THE LAST ELECTION is a unique political thriller about an outlandish yet frighteningly possible—even probable—scenario in America's near future, during the crucial 2024 presidential election. Though it is fiction, it is a wake-up call to a country tearing itself apart.
The story focuses on two characters: Mikey Ricci, a political operative who has lost faith in traditional structures following the bitter races of 2016 and 2020; and Martha Kass, the anonymous tip supervisor of the New York Times. In 2023, Ricci becomes the campaign manager of a third-party candidate who runs on a popular, centrist platform and whose frank and honest manner stands in stark contrast to the candidates of the two major parties. Ricci faces off against the massive machinery of both political parties, as well as their invested media and dark money supporters—the source of true power in America. Even so, the candidate's message begins to gain ground.
In the meantime, Kass stumbles upon a plot by the current Joint Chiefs of Staff to seize power in the anticipated chaos of the coming election. She hopes it is too improbable to be taken seriously. But as the idea that Ricci’s candidate might win enough electors to upset the delicate balance of America's two-party system takes hold, the threat becomes frighteningly real.
Events unfold at the frenetic pace of the campaign trail, and Kass and Ricci become unlikely allies as they bear witness to what might be the end of America as a democratic republic. If no candidate can accrue the coveted majority of 270 electors, who wins? The electoral system collapses in uncertainty as Congress's role in certification becomes unfathomably complex. When no one is certain who the winner is, the stage is set for a corrupt seizure of power. Will the American experiment end?
