| Heidi Heitkamp | |
|---|---|
| |
| Heitkamp in 2021 | |
| 46th President of the United States | |
| In office January 20, 2021 – January 20, 2029 | |
| Vice President | Steve Bullock |
| Preceded by | Mike Simpson |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democrat |
Heidi Heitkamp is an American politiician and lawyer who is the 46th President of the United States. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served since 2021.
Before her presidency, Heitkamp was Attourney General of Dakota from 1993 to 2009 and Senator from Dakota from 2013 to 2020, when she resigned to become president. She was elected to the US Senate in 2012, becoming a part of Dakota's first congressional delegation since Doomsday. In 2020, she was elected President of the United States, becoming America's first female President. Since then, she has embarked on a policy of vigorous outreach to other American survivor communities.
Pre-Doomsday[]
Mary Kathryn "Heidi" Heitkamp was born in Breckinridge, MN in 1955 to Doreen LaVonne (a school cook) and Raymond Heitkamp (a janitor and construction worker). She was raised in Mantador, ND, where she attended public schools.
Heitkamp graduated with her BA from the University of North Dakota in 1977 and the Lewis and Clark Law School with her JD in 1980. She worked as a practicing attorney for the EPA until 1981. She then worked as an attorney for Kent Conrad, North Dakota's State Tax Commissioner. She would still hold this job on Doomday.
Doomsday[]
Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota, was not targeted on Doomsday, allowing Heitkamp and the rest of the North Dakota government to survive. The governments of North and South Dakota soon banded together to face the economic and environmental challenges caused by the literal and figurative fallout from Doomsday. Heitkamp would play an increasingly pivitol role the combined government of Dakota.
80s and 90s[]
When Kent Conrad stepped down from his position as Dakota Tax Commissioner, Heitkamp ran to replace him, and won. She served in that position until 1992, when she ran for Attorney General of Dakota. She was elected with 67% of the vote. Heitkamp continued to serve in this role for the next 16 years.
21st century and Dakota statehood[]
Heitkamp campaigned in favor of Dakota joining the Torrington-based United States. After Dakota voters approved the idea, Heitkamp played a major role in negotiations with the Torrington government to finalize details for the merger.
Heitkamp participated in the flag raising ceremony at the state capitol in 2012, when the American flag was raised at the moment Dakota's statehood became official.
US Senate[]
During the run-up to Dakota's accession to the Union, Heitkamp ran for the US Senate in 2012. After winning the race, Heitkamp was officially seated in Torrington after arriving by train soon after participating in Dakota's statehood ceremony back home.
Senator Heitkamp ponders campaign strategy shortly after announcing her first run for the New White House in the 2016 race.
Heitkamp sponsored many major pieces of legislation during her tenure in office. By 2014, she had developed enough of a national profile to consider running for an even higher office.
2016 Election[]
In 2015, Heitkamp declared her candidacy for President of the United States, for the 2016 election. Her main challenger in the Democratic primary was Montana Senator Jon Tester. By the end of the primary season, Tester had emerged as the victor. Heitkamp endorsed Tester, and campaigned for him.
Heitkamp's running mate, Montana Governor Steve Bullock.
Tester's opponent in the general election was incumbent President Mike Simpson. The election culminated in a series of three radio debates, one held in Newport, OR, one in Torrington, and one in Sioux Falls, Dakota. Tester was eventually defeated in the November election by President Simpson, who went on to complete his second term.
2020 Election[]
Undeterred, Heitkamp would run again in the next election, this time with the benefit of campaign experience and increased name recognition. Her main challenger in the Democratic primary was Montana Governor Steve Bullock. By the end of the primary season, Heitkamp had emerged as the Democratic nominee for President. This represented a groundbreaking moment, as it was the first time a woman would emerge as a major party's nominee for President of the United States. She then chose her primary opponent, Governor Bullock, as her running mate in an attempt to unify the Democratic Party's base and bring Bullock's supporters more firmly into the fold.
After a grueling campaign season, Heitkamp proved to be the victor on Election Day 2020, defeating Vice President Brownback.
On January 20, 2021, Heidi Heitkamp was sworn in as the first female President of the United States.
First Term[]
President Heidi Heitkamp gives her Inaugural Address moments after being sworn in on January 20, 2021. Heitkamp would lay out an ambitious agenda for "the continued renaissance of American society," advocating for continued peaceful reintegration of American survivor states, reinvigorating the US military, reinforcing diplomatic ties with the ANZC, and strengthening diplomatic ties with the Canada Remainder Provinces.
Heitkamp was sworn in by Chief Justice Gerry Spence. She then gave an inaugural address laying out her agenda for what she hoped would be "the continued renaissance of American society." Heitkamp spoke in favor of reinforcing the USA's warm diplomatic ties with the ANZC, strengthening ties with the Canada Remainder Provinces, increasing federal spending on infrastructure projects such as railroads and steamships, rebuilding the US military, a hope for continued peaceful reintegration of American survivor states, and a vow to "prosecute any illegitimate regimes that use slavery or fascism", a message that was seen as a warning against the Ventura survivor state in former California and the various other zones still controlled by raiders and warlords.
Heitkamp reinforced her wish for a continued peaceful reintegration of American survivor states by nominating the Chairman of CRUSA as her Secretary of State. This was widely seen as a sign that President Heitkamp would make continued growth and reunification a priority in her administration. To that end, Heitkamp immediately began making overtures to Astoria on the West Coast, promising them that they would become a major US transportation hub (through the construction of major railways beginning and ending in their territory) in exchange for their approval of US statehood. Heitkamp also emphasized that Astorian statehood would also mean that the US military would provide steady demand for Astoria's weapons industry, which would mutually benefit both the Heitkamp Administration's promise to rebuild the US military as well as provide massive economic benefits for Astoria's workers.
President Heitkamp discusses her foreign policy goals at a Senate hearing at the US Capitol in Torrington.
Meanwhile, Heitkamp assigned the US Navy to explore any uninhabited islands near the US's West Coast, with an eye towards building naval outposts to provide an outer line of naval defense for the USA.
Heitkamp's administration did, however, begin promoting a major look towards the east, nicknamed "East Americana" by the new Secretary of State. This policy emphasized courting the American survivor states to the east, particularly along the Mississippi River and even as far as the old Northeast, hoping to either make a deal for statehood or at least gain assurances of alliance.
In 2024, Heitkamp signed the Thirteenth Amendment Enforcement Act, a bipartisan law that empowered the U.S. Marshal Service to aggressively target slaveholding territories across the frontier.
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2024 Election and Second Term[]
Heitkamp takes a helicopter tour over the ruins of Denver, Colorado, 2024
Heitkamp ran for re-election in the 2024 election, facing up against Republican candidate former Vice President Sam Brownback. Heitkamp's popularity and the public's support for her expansion and anti-slavery campagins secured her a comfortable majority in the popular vote at 50.4%. She became the first Democrat to win re-election since Franklin Roosevelt in 1944, highlighting the changing electorate.