CHICAGO - The centrist Liberal Party and right-wing National Conservative Party have finally come to terms for a merger of the two parties. This comes as the 2056 elections are right around the corner.

The new party, to be known simply as the National Party, will maintain the gray colors of the National Conservatives as well as most of its platform. Acting as a true right-wing party, it is popular in the inland states, especially so in the rural Midwest from which it originated. NCP dominance of the party originates from a mandate it derived from recent midterms, in which it soundly defeated the Liberal party head-to-head.

Party leadership will be merge, with the NCP's Logan Jackson remaining as party leader. He is currently leading in primary polling across the country and is expected to represent the Nationals as their presidential candidate against an incumbent Sylvan Rosemont. In a head-to-head matchup, polls indicate that Rosemont would edge out Jackson by 3%.

Rosemont remains somewhat polarizing. While many praise the president for his calm handling of a somewhat tenuous situation in the SSA and successes in reconstruction in Iowa, many others criticize him for having maintaining a small footprint both at home and abroad. Rosemont's administration has presided over very little change in policy, only passing smaller legislation such as a slight raise of the manual driving tax.

The National Party has promised that, if elected into a Congressional majority, they will take direct action against incidents like American interference on the continent. They have also promised to dismantle several federal programs and delegate more power back to the state level, the latter of which has proven popular in many interior states that feel snuffed by Midwestern autonomy.

Currently, it is expected that the Union Party will maintain its hold on Congress, but the gap is shrinking as the Nationals pick up steam. 2056 may turn out to be a much closer election than expected.