1964:
In a surprising move, Johnson decides not to seek the Presidency. He steps aside for unknown reason. After early fights from RFK, Edmund Muskie, George Wallace, and Eugene McCarthy, Humphrey cruises to an easy victory in the primaries. Humphrey chooses former rival Muskie for the bottom of the ticket. For the Republicans, Goldwater is nominated, who picks William Miller for Vice-President. In the general election, Goldwater runs a great campaign and Humphrey runs a mediocre one. However, with JFK's assassination, Humphrey still cruises to an easy victory.
Humphrey/Muskie: 56%, 338 electoral votes
Goldwater/Miller: 43%, 200 electoral votes
No way! If RFK participated in the primaries, he would have been the undisputed winner. Perhaps he would even have crushed Goldwater worse than Johnson, since he would have created an even larger surge of patriotism through JFK nostalgia.
So write your own timeline
