Populists

The Populists, also known as the populist faction, were one of the two major political factions in the Galactic Senate of the New Republic. It believed that individual member planets should retain their full sovereignty, while the opposing political faction, the Centrists, favoured a stronger galactic government and a larger New Republic Defense Force. Senator Leia Organa, former hero of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and veteran of the Galactic Civil War, was a well known Populist.

At some point, the tension between the two factions threatened to cripple the Senate. The Centrists then called for the election of a "First Senator," a charismatic individual who would bring order to the divided assembly. Organa and the other Populists, however, were wary of the price that they might have to pay for such order. Organa soon became the Populist candidate for First Senator. However, due to the untimely revelation that she was Darth Vader's daughter, the Princess was shunned out of office. In need of a new Populist candidate, Senator Tai-Lin Garr was nominated, who, in keeping with Populist values, desired to seize the position in order to render it irrelevant. Before the election was held, however, Garr was assassinated by Arliz Hadrassian, leader of the Amaxine warriors, leading to an official period of mourning and a delay in the election.

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