Sure. Thurmond supported hawkishness, was decidedly more against civil rights than Nixon would run as against Kennedy, supported the gold standard(I think), and generally was certainly more right wing on issues such as healthcare, busing, affirmative action, the environment, and other such issues.
The question is why he didn't actually run in 72 then, especially with McGovern being to the left of Kennedy in this hypothetical.
Nobody was going to beat Nixon in 72, his approvals were substantially over 50 percent and the Cold War appeared to be winding down. RFK vs Nixon in 68 is the more fascinating debate.
