Trump-Kaine and the craziest possible outcomes to the craziest election

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Like a completely improbable action film where one is left wondering what insane, inconceivable ending may be in store, it seems only natural to speculate how this craziest of elections might end in a way befitting all that has transpired.

So try this one on for size: President Donald Trump and Vice President Tim Kaine.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Tim Kaine? It's actually possible. 

 

Is this a joke?

It's completely improbable, to be sure, but it is literally possible.

OK, how?

The electors who make up the Electoral College gather in their states on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December (Dec. 19 this year) following the election to vote, and those votes will be read at a joint session of Congress by the vice president on Jan. 6, 2017 — days after the newly elected Congress has been sworn in.

In the event of a tie — or any scenario where no one wins 270 electoral votes — the presidential election is thrown to the House of Representatives, while the choice for vice president is left to the Senate.

In the House, the states vote as units, so in order to win, either Trump or Hillary Clinton would need to win the backing of 26 delegations. Given that Republicans control the House now, are favored to retain their majority and almost certainly would do so in a scenario where Trump has a stronger-than-expected finish, the GOP nominee would presumably be the favorite.

Meanwhile, in the Senate members vote individually for the next vice president. If Democrats gain a majority, they would figure to elect their party's vice presidential nominee, Tim Kaine, creating one of the most awkward political unions in American history.

Alright, but is there actually a plausible 269-269 scenario?

It's obviously unlikely, but it's not completely out of the realm of possibility. The website 270toWin broke down all of the possibilities, given what are generally believed to be the battleground states. They came up with 97. If you want to try to re-create them all on your own, have fun with this USA TODAY interactive.

Could an elector ignore the results in his or her state and ruin this entire political science pipe dream?

While it doesn't happen often, an elector could become what is known as a "faithless elector." A few have already indicated they might, including Robert Satiacum, a Democratic Washington state elector who backed Bernie Sanders. Satiacum told the Seattle Times he wouldn't back Clinton. "No, no, no on Hillary," he said. "Absolutely not."

Could it get even crazier?

Hey, we've come this far, right? Let's say the Electoral College is tied and Clinton has won the po[CENSORED]r vote. Then, once thrown to the House, a sufficient number of state delegations deadlock, preventing either of the presidential nominees from securing a majority. However, in the Senate, the Republicans have retained control after Trump out-performed all the polls, and they elect Mike Pence vice president. On Jan. 20, 2017, when President Obama's term expires, the newly sworn in Vice President Pence would become acting president of the United States, despite not having run for president or even having won the most votes for vice president. The same could certainly be applied to Kaine if the situation is reversed.

You've officially run out of things to write about in this campaign, haven't you?

Yes.