Puzzle #2: Bilepartisanship

This is my tribute to the 1996 Election Day puzzle in the New York Times. In that one, the main theme answer could be either CLINTON ELECTED or BOB DOLE ELECTED. It was presented as a prediction of the election itself, solvers weren’t told about the puzzle’s dual nature, and it caused quite a stir. The crossing Downs used a single clue with two possible answers, so [Black Halloween animal] was CAT or BAT, for instance.

My version is not nearly as devious, with two clues for the double-Down entries, and an explanatory “(2 answers)” for the Across entries. I also had to pick a “correct” answer for the digital versions of the grid, so I went with HAILED and REJECTED, but after the American electorate decided that walls were better than bridges, I switched it to FAILED and SELECTED. May God have mercy on our collective soul.