Midterms are just around the corner again, and House, Senate and gubernatorial elections are happening all across America. The Midterms have traditionally served as a reflection of the President’s last two years in office, and these Midterms are no different. An America ever divided between the Democratic and Republican Parties will vote on the merit of their current congressman or congresswoman as well as their views on the President and his party. Republicans and Democrats have campaigned vigorously for the past year, especially in key battleground states. The two major parties hold a grip on American politics, often called the “Two Party System,” yet one man—nay, a mouse—seems content to change that. Charles Entertainment Cheese, known by his internet persona “Chuck E. Cheese,” is a third-party independent who aims to shake up these Midterms in a way we’ve never seen before. Charles runs on a “pro-pizza” platform and plans on making various reforms targeting American youth, including repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act passed under President Barack Obama with his “American Pizza Act” aiming at a single-payer pizzacare system. Youth between the ages of 5-12 have firmly rallied behind Mr. Cheese’s platform and he continues to poll well with parents. For older voters, however, he lags behind due to numerous scandals of reusing pizza at his establishments and recently filing for bankruptcy in June of 2020. However a representative of Mr. Cheese provided us with this message: “On behalf of the Chuck E. Cheese corporation and Mr. Cheese himself, we deny all allegations of financial hardship or pizza reusing, the Cheese corporation is and will continue to be an honest and financially responsible business which has seen exponential growth over the past years.” Some, however, are not convinced by this message and greatly oppose Mr. Cheese’s bid, based on lack of experience, scandals and him being a mouse who will most likely not survive his presidency, but some choose to look on the bright side towards a more optimistic future. Mr. Cheese’s candidacy has certainly received large amounts of attention from the media for numerous reasons, however through the usual negativity of politics, Charles Entertainment Cheese has stood above the rest with his childlike optimism and outsider appeal. Regardless if he wins, he has certainly changed American politics and has broken barriers never broken before. His youthful optimism displayed in his bright campaign slogan, one of unusual positivity in a deeply negative time.
“America, where a kid can be a kid.”
