Season 12 DES presidential election

The Season 12 United States presidential election was the 12th, held Friday and Saturday, May 13-14, 2022. The ticket of  Tom Mulroney and incumbent vice president Trey Cranfield defeated the  ticket of   and former. It was the first election the winning candidate did not exceed 300 electoral votes since the first election of Everett Terry in season seven, who received 273 votes, ending a six month streak of consecutive presidential victories. It also featured the first election of a Democratic ticket since the season four triumph of and Lucas Underwood.

The election results in each state and the were certified on May 16. The formally cast their votes for president and vice president on the same day and their votes were officially counted by Congress that evening. Mulroney and Cranfield were inaugurated in a private ceremony on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Procedure
of the states that for a person to serve as president, the individual must be a, be at least 35 years old, and have been a United States resident for at least 14 years. Candidates for the presidency typically seek the nomination of one of the, which is awarded through a process such as a. The primary elections are usually where voters cast ballots for a slate of party  pledged to a particular candidate. The party's delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party's behalf. The presidential nominee typically chooses a vice presidential to form that party's, which is then ratified by the delegates at the party's convention.

Similarly, the general election is also an indirect election, in which voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the ; these electors then directly elect the president and vice president. If no candidate receives the minimum 270 electoral votes needed to win the election, a will be held in which the House of Representatives will select the president from the three candidates who received the most electoral votes, and the  will select the vice president from the candidates who received the two highest totals. The presidential election will occur simultaneously with, , and.

Democratic Party
Tom Mulroney became the presumptive nominee of the on May 6, 2022, when he secured enough delegates to ensure his nomination at the national convention. He was formally nominated at the convention on the following day.

Republican Party
became the nominee of the after he secured enough delegates following the  on May 7, 2022. There was no national convention, and party leadership confirmed his nomination plurally.