In November of 1985, Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Republic of the Philippines, announced that he would hold a 'snap' Presidential election. This election took place on 7 February, 1986, in a highly charged atmosphere of partisan politics marked by intimidation, widespread poll irregularities and intense domestic and foreign scrutiny. The United States official position remained fluid in an attempt to balance U.S. strategic and economic national interests with those of the Filipino people. The essential Philippine national interest at stake was the viability of the democratic process as an expression of the will of a free people. Following a hotly disputed count the incumbent President Marcos claimed victory, a move similarly taken by his opposition opponent, Mrs. Corazon Aquino. The resulting civil strife threatened peace in the Philippines and posed significant questions for U.S. foreign policy, specifically, the relative priority of democratic values vis a vis strategic interests and the role of the United States in mitigating the rise of a communist insurgency there. This is a case study of the development of that election and the role that the United States did and could have played in it. Additionally, it examines the national interests of both countries as expressed during and after the election.