In a very close race for the latest gubernatorial elections of 2024, Matrix_oc has taken the reign for a second term, over his competition, Sheriff DanielReagan.

Matrix, who has been serving as Governor of Ridgeway since February 26th, has led the State through thick and thin, most recently the RO-WAR against the State of Firestone. For him, he had only been serving as a Senator for about a month, prior to winning his first gubernatorial round. Looking at how the race unfolded however, the question begins to loom, how did Matrix get the faster lap?

Campaigns

Taking a look at both parties’ campaigns, you can get a clear image of how each candidate felt about one another. For Matrix and his running mate, vincefant, they make clear the inexperience of Reagan, both politically and in the legal space. Or did they? Turns out, in the summer of 2023, Reagan had indeed served in the Senate, whilst also being the incumbent County Sheriff, ruling out these claims. That being said however, the campaign posters used by the Matrix administration look far more neater than what is about to be presented.

In the case of Reagan’s campaigns, alongside his running mate, Arvantise, you see a slight drop in quality of design. With a simple canvas, botched by sloppy text placement, looks like it could have been done using MS-paint. it can be seen why people would have gone for the nicer looking billboards. The second poster put out, the more controversial, features Matrix being arrested out the front of a KFC restaurant, taunting him for being a loser.

Statistics

For both Matrix and Reagan, they have had approval rating statistics, documenting their time in their respected departments, since October 2023. Courtesy of the good folks over at the Palmer Times, they have kept a record collection of these poll results.

Matrix’s first month in office was brutal, with a disapproval rating of 71.2% in March, the lowest it had ever been. By May however, the ratings began to improve in good favour, reaching a phenomenal 64.2% approval rating by June 15th. This spark has been credited to Ridgeway declaring victory with their tense RO-WAR against rivals at the State of Firestone.

In Reagan’s title as the County Sheriff, he has maintained a sound approval rating over the last eight months, never dipping into the negatives. He reached his highest rating of 75% approval in May, whilst his lowest was 43.2% approval.

Voting

Beginning on the afternoon of June 21st, Reagan would have a lead against Matrix of 58%. By 10PM, it had increased to 60% in Reagan’s favour. Within the hour however, it had fallen back down to 53%, with Matrix beginning a steady increase of numbers at a fast rate. Somehow, Matrix had closed the gap by eleven points within the previous three hours, and was not stopping.

In the next twenty four hours, it saw Matrix and Daniel only getting closer in vote numbers, reaching a whopping 50/50 situation by 8:30PM last night, with a seven vote difference between the two. This change in numbers has been attributed to a well-received appearance on the Palmer Times’ election stream, as well as relentless campaigning from both Matrix and vince in and around the Palmer area.

Finally, by midnight, Matrix had taken the lead by 52.07%, defeating Reagan at a 47.93%. It has been reported that this is one of the closest gubernatorial elections in Ridgeway history. This is also one of the first elections to have the incumbent Governor initially losing the projection, before taking it back with an astonishing win.

We attempted to get into contact with Matrix regarding his win, however we did not get a response.

Public Reaction

Following the election, we went around and interviewed numerous residents regarding the results. The majority of interviewees voted for Matrix, citing that they were happy with the results. When asked about what influenced them to vote, some stated that they didn’t want the Sheriff in the office, some liked his previous administration and his sense of humour and some were on his team of supporters. Some also commented that the aforementioned Palmer Times coverage encouraged them to vote for Matrix following his appearance.

When asked about what the next few months would look like under the Matrix administration, this is what some residents had to say:

“Hopefully improving for the better, I wasn’t a resident for much of his last term, but I hope this one will benefit everyone.”

– jjfxixutgiikgxgkx, Ridgeway Resident

“I think we’ll see a large increase in obesity rates in Ridgeway and sharp decline in educational standards, specifically at Sterling High School.”

– Omnilius, Ridgeway FD Captain

“I see it going into a better place, I believe in him highkey lowkey. Lower gas prices though, that’s what I want.”

– Hamondcheese, Ridgeway Resident

“Hope to see the crime rates go down.”

– banana_O56, Ridgeway Resident

“I feel like we will go into another war (and that’s a good thing). The thing is, Matrix did win the war against Firestone. But if he goes again, could he do it twice? Probably.”

– Uh_Cam, Ridgeway Credit Union Security

Overall, 582 individuals voted in the gubernatorial election for the summer of 2024. We congratulate the governor-elect Matrix_oc, and his lieutenant-elect vincefant, and wish them the best as they partake these roles.