Political Games Forever

This is the Republican version of the Democrat post below.

In the US election game 2008 scenario, we are about to release a new version using the actual October 1st data from the real world. It’s interesting to note the changes in the primaries standings between the two versions. Here is a picture of the Republicans’ state of affair from the version released in June:

(click here to see the full-size image)

This is what it looks like now, with the latest October 1st polling data:

(click here to see the full-size image)

What has changed in the 2008 game scenario? The most visual difference is the swath of central-western states that have moved from McCain to Tie. This is a result of two factors: 1. McCain’s national percentages have fallen significantly. In fact, he has moved into 3rd place, behind Fred Thompson. 2. Giuliani, like Clinton, has continued to increase his lead in national percentages. So what makes the Republican contest different from the Democrats? The answer is 3. Romney is now leading in Iowa and New Hampshire, and tied for first in Nevada and Michigan - the first 4 crucial states in the game and real world primaries or caucuses. Combine that with 4. Fred Thompson is leading in many southern states. This makes the Republican primaries much more interesting at this point.

All these political shifts are reflected in the candidates’ estimated delegates totals. Giuliani’s delegates in the game has risen from 996 (a plurality) to 1371 (an absolute majority) - enough to take the nomination outright. McCain has plummeted from 454 to 53. Thompson has increased from 250 to 322. Romney, meanwhile, has gone from 79 to 144.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 at 4:47 pm and is filed under Game Design, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.