Burt Howard

The People's Contender: a Novel of Alternate History: the 2000 Presidential Election (Volume 1) Burt Howard

Will Democratic Senator Ed Moore emerge as the people's choice in the 2000 Presidential election? Or will Republican Governor Rick Rush garner enough Electoral College votes to win the election? Senator Moore recruits former National Strategy Adviser Jim Stillwater to assist him with foreign policy issues. But Col. Stillwater's role rapidly expands to include thwarting the purge of African-American voters in Florida by the state's GOP leaders. Stillwater survives repeated attempts on his life, first by militia members who hate him as a redskin and then by an arms merchant's hirelings posing as repairmen. His childhood friend, Cheryl Larsen, begs him to protect from her ex-husband, just released from prison, who vows to kill her. Larsen, a GOP regional director, defects from that position, revealing damaging campaign information to Jim and Senator Moore. The Senator hesitates to trust her, but needs every edge as the election nears -- with Florida to determine the winner.