Hannah Meade survives close call in Wilkonshire re-election race

NEWBERRY, Wilk. -- Wilkonshire Secretary of State Hannah Meade (N) has resurrected her political life after an extremely close call in her race for re-election.

Meade ran for re-election last year, and was widely presumed to win re-election easily. 

In a shock twist on election night, Conservative Gina Kertousin actually led Meade in the vote counting, something pundits and experts from both political parties did not see coming.

Even the Kertousin campaign was stunned. "We really were blown away," said Carol Carnes, campaign manager for Kertousin, told reporters a week after election night.

But after weeks of recounts, and litigation, Meade was finally declared the winner on Friday.

Additional ballots from overseas and military voters, and ballots that were cast at the last second before the voting deadline, all buoyed Meade back into the lead.

She ended up winning re-election by a sliver: her eventual lead was just around 26,000 votes out of more than 6.4 million cast.

In response to the latest tally, the Kertousin campaign said it is still weighing its legal options, and may continue litigation.

But state Conservative Party leaders are inclined to let the latest count stand.

"It's highly unlikely we'd win, and it would not be good PR for the party or for Gina," said Wilkonshire state party Vice Chairwoman Galena Kidman.

Kertousin herself has not publicly since the latest election results were released Friday, but sources close to her say she is slated to make a statement tomorrow.

"Even if she does end up losing this race, by a thimble-full, it's still quite impressive, because the polls had her way down," said Kidman. "[Kertousin] has a reason to be proud of herself and her campaign."

Still, a loss is a loss. Coming close doesn't matter in elections. If Meade's win stands, it means Meade will continue in the position she has held since 2015, when she was appointed by then-Governor Caroline Jepsey to replace Secretary of State Jan Van Ness, who won election to the Federal Senate.

Meade has remained popular since her appointment. She previously beat Kertousin 65%-35% in 2016, and  56%-42% in 2020.

It's unclear what a third loss will mean for Kertousin, who raised far more money this time around than her two other previous tries for the office.

She seems to have inherited Wilkonshire's "Conservative woman curse," a phenomenon that was identified and labeled after former Christon Mayor Tara Hadley lost two close races for governor, and then lost a third attempt in 2024 in the CNS primary.

"For whatever reason, Conservative women have not fared well in Wilkonshire," said outgoing federal Sen. Bob Mellon. "I don't know why. I think all the female candidates we've put forth have been strong candidates with impressive resumes and great ideas. I think it's more that they have run against strong candidates."

Nationalist women have had success in Wilkonshire. Former Gov. Caroline Jepsey was elected to two terms. Sen. Jan Van Ness continues to serve the state. Former Sens. Sylvea Stone and Terry Branlin were elected but then lost re-election. However, both are still involved in state politics and considering future runs for office.

After three consecutive losses, it will be difficult for Kertousin to move forward politically. Investors and donors are harder to come by after multiple losses. And state party leaders will be looking for a fresh face in 2028 when the secretary of state position is up for grabs next.

Kertousin could do what many unsuccessful statewide candidates have done. She could run for a lesser office, such as a mayoralty, a National Assembly seat, or a county commissioner position.

The Conservative former county clerk from Merrill County is only 56 years old, so she still has time to cement her political legacy and move on from her three disappointing losses.

Regardless, Kertousin's unexpectedly strong performance is something for Conservatives in the state to celebrate. 

The party has never held the secretary of state position in Wilkonshire, and will be itching to claim it in 2028.

All this is assuming there is no further litigation, which is still a possibility. However, most Conservative political operatives and politicians GNN spoke with believe that is unlikely.

For her part, Meade wrote on her "X" account (formerly Twitter) that she is "beyond honored" to be re-elected to her post.

She acknowledged "the unusually close nature of this election," but said she will "continue to work for all Wilkonshireans, regardless of political party or affiliation."

Meade's fortunes are better than her fellow Nationalists, who lost the governorship, lieutenant governorship and attorney generalship.

If her win holds, she will be the sole Nationalist in Wilkonshire's state executive positions.

***Wilkonshire Secretary of State Election*** -- Updated Results:

Hannah Meade (N)	49.98%	3,221,994
Gina Kertousin (C)	49.57%	3,195,238
Other	0.45%	29,008
	TOTAL:	6,446,240

Halver wins Trinton AG race easily, defeating liberal incumbent

PORT ALICE, Tri. -- Former Trinton Attorney General Troy Halver will be heading back to his old office.

Trinton Secretary of State Adrianne Rodgers confirmed Halver won back his old position, and he did so easily.

Halver defeated liberal incumbent Damon Garcia-Pererra (N) by a margin of 54.66% to Garcia-Pererra's 44.85 percent, respectively.

Halver, a Nationalist who switched his party affiliation to Independent, ran with the support of Trinton's Conservative Party, which agreed not to run a Conservative candidate against Halver and Garcia-Perrera.

The tough-on-crime Nationalist, who has appealed to Conservative and moderate, blue collar voters who value public safety, ran the table in Trinton's most populous counties.

Halver pulled off an impressive 61%-38% win in conservative Port Alice County, his adopted home county, where he now resides.

He also won big in right-leaning Southshore County, where he won 58%-41%, respectively.

He achieved smaller victories in Oceanview, Grandley and Merceda Counties, but all three counties typically trend liberal, so a win for a right-leaning candidate such as Halver is significant.

At a press conference on election night in Chesterhead, southern Port Alice County, Halver told reporters the election results prove voters want a new direction forward on crime.

"Tonight, voters resoundingly showed they want law and order in Trinton again," said Halver. "The woke policies of leftist politicians, free bail, catch and release, multiple strikes instead of just three strikes...the voters have rejected these policies that liberal Nationalist politicians put into place. And starting tomorrow, we are going to reverse all of those disastrous policies."

Halver's words were received with thundering applause by attendees to his election night party. In fact, the applause was so loud and strong, he had to pause for more than 30 seconds at one point while the audience let out their excitement.

Over at his election night gathering in northeast Williamstown, Damon Garcia-Perrera conceded the race, but he rejected the idea that Halver won in a landslide.

"He only won because the Conservatives backed him. And he pulled some traditional NAT voters. Had the Conservatives not backed him and agreed not to run a candidate of their own, Troy Halver would not have won. I just think that's worth mentioning. This idea that he won a massive mandate, it's just not true. He won, but he did so with unusual circumstances," said Garcia-Perrera.

Conservatives accused the outgoing attorney general of being a bad sport.

"Damon's just pissed he lost. It's classic sour grapes attitude. He lost and he can't admit he lost fair and square," said Kevin DeWight, a conservative political operative who has worked on multiple statewide Conservative campaigns, but did not work for Troy Halver this election.

The celebration at the Brasswood Golf and Country Club in Chesterhead, where Halver held his campaign party, went late into the early morning hours. Halver himself left the party around midnight and went "straight to bed," he told reporters the next morning.

"I need my rest because we have so much work to do, and I want to hit the ground running."

Halver's election makes him the first person to serve as attorney general, vacate the office, and then return to it.

Conservative Secretary of State Trip Kellet achieved the same status when he defeated, by a more modest margin, Nationalist Secretary of State Adrianne Rogers (N).

Trinton's state government will now be led by conservative men, although Halver continues to identify as a Nationalist, but "an independent Nationalist," he told reporters last week.

He has declined to say if he will switch parties and officially join the CNS Party.