1972: President Richard Nixon vs Former Vice President Hubert Humphrey

[dw93]

The 1972 election was probably unwinnable for the Democrats, but they didn't have to lose 49 states. What would the result be if Humphrey and Nixon re-matched?

I'm not convinced it was unwinnable. I think 1972, much like 2016, was a year the Democrats lost a winnable race. Hubert Humphrey probably wasn't the strongest candidate, but he would have had a far better chance than McGovern. I think Americans liked McGovern personally, but viewed him as a far-left ideologue. Humphrey would not have been viewed as far-left, but he couldn't be the true anti-war candidate given his administration continued the war.

If the trends of 1970-71 continued into '72 (polls in I think it was early to mid 71 showed Nixon was vulnerable), the dems MIGHT'VE  had a shot, although I'd personally give Nixon the edge. By 1972 (and especially after McGovern won the nomination), that wasn't the case and Nixon had as much of a lock on the race as Reagan had in '84.

[dw93]

The 1972 election was probably unwinnable for the Democrats, but they didn't have to lose 49 states. What would the result be if Humphrey and Nixon re-matched?

I'm not convinced it was unwinnable. I think 1972, much like 2016, was a year the Democrats lost a winnable race. Hubert Humphrey probably wasn't the strongest candidate, but he would have had a far better chance than McGovern. I think Americans liked McGovern personally, but viewed him as a far-left ideologue. Humphrey would not have been viewed as far-left, but he couldn't be the true anti-war candidate given his administration continued the war.

If the trends of 1970-71 continued into '72 (polls in I think it was early to mid 71 showed Nixon was vulnerable), the dems MIGHT'VE  had a shot, although I'd personally give Nixon the edge. By 1972 (and especially after McGovern won the nomination), that wasn't the case and Nixon had as much of a lock on the race as Reagan had in '84.

Interestingly enough, the same can be said of 1984 (If the trends of 1982-83 had continued into 1984 the Dems would've had a pretty decent shot).

True. While I think Reagan would still win, I think he'd be more vulnerable than Nixon, if only because the Democrats of the mid '80s were more willing to adapt and unify for the win than the Democratic Party was in the early 70s.