Forging America: My Campaign Manager is Roosevelt

Chapter 313 - 154: Never Stopping

Boyd picked up the abysmal polling report, his finger tapping heavily on the paper.

"Now, let’s talk about the primary you care about, the midterm election I care about, and the presidential election in two years that will decide the future of this country."

"Aston, you need to understand the situation."

"Pennsylvania is a swing state. It’s the whole ball game. Our victory here in the last major election was a tough one—a real nail-biter."

"To win, we must secure every vote in the cities and make as many inroads as possible with the wavering blue-collar demographic."

"We’ve been preparing for two full years to take this Senator’s seat back from Russell Warren. We’ve poured in massive amounts of funding, built enormous data models, and mobilized all our grassroots organizations."

"The Party is backing you, pushing you into the spotlight, because we believed you were a steady hand. That you could unite the majority. That you could help us win."

"But what are you doing now?"

Boyd’s voice turned chilling.

"You are infuriating the entire Rust Belt."

"Look at the news! Every station is showing images of workers with nothing to eat! Every commentator is saying the Democratic Party has abandoned the working class! You are taking blue-collar workers who might have voted for us and shoving them right into the arms of the Republican Party."

"Warren is popping champagne corks right now! He doesn’t even need to buy ad time—you’re campaigning for him! You’re telling every voter in Pennsylvania that the Democratic Party would rather starve its workers than continue its bureaucratic infighting."

"You are destroying the Democratic Party’s political future in all of Pennsylvania."

Monroe tried to interject from the other end of the line, "But, Mr. Chairman, if we don’t suppress them, Murphy will..."

"Murphy?"

Boyd let out a cold laugh.

"And that brings me to my final point."

"Aston, you seem to have forgotten a basic fact."

"John Murphy... he’s a Democrat, too."

Those words instantly shattered any of Monroe’s lingering hopes.

"The Party backs you because you’re the strongest candidate. But if it turns out you’re not, if it turns out you’re a liability who only creates problems instead of solving them..."

"We have a backup plan."

"If Murphy’s momentum in the Rust Belt keeps growing, if he proves that he’s the one who can lock down the blue-collar vote, if he demonstrates a greater ability to win than you..."

"Then the Democratic National Committee can absolutely adjust its strategy."

"You are not indispensable."

"We will pivot to supporting Murphy. We will transfer all the funding, resources, and endorsements meant for you, directly to him. We’ll package him as a true working-class hero to challenge Warren."

"As far as the Party is concerned, as long as the person sitting in that Senator’s seat is a Democrat, it makes no fundamental difference whether that person is you, Aston Monroe, or John Murphy."

"We just want to win."

"If you can’t do it, then step aside and let someone who can."

Boyd paused, giving Monroe time to digest his words.

"Now, you think it over."

"You can either continue this foolish farce until you’ve brought yourself to ruin and disgrace, only to be mercilessly abandoned by the Party."

"Or you can cut your losses right now, unfreeze the funds, let those damn factories reopen, and put an end to this crisis."

"This is your last chance."

"Shut him up."

"Send those workers home."

"Don’t make me step in and replace you myself."

BEEP—

The line was dead.

Harrisburg, Lieutenant Governor’s Office.

Aston Monroe clutched the phone in his hand, now hot to the touch, his body as rigid as a plaster statue.

Murphy was a Democrat, too.

It was a simple fact that Monroe had, whether intentionally or not, been ignoring until now.

He had always seen Murphy as an enemy, an outsider.

But Boyd had just reminded him that at the highest level of party interests, Murphy was the backup—a backup who could be promoted to the primary spot at any time.

If Monroe continued to escalate the situation, continued to infuriate the Rust Belt, the party leadership really would replace him.

Monroe slowly lowered his phone.

He turned his head to look at Paul Turner, who stood beside him, not daring to breathe.

"Boss..." Turner said cautiously.

Monroe closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled heavily.

"Notify the Auditing Bureau."

"Tell them to pull back."

"Issue a statement. Just say... it was all a misunderstanding."

...

「The next morning.」

A short notice was quietly posted on the official website of the Pennsylvania State Auditing Bureau.

"In light of Pittsburgh City and its partner cities having submitted the required supplementary materials, this Bureau has reviewed the case. The fund utilization process for the relevant cross-regional procurement project has been found to be in compliance with the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act and state financial management regulations."

"Effective immediately, the precautionary freeze on the related accounts is hereby lifted."

"The related investigation is terminated."

The floodgates of funding reopened, and the bank’s transfer systems began spinning wildly.

Erie City, United Steel Factory.

The factory whistle, silent for a week, once again blared across the sky.

The factory manager, Jim Bell, stood at the workshop entrance, his expression overcome with emotion as he watched the machines restart and the workers return to their posts.

The accountants in the finance department were furiously printing out pay stubs.

The back-pay for the week, along with an additional "return-to-work bonus," was deposited directly into the workers’ accounts.

At the cement plant in Scranton, trucks were lined up in a long queue.