Results of the 1964 election if Kennedy was never assassinated?

[gorkay]

There probably would have been debates in 1964 had Kennedy lived, because he and Goldwater, who was a good friend (and was not "insane"), had already discussed the possibility. There was even an idea floated that they would tour the country on the same bus and stop to hold a series of debates along the way. I doubt that really would've happened, though.

I'm sure JFK would have won in '64... he was pretty popular, the economy was healthy, and a candidate with Goldwater's views simply wasn't electable back then. JFK may not have won by as wide a margin as Johnson did, though, because some of Johnson's margin came from a sympathy vote for JFK.

The assumption that LBJ would then have run in '68 assumes that he would have been on the ticket in '64, which is not a sure thing. He probably would have, especially if the election looked to be in the bag, but he wasn't the most popular man in the administration-- especially not with brother Bobby, who was JFK's closest and most trusted advisor. But-- suppose LBJ stayed on the ticket, and then Bobby decided to run for President in '68? It may well have happened.

I also think it's dangerous to assume that JFK wouldn't have taken a similar course on the war as LBJ. When LBJ escalated the war with the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, he did so on the advice of the same "best and brightest" who had advised JFK (and who, with incredible cowardice, abandoned Johnson when the war began to go sour). So presumably they would have told JFK to do the same thing. Whether or not he would have listened can be debated, though; as I said, his closest adviser was Bobby, and Bobby may have been able to talk some sense into him. But then again, maybe not.