his height. "This has been quite the contentious race, with its share of unexpected developments."
"That's right, Rob. From Todd Renard's meteoric rise as a candidate to John Nileworthy's surprising exit, this race has certainly been unconventional," Hall added.
"Indeed, and with Renard and Turnbull taking such strong opposing stances on many issues, undecided voters make today's results anyone's game. Let's go to our reporter in the field, Jake Skyline, with the latest on the polls. Jake?"
The camera cut to an arctic wolf with a microphone standing outside a school-gym-turned-polling-place, but no one in the Renard Campaign Headquarters (Nileworthy's old base of operations) paid any attention to the screen. Dozens of volunteers talked on phones, reaching out to everyone whose doorbell they rang to get out the vote. On every laptop screen was a list of names and numbers of mammals that hadn't expressed hostility to the possibility of voting for Todd or Nileworthy in the past, along with a map of polling places to guide people to where to vote.
Senior staff, however, were busy preparing for every eventuality. Dakota and one of the speechwriters from Nileworthy's campaign were busy working on Todd and Nileworthy's speeches for if they won or otherwise. Hubert was on the phone with his editor at the Zootopia Times, trying to wring out any news he could ahead of time. Hannah Cotton, now Dakota's second in command much to her ego's chagrin, was busy directing the callbanks and keeping the volunteers in line. Meanwhile, Todd and Nileworthy stood around not fully certain what they needed to be doing at that particular moment.
Todd looked up at Nileworthy. "So, uh, I've never really been in this spot on an election day before…"
Nileworthy sounded equally confident. "I joined Lionheart's team after the last election."
"So we're in this together then,"
"Yep,"
After a moment, Dakota shouted "Turn up the TV, quick." Nileworthy fumbled with the remote for a second before finding the volume control.
"...confirmation that the first round of exit polls are being released," Jake Skyline reported. "In this first round it appears that...yes, Andrew Turnbull has taken a roughly three point lead over his opponent Todd Renard."
"Thank you, Jake. We would like to remind our viewers that these numbers are still preliminary, but it seems that Turnbull has taken a small lead in the polls so far. Here to discuss this with us is the author of…" Cape was cut off by Cotton re-muting the television.
"Let's go people, it doesn't matter how much they like us if they don't vote!" she yelled to the volunteers, more intimidating than one would expect a bunny in a pantsuit could be.
A moment later, another rabbit - this one with black stripes on his head - entered followed by a camera crew. Dakota was up from her seat in a flash. "Mr. Renard, Mr. Nileworthy, Andrew Lundon from ZNN. Would you care to comment on-" the rabbit started.
Dakota stepped between Andrew and the candidates, "There will be no comment from the candidates until they approach the press themselves. Until then you have to wait with the rest of the press at the event location for tonight."
"Welcome back to ZNN. I'm Robert Cape and this is my co-host Martin Hall bringing you full coverage of this election day," the water buffalo announced.
"If you're just joining us, the first polling locations are just closing, and we're expecting the first official counts within the hour," Martin Hall said. "In the meantime, let's go to both candidates' election night events, starting with Andrew Lundon at Todd Renard's. Andrew?"
The camera cut to Lundon inside a hotel ballroom filled with tables, a stage erected at the front of the room. Above the stage hung a banner reading Renard and Nileworthy for Zootopia. The rabbit began. "Thank you Martin. We're here at the Lionheart Hotel in Savannah Central. The hotel is, of course, owned by the Lionheart family, who have been significant supporters of Nileworthy and later Renard's campaigns after their own Ariel Lionheart dropped from the race early on. Renard and Nileworthy arrived only moments ago, and are currently greeting guests," the camera focused on two figures in the background smiling and shaking hands. Noticeable at a front-row-center table were a fox and a rabbit in dress blues. "We attempted to speak with the candidates earlier after the first exit polls, but were turned away by their campaign manager. The final exit polls put Turnbull just slightly ahead but well within the margin of error. Regardless, the poll results haven't seemed to put a damper on the mood here tonight. Back to you, Robert."
"Thank you Andrew. Reporting from the Turnbull camp we have Mason-Dixon Smith. Mason?"
The camera cut to a prairie dog standing on top of a table in a nice restaurant to which a makeshift stage had been added. From the stage hung a sign reading "Vote Turnbull and Hart". Turnbull's running mate ended up being a deer lawyer with almost the opposite record of Todd, having represented nearly exclusively prey in his career. With the dramatic turn of events surrounding Todd's selection of running mate, Hart had fallen out of the limelight quickly. Mason-Dixon spoke up. "Thank you Robert. We're coming to you live from one of the restaurants owned by Turnbull Enterprises: Gazelle Cellars - not affiliated with the singer - in Sahara Square where Turnbull is hosting major donors and supporters. Obviously the news regarding the exit polls was well received here tonight. Despite how close the final polls were, it is clear that Turnbull is all but ready to read his acceptance speech. Back to you, Robert."
"Thank you for that report Mason-Dixon. During that coverage, the Meadowlands released their official vote tallies, the first district to do so tonight. With a 55-45 margin in the district, Andrew Turnbull has taken the first official lead this election day."
The news was met by a round of jeers from the assembly at the Lionheart Hotel. A short while ago a screen had been set up so the guests could monitor the news in real time. "I told you we should have gone digging for shady stuff in his past," Nick mostly-joked to Judy.
"Bogo's already breathing down our necks for endorsing Todd without permission. You want to give him more reasons to be mad?" Judy smirked.
Nick shrugged, "If Todd wins, what could Chief do?"
Elsewhere in the room, Nileworthy spoke with his one-time opponent Carlos Lupez. "Nileworthy, old friend, you got a minute?" the wolf reached to pat the hippo on the shoulder.
"Of course," Nileworthy replied.
"Excellent. Now, you promised me a spot in your city hall working on the city's environmental policy. The only issue is now it won't be your city hall-" the wolf kept an amiable tone, but it was clear that his fangs were bared in spirit.
"I understand, and Renard and I will be deciding that for certain shortly, but right now it's neither of our's city hall."
"This isn't the last time we'll see each other tonight, then."
In a hallway adjacent to the ballroom, Todd sipped at a coffee in between forcing deep, slow breaths. The ballroom door opened, and shortly thereafter Todd heard Dakota's voice, surprisingly relaxed given the night."Your absence is conspicuous."
Todd looked up. Before the event Dakota had changed into a dark violet, almost black cocktail dress. She looked stunning. "Sorry," Todd muttered, turning his coffee in his paws aimlessly.
"Everything alright?"
"Just nervous," Todd sighed. "I only have a couple more hours before I know whether these last few months were a complete waste of time or not."
Dakota was quiet for a moment. "Well, as far as I'm concerned," she leaned with her back against the wall next to him. "Win or lose this wasn't a waste. A fox has never done what you've done before. Even though 'first fox mayor' may have a nice ring to it, you're making history either way. Plus, 'First Fox Candidate' doesn't sound that bad either," Dakota grabbed his arm. "Now, let's get going. Staying out here and stewing on it won't calm your nerves any."
As they re-entered, the larger-than-life marten on the screen announced: "Tundratown has officially released its vote tallies. Combined with the results from the Meadowlands, the race is now a dead heat with Todd Renard holding the slimmest of majorities."
The report continued, but it was drowned out by a round of cheers.
The night went on with the lead constantly changing hands. With the Canal District, Turnbull took it back, but lost it with the Rainforest District. Sahara Square reported later than expected because the vote was nearly exactly 50/50, and required a recount. Eventually, with only one district remaining the race could still go either way.
"We are ready to announce the results in Savannah Central, and with them the election," Robert Cape read. A tense silence fell over the room as all eyes were glued to the screen. Todd's heart beat so hard he thought it might be trying to escape. In his paws he clutched two speeches, and in only moments he would know which one he would give. He felt Dakota lay her paw on his shoulder, calming him slightly. "Carrying Savannah Central by a surprising margin, and the new mayor of Zootopia," Todd gulped nervously. He felt the news cameras around the room staring at him. "By a 53-47 margin, Todd Renard."
The room exploded into noise while confetti rained from the ceiling. For a moment, Todd was unable to move. He wasn't sure he had actually heard correctly. He won? He felt Dakota give him a gentle push on his back. He look at her and she gestured at the stage. Todd rose to his feet and stepped onto the stage. He felt like he was floating. The news broadcast behind him changed to live footage of his stage, projecting a larger than life image of himself behind him and to the whole city.
Todd took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Ladies and gentlemammals," the crowd quieted. "Today our city said 'no' to fear, 'no' to hate, and 'no' to Turnbull. Today we have shown that at its heart, Zootopia truly is a city where anyone can be anything, that we reject a city where your lot in life is based on your biology. I am only a small part in a revolution taking place in Zootopia, a revolution rejecting the old ways of thinking: that rabbits are meek and helpless, hippos slow and blundering, and foxes sly and untrustworthy. We know now that it's not what's in your DNA that determines who you are, but what's in your heart. I look forward to helping you shape Zootopia in this image and building the city that we all know Zootopia can, should, and must be from city hall as your mayor. Thank you."
A/N: We've finally come to the end of this story! Took more time to get here than I wanted it to, but real life had to come first. I'd like to thank you all for putting up with me breaking all the rules of what people want in a fanfiction by almost entirely ignoring the main characters to tell a story outside of the main genre that the original media was :). And don't worry, this may not be the last time you see Todd Renard and friends: I have more ideas for stories involving these characters, Todd's new career is just beginning after all. They won't come right away, but I already have a plan for the next story I want to write, so if you like my style keep an eye out :)
Once again, thank you all, and I hope you'll join me next time around.