User:InvadingInvader/sandbox

Note: The following sandbox is for creating a prose version of 2022 in the United States. Until implementation in mainspace, this sandbox is open for all users to contribute to!

Incumbents

 * President: Joe Biden (D-Delaware)
 * Vice President: Kamala Harris (D-California)
 * Chief Justice: John Roberts (New York)
 * Speaker of the House: Nancy Pelosi (D-California)
 * Senate Majority Leader: Chuck Schumer (D-New York)
 * Congress: 117th

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" !Governors and lieutenant governors

Governors
• Governor of Alabama: Kay Ivey (Republican)

• Governor of Alaska: Mike Dunleavy (Republican)

• Governor of Arizona: Doug Ducey (Republican)

• Governor of Arkansas: Asa Hutchinson (Republican)

• Governor of California: Gavin Newsom (Democratic)

• Governor of Colorado: Jared Polis (Democratic)

• Governor of Connecticut: Ned Lamont (Democratic)

• Governor of Delaware: John Carney (Democratic)

• Governor of Florida: Ron DeSantis (Republican)

• Governor of Georgia: Brian Kemp (Republican)

• Governor of Hawaii: David Ige (Democratic) (until December 5), Josh Green (Democratic) (since December 5)

• Governor of Idaho: Brad Little (Republican)

• Governor of Illinois: J. B. Pritzker (Democratic)

• Governor of Indiana: Eric Holcomb (Republican)

• Governor of Iowa: Kim Reynolds (Republican)

• Governor of Kansas: Laura Kelly (Democratic)

• Governor of Kentucky: Andy Beshear (Democratic)

• Governor of Louisiana: John Bel Edwards (Democratic)

• Governor of Maine: Janet Mills (Democratic)

• Governor of Maryland: Larry Hogan (Republican)

• Governor of Massachusetts: Charlie Baker (Republican)

• Governor of Michigan: Gretchen Whitmer (Democratic)

• Governor of Mississippi: Tate Reeves (Republican)

• Governor of Missouri: Mike Parson (Republican)

• Governor of Minnesota: Tim Walz (Democratic)

• Governor of Montana: Greg Gianforte (Republican)

• Governor of Nebraska: Pete Ricketts (Republican)

• Governor of Nevada: Steve Sisolak (Democratic)

• Governor of New Hampshire: Chris Sununu (Republican)

• Governor of New Jersey: Phil Murphy (Democratic)

• Governor of New Mexico: Michelle Lujan Grisham (Democratic)

• Governor of New York: Kathy Hochul (Democratic)

• Governor of North Carolina: Roy Cooper (Democratic)

• Governor of North Dakota: Doug Burgum (Republican)

• Governor of Ohio: Mike DeWine (Republican)

• Governor of Oklahoma: Kevin Stitt (Republican)

• Governor of Oregon: Kate Brown (Democratic)

• Governor of Pennsylvania: Tom Wolf (Democratic)

• Governor of Rhode Island: Daniel McKee (Democratic)

• Governor of South Carolina: Henry McMaster (Republican)

• Governor of South Dakota: Kristi Noem (Republican)

• Governor of Tennessee: Bill Lee (Republican)

• Governor of Texas: Greg Abbott (Republican)

• Governor of Utah: Spencer Cox (Republican)

• Governor of Vermont: Phil Scott (Republican)

• Governor of Virginia: Ralph Northam (Democratic) (until January 15), Glenn Youngkin (Republican) (since January 15)

• Governor of Washington: Jay Inslee (Democratic)

• Governor of West Virginia: Jim Justice (Republican)

• Governor of Wisconsin: Tony Evers (Democratic)

• Governor of Wyoming: Mark Gordon (Republican)

Lieutenant governors
• Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Will Ainsworth (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: Kevin Meyer (Republican) (until December 5), Nancy Dahlstrom (Republican) (since December 5)

• Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Tim Griffin (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of California: Eleni Kounalakis (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Dianne Primavera (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Susan Bysiewicz (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Bethany Hall-Long (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Jeanette Nunez (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Geoff Duncan (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Josh Green (Democratic) (until December 5), Sylvia Luke (Democratic) (since December 5)

• Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Janice McGeachin (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Juliana Stratton (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Suzanne Crouch (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Adam Gregg (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: David Toland (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Jacqueline Coleman (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Billy Nungesser (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Boyd Rutherford (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Karyn Polito (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Garlin Gilchrist (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Peggy Flanagan (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Delbert Hosemann (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Mike Kehoe (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Kristen Juras (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Mike Foley (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Lisa Cano Burkhead (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey: Sheila Oliver (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Howie Morales (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of New York:

• *Brian Benjamin (Democratic) (until April 12)

• *Andrea Stewart-Cousins (Democratic) (acting: April 12 to May 25)

• *Antonio Delgado (Democratic) (since May 25)

• Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Mark Robinson (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Brent Sanford (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Jon A. Husted (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Matt Pinnell (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: John Fetterman (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Sabina Matos (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Pamela Evette (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Larry Rhoden (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: Randy McNally (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Texas: Dan Patrick (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Utah: Deidre Henderson (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Molly Gray (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Justin Fairfax (Democratic) (until January 15), Winsome Sears (Republican) (since January 15)

• Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Denny Heck (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Mandela Barnes (Democratic)
 * }

Midterm elections
Americans in 2022 voted in midterm elections on November 8, and all 435 voting seats of the House of Representatives, 35 seats in the Senate, 39 state and territorial gubernatorial elections, and numerous state and local elections were decided. Georgia's Senate election went to a runoff between Democrat incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker a month later, which Warnock ultimately won.


 * The Democratic Party maintains their lead in the Senate, retaining all seats previously held and picking up a Senate seat from Pennsylvania. Senators Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell are re-elected as Democratic and Republican leaders. With Patrick Leahy's retirement, Patty Murray is elected as the next president pro tempore of the Senate.
 * The Republican Party retakes the House of Representatives. GOP representatives, after an unprecedented 15 rounds of voting, elect Representative Kevin McCarthy of California's 20th district to succeed Nancy Pelosi.
 * Democrats Katie Hobbs, Wes Moore and Maura Healey flip the governors seats in Arizona, Maryland, and Massachusetts respectively.
 * Republican Joe Lombardo flips the governor's seat in Nevada.

Electoral milestones

 * Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas, Maura Healey in Massachusetts, and Kathy Hochul in New York become the first elected female governors in their states, and Katie Britt is Alabama's first elected female senator. Healey also becomes the first lesbian governor in US history.
 * Alex Padilla becomes California's first elected Latino senator, and Delia Ramirez is elected as Illinois' first Latina congresswoman.
 * Summer Lee becomes Pennsylvania's first Black female representative in the House, and Wes Moore becomes Maryland's first Black governor.
 * Maxwell Frost, at the age of 25, becomes the first member of Generation Z to be elected to Congress.
 * Karen Bass becomes the first female mayor of Los Angeles.
 * Patty Murray becomes the first female president pro tempore of the United States Senate.
 * Eric Adams elected as New York City's second black mayor after David Dinkins, succeeding Bill de Blasio as the 110th mayor of the city.

Special elections and recalls

 * A special election is held in Florida on January 11 to fill a vacancy in its 20th congressional district due to the death of Alcee Hastings on April 6, 2021. Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick wins the election with over 78% of the vote over Republican Jason Mariner.
 * A special election is held in California to fill a vacancy in its 22nd congressional district on June 7 due to the resignation of Devin Nunes on January 1. Republican Connie Conway wins the election with over 50% of the vote over Democrat Lourin Hubbard.
 * 2022 San Francisco District Attorney recall election: San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin is successfully recalled and ousted from office, also on June 7. Mayor London Breed will name Boudin's successor once the results are certified by the elections office and approved by the board of supervisors.
 * A special election was held in Texas on June 14 to fill a vacancy in its 34th congressional district due to the resignation of Filemon Vela Jr. on March 31. Republican Mayra Flores wins the election with over 50% of the vote over Democrat Dan Sanchez.
 * A special election is held in Nebraska on June 28 to fill a vacancy in its 1st congressional district due to the resignation of Jeff Fortenberry on March 31. Republican Mike Flood wins the election with over 50% of the vote over Democrat Patty Pansing Brooks.
 * A special election is held on August 9 to determine the representative for Minnesota's 1st congressional district after the death of Representative Jim Hagedorn due to kidney cancer in February 2022. Republican candidate Brad Finstad defeats Democratic candidate Jeff Ettinger to serve the remainder of Hagedorn's term.
 * After the death of Representative Don Young (R, Alaska at large), Alaska elects Democrat Mary Peltola in the special election held on August 16, famously defeating former governor Sarah Palin.
 * Two special elections are held in New York on August 23. The first is held in the 19th district to determine a successor for Antonio Delgado after he became New York's lieutenant governor. The special election is narrowly won by Democratic candidate Pat Ryan. The second is held in the 23rd district, vacated after Tom Reed resigned over accusations of sexual abuse and misconduct. Republican Joe Sempolinski wins the special election with 53.3 percent of the vote over Democrat Max Della Pia with 46.7 percent of the vote. Despite his victory in the special election, Sempolinski opts against running for reelection in the regular election to occur in November.
 * After the death of Representative Jackie Walorski, Republican Rudy Yakym is elected to succeed her as representative of Indiana's 2nd congressional district. The special election is held concurrently with the Midterm elections.

New federal laws
Various previously-passed laws took effect in 2022. On January 1st, the Music Modernization Act placed all sound recordings made before 1923 into the public domain, joining all works published in 1926. 20 other states also raised their minimum wage to $15/hour, and in animal welfare, three states enacted additional protections, with heightened standards for pig treatment in California, animal testing in Maryland, and endangered species in Vermont.

Numerous new laws were passed in the federal government as well, one of the biggest being the Inflation Reduction Act. Funded most significantly by a new 15% minimum corporation tax, the law allocated $369 billion towards expediting a transition to renewable energy from fossil fuels, as well as other amounts towards lowering prescription drug costs and funding the IRS more. The Democratic Party's trifecta also codified same-sex marriage in the Respect for Marriage Act; five major bipartisan bills passed included the CHIPS and Science Act which funded American semiconductor manufacturing in an attempt to further compete against the People's Republic of China, the Honoring our PACT Act which covers healthcare expenses for veterans exposed to burn pits, the Electoral Count Reform Act to prevent a repeat of the previous year's January 6 Capitol attack, a new law which banned class action waivers and arbitration clauses in sexual harassment disputes, and a new gun control law, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which closed the Boyfriend loophole and encouraged states to pass Red flag laws, among other provisions.

Donald Trump and the January 6 attack
2022 marked a major year for investigations into former president Donald Trump, both related and unrelated to the January 6 attack that happened a year prior. The United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, commonly known as the January 6 Committee, conducted nine public televised hearings involving staffers for the Trump administration. The committee, led by Democratic chair Bennie Thompson and Republican ranking member Liz Cheney, used the interviews to establish a seven-part plan for Trump and his associates to overturn the 2020 presidential election, with the sixth part being the January 6 attack. At the end of the final hearing, the committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump.

Trump additionally faced investigation for holding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. On August 8, the FBI searched and retrieved numerous boxes containing classified documents outlining various topics. These charges ultimately led to the Department of Justice filing criminal charges against Donald Trump in 2023, including violations of the Espionage Act of 1917, with the prosecution continuing into 2023. After the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump filed suit against the United States requesting that a special master review the classified documents before federal agents could review them, a request which initially was granted by federal judge Aileen Cannon who oversaw the federal court district Trump resided in. Cannon's reasoning was widely criticized by the legal community, raising questions about Cannon's impartiality towards Trump and inciting many to accuse her of bias in favor of the former President. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately overruled Cannon's appointment of a special master, allowing the Department of Justice to fully review the documents. Cannon, on the guidance of the Fifth Circuit, ultimately dismissed the lawsuit.

Members of Congress
2022 saw some members of Congress face political scandals:


 * Republican representative Van Taylor from Texas faced calls to resign after having an affair with the former wife of a commander for the Islamic State. The "ISIS Bride" scandal ultimately led to Taylor withdrawing from his reelection campaign.
 * Tom Reed, a Republican representative from New York, resigned after being accused of sexual misconduct by a lobbyist.
 * North Carolina representative Madison Cawthorn, once the youngest member of Congress, was accused of sexually aggressive behavior by multiple women. Cawthorn additionally faced allegations of insider trading as well as multiple charges of bringing a loaded firearm onto a commercial airplane in a carryon; he ultimately lost the primary nomination for his district.

Abortion
2022 was a major year for abortion in the United States, especially the anti-abortion movement, as the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization which overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, further diving the pro and anti-abortion movements (referred to as the pro-choice and pro-life sides respectively). The ruling, which overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, enabled states to enact bans on abortion and led to many members of the Republican Party to introduce federal abortion bans. 2022 saw 50 abortion restrictions adopted by states, a good number of which being total or near-total abortion bans.

The issue of abortion was noted by analysts as one of the major issues in this year's midterm elections. The Dobbs decision was widely cited for costing Republican candidates the 2022 midterms and the year's special elections; referendums in both Kansas and California this year codified abortion rights (with the latter being cited by the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute as a reason for California receiving its highest pro-abortion rating), and numerous pro-life candidates in races losing key races in swing states.

Various state courts have also made rulings with regard to newfound abortion restrictions and protections. Some states, such as Georgia, saw their courts review and replace their rulings on abortion legislation, with its abortion ban being struck down on November 15 but reinstated on November 23.

LGBT+ rights
American politics in 2022 centered on the expansion and contraction of LGBT rights, especially transgender rights, as an expansion of the culture wars which recently polarized the US. Among the most notable laws passed was the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which prohibited classroom instruction from grades K-3 on gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools. The law, which additionally created a private right of action for parents to sue schools for instructing their children on LGBT+ topics, prompted widespread protest across the state and to a lesser extent the rest of the country, with opponents of the legislation coining the bill as the Don't Say Gay bill, a name later adopted by many outlets covering the legislation. The Republican Party, which advocated for the passage of the law in Florida, later expanded its provisions to other states. The Parental Rights in Education Act also incited a feud between Florida governor Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Company, which initially took a neutral position on the law but later spoke out against it after pressure from members of the public. The change of stance by Disney prompted DeSantis and Florida Republicans to repeal the Disney-sponsored Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which Disney was able to use to ensure lower taxes for its operations at Walt Disney World, and rename it as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District with a board composing of DeSantis appointees.

The participation of transgender women in girls' sports has also been a major inflection point in 2022. Polling conducted and released by NPR showed that 63% of Americans supported a ban on transgender women from participating in women's sports; declared Democrats were roughly split, while opposition surged for political independents and Republicans polled. The same poll also found that Americans are divided by party on the issue of transgender medical care availability, with Democrats pushing back against recent GOP-sponsored laws that inhibit access medical and gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The push for inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports has been led by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argues that transgender bans in sports hurt social, emotional and confidence development, and that the exclusion of transgender athletes is a step towards the erasing of transgender people from the general population.

League championships

 * NFL (Super Bowl LVI) – Los Angeles Rams, defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23–20
 * MLB (2022 World Series) – Houston Astros, defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games
 * NBA (2022 NBA Finals) – Golden State Warriors, defeated the Boston Celtics in 6 games
 * NHL (2022 Stanley Cup Finals) – Colorado Avalanche, defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 games
 * MLS (MLS Cup 2022) – Los Angeles FC, defeated the Philadelphia Union after winning 3–0 on penalties following a 3–3 tie in extra time.
 * NCAA Division I Football (2022 CFP National Championship) – Georgia Bulldogs, defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 33-18
 * NCAA Division I Basketball (2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game) – Kansas Jayhawks, defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69

Economy
The economy in 2022 experienced the results of a global inflation surge which began in 2021.

Acquisitions and mergers.
The five largest corporate acquisitions announced in 2022 were:


 * 1) Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, all cash.
 * 2) Broadcom's acquisition of VMware for $61 billion, cash and stock
 * 3) Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, Inc. for $44 billion, all cash
 * 4) Oracle's acquisition of Cerner for $28.3 billion, all cash