After a recount, progressive former Gov. Nick Hall (N) lost his bid for a second term to another former NAT governor, Karen DeSalle.
The race between the two former state executives came down not only to age, but also different factions of the party.
Neither Hall nor DeSalle are moderate. They're both firmly liberal Nationalists.
However, Hall, just age 42, is from the progress left wing of the party, while DeSalle, 58, is a traditional, run-of-the-mill Nationalist, firmly in the party establishment.
Hall's supporters were hoping to ride a recent left-wing populist wave that has seen left-wing candidates winning in other countries, particularly in the United States and Great Britain.
However, after a recount, Hall fell further behind DeSalle.
The final county had DeSalle with 44% to Hall's 42 percent. Businessman and political newcomer Chris Kinlock took 14 percent, respectively.
Hall conceded to DeSalle and wished her well as she continues her candidacy and faces off against Conservative Mark Radowski in the December election.
For her part, DeSalle has rebuffed some of the criticisms she's faced from her party's left flank.
"I'm not a moderate. I'm not a centrist. I'm a liberal. I'm a proud Nationalist. I'm pro-union. I'm pro-women. I'm pro-senior. I'm pro-trans and LGBT. I'm pro-diversity. I'm not sure why his people (Hall's supporters) are coming after me for not being sufficiently progressive," said DeSalle in a radio interview back in May.
Her comments were almost immediately turned into a political campaign TV and radio advertisement by Conservatives, who used her comments to portray her as "extreme."
But for progressives who backed the younger and more hardcore Hall, Desalle's candidacy is just "more of the same."
"She doesn't bring anything new to the table," said Shai Anonan, an artist from downtown Lamberth. "Karen DeSalle is literally part of the old party guard. She is right on many issues, but on other issues, like bail reform, medicare for all, UBI (universal basic income), houselessness and free pre-K for all, she is really just disappointingly not in favor of those things."
DeSalle is attempting to reclaim the governorship after she lost reelection back in 2014.
In Radowski, a former Drogen County sheriff, DeSalle faces a law-and-order candidate who has assailed Nationalist policies on crime and homelessness.
"We know where Karen DeSalle stands on crime and homelessness. We know because she was governor once before and we saw the inaction and the inept policies she enforced back then," said Radowski in a TV news interview last week. "Her policy is less police, limit what police can do and who/when they can arrest, let homeless people abound on the streets, let them do drugs out in the open, and let them commit crimes and get away with it with no punishment. That's the Karen DeSalle policy on crime and homelessness."
The DeSalle campaign disputed that characterization, with a campaign spokesperson calling Radowski's comments "utterly and completely false."
"Karen DeSalle supports a strong and robust law enforcement presence in Lamberth and in all Kalnier communities. She supports building housing and shelter facilities for those who are unhoused. And she supports treatment, including mandatory treatment in some cases," said spokesman Robby Parsons.
As a former Under-Secretary of Housing under the McCaren Administration, DeSalle has phrased her experience as vital to tackling homelessness in Kalnier, which has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the nation.
However, Conservative critics have pointed to ineffective policies as evidence that DeSalle's housing experience is inadequate.
"If Karen DeSalle has all these great ideas for housing and ending homelessness, why do we continue to have one of the largest rates in the country?" asked right-wing radio host Mike Mitchell.
Current Gov. Tony Ritonio, a Conservative, has taken a hard-line on homelessness. His administration has forced homeless camps to move, has attempted to commit a record number of addicted and mentally ill homeless people into mandatory treatment, and has beefed up police patrols in Lamberth, where the state's homelessness crisis appears to be centered.
Nationalist critics have called Ritonio's policies "inhumane and ineffective," and are continuing to espouse voluntary treatment and social services over arresting and jailing homeless people.
"Arresting and booking homeless people into jail does absolutely no good. It costs taxpayers money, and it doesn't help the homeless person who needs a safe place to sleep at night," said Tiffany Day, executive director of the Kalnier Housing Coalition.
It's clear in addition to the economy, which is struggling in Kalnier, homelessness and crime will once again play a central role in the 2026 campaign, as they did in previous elections.
Radowski and DeSalle are scheduled to have their first televised debate next month in suburban Lamberth.
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