Seven Top Political Predictions for 2020 | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the LifeZette, and written by David Kamioner.

    As the New Year of 2020 arrives, this analyst looked into a crystal ball - and is heralding a brand new year with some relatively educated guesses about political events that might occur in the next 12 months.

    And that's just what they are - educated guesses, of course.

    No one can know for sure, though it's certainly fun to ponder.

    Check these out.

    1.) President Donald Trump is acquitted in the Senate. The House will send over its two articles of impeachment in February, after a bunch of stalling and a lot of noise in January. After a three-week trial, the Senate will vote to acquit - with 51 against impeachment and 49 for it. That's well short of the 67 guilty votes needed for removal from office.

    2.) Massive protests will occur across the nation. The Left will gear up after the Trump impeachment acquittal, during the trial as well, and for the entire political season past the conventions to execute the biggest protests this nation has seen since the Vietnam War.

    Some of those demonstrations will become violent. Much like the protests of 1968, they will backfire against their intended beneficiaries - as voters are repulsed by the mayhem and vote for the law-and-order candidate, President Trump.

    3.) Joe Biden will win the Democratic nomination. After a hectic primary season and a strong challenge from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the former vice president will win the Democrat nod on the first ballot in Milwaukee at the Democratic National Convention in July. Before that, he'll put the nomination in his pocket with a strong showing in the March Super Tuesday primary contests. Biden will choose Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) as his running mate.

    4.) Stocks will climb. The economy will continue to hum and the stock market will break new records every quarter. There will be no recession, despite moves from some in the financial sector and the media to convince the U.S. public that one is imminent.

    5.) The nation will remain at peace. Though there will be national security challenges, most notably in Iraq, the country will not go to general war in 2020. The president's policy of non-intervention in foreign adventures combined with the political sensitivity of a war in an election year will see to that.

    6.) The GOP will gain. The GOP will retain the Senate, picking up two seats there, and gain in the House, picking up a total of 10 seats there. The Republicans will also flip two governorships and the control of one state legislature.

    7.) President Trump will be re-elected. Due to the strong economy he's delivered in his first term and all of the other promises he's kept - and due to disastrous debate performances by Democrat nominee Joe Biden - Trump will win re-election to a second term in the White House by gaining 290-298 electoral votes. He will lose the popular vote by approximately two million because of widespread election fraud in New York, California, and Illinois.