Could Gary Hart have at least made the '84 summer/fall race competitive?

[sg0508]

That being said, I think we can all agree that in the 80s, the Democrats had very little regional base.

1) They weren't strong enough yet in the northeast, Midwest or the Pacific rim.
2) The suburbs were still dominated by Republicans
3) The economy, the Olympics and "Good Morning America" gave Reagan/Bush a tremendous amount of momentum.

That being said, Hart was more viable than Mondale with young voters and likely with women (I would think?).  He also came across as the fresher, younger, more vibrant and better looking Democrat rather than the stale, "Old Democrat" in Mondale, which was near dead and buried by the mid 80s.  Of course, the Democrats didn't figure that out in '88 either, but that's another story.

Could he have at least made the '84 race somewhat competitive in the general? I don't know that he would have won many more states than MN and maybe a few more in the northeast, but it's an interesting thing to ponder.

[sg0508]

I do agree with you in that Hart not winning the '84 primary set him up nicely for a chance in '88. Of course, his personal issues blew that chance up.  I agree that he will be a "what if/if only" politician in American history.

Reagan losing the primary to Ford in '76 set him up nicely for '80 and there was no guarantee that he would have beaten Carter in '76.

[sg0508]

It's off-topic, but many forget that Hart almost got ousted from the Senate in the '80 GOP landslide.  While '86 was a very strong Democratic year, there's no guarantee he would have won his seat for a third term, especially since most knew he was going for the presidency again in '88.