Which Election Was More Winnable For Republicans?

[Turbo Flame]

It's 1960 for me. Richard Nixon should have not used the 50 state pledge. He was worn out by the time he completed his journey. 1976 could also been winnable had Gerald Ford been given another week or two. The difference was, it wasn't in Ford's control.

[dw93]

Both were winnable but 1960 due to the fact that the fundamentals weren't nearly as unfavorable to the GOP as they were in 1976.

[DPKdebator]

Definitely 1960. As has been mentioned above, the fundamentals were better for the GOP- Nixon was the Vice President for the popular President Eisenhower. Nixon spread himself too thin with his 50 state pledge, which could have made the difference if instead he focused more on the closest states (although there was a lot that year). Meanwhile, in 1976 Ford was coming off the heels of Watergate and faced a huge deficit against Carter. He staged an impressive comeback, but fell just short. If the election was a couple of weeks later (or Ford avoids the Eastern Europe gaffe), maybe he would've bested Carter. The mistakes of the Republicans in 1960 seem more easily avoidable than those of 1976 as they are less contingent on time.

[Redban]

1960. Give Nixon a clean-shave and some makeup on the first televised debate, and he has it.

[KYRockefeller]

A better VP could've helped Nixon too.  The Lodge pick didn't give him much, especially when JFK added LBJ and that was enough to swing Texas to the Democrats.

[MATTROSE94]

Probably 1960. Had Richard Nixon focused on Missouri, Illinois, New Jersey, and maybe Michigan, he would have won narrowly.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

1960, of course. If you could find a way to stop dead people and cows from voting.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Probably 1960. Had Richard Nixon focused on Missouri, Illinois, New Jersey, and maybe Michigan, he would have won narrowly.

Nixon really failed to concentrate his efforts and that cost him dearly.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

I'm not saying 1976 is the answer, BUT Ford actually came closer than Nixon in the electoral vote and that's what matters.

Also, Ford's margin of defeat seems about right given the fundamentals of the race, whereas I can't figure out how Nixon came as close to winning as he did.

[Senator Incitatus]

The right answer to the poll is definitely 1960, for the reasons stated. Ford had a massive undertaking just to make the 1976 election as close as it was.

Probably 1960. Had Richard Nixon focused on Missouri, Illinois, New Jersey, and maybe Michigan, he would have won narrowly.

People say things like this in retrospect but the national "swing states" weren't nearly as clear in 1960 as they are today or post-2000 generally. Nixon's 50-state campaign was overambitious, but there were more close states in that race than in any since.

It's hard to see where he could have written off votes to win those states instead, and even that analysis is only possible with benefit of hindsight and data that would not have been available at the time. It's also hard to know how he'd have identified those particular states as in need of excess attention.