John McCain in 2000

[Goldwater]

This has probably been done before, but what do you think the results of the 2000 presidential election would be if McCain beat Bush in the Republican primaries? Also, who do you think he would he picked as his running mate?

[phk]

Ridge, Santorum, Gregg, Alexander, Powell

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I think that McCain would lose because he wouldn't have Karl Rove chipping away at Democratic strength in Arkansas, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

McCain probaly would of gone with a moderate running mate, I dont know if Powell would be the right choice, but Ridge, or Gregg, or maybe Voinovich seem like good options.

[SvenssonRS]

1. I'm under the impression that he'd probably with with the right running mate.

2. On that note, he'd probably pick someone both A) Far more conservative than himself(considering that it's 2000 McCain), and B) Southern, to chip at Gore's base. I think someone along the lines of Fred Thompson would suit that bill perfectly - with a lovely hint of irony, too, given who had occupied Thompson's seat just two years before he took office.

[Dancing with Myself]

Gore/Liberman-285
McCain/Alexander-253

[Person Man]

Gore/Liberman-285
McCain/Alexander-253

I'm thinking Missouri instead of Kentucky  and maybe Arkansas. Heck, would McCain have helped that much in Flroida? McCain would have done a couple of points better in Palm Beach, put probably slightly worse upstate.

[Del Tachi]

Albert Gore/Joseph Liebermann--335
John McCain/Judd Gregg--203

McCain flips NM due to the fact that he is a Westerner.  He picks Judd Gregg as VP trying to build a "moderate coalition" and create some "McCain Democrats".  This helps him avoid slaughter in the Northeast and West, but gives some Rust-Belty Southern states (and OH and FL) to Gore. 

[Mr. Morden]

I think someone along the lines of Fred Thompson would suit that bill perfectly - with a lovely hint of irony, too, given who had occupied Thompson's seat just two years before he took office.

^^
Thompson is a pretty likely choice, for the reasons you cite, plus the fact that McCain and Thompson got along well in the senate, and Thompson was one of only a few senators to endorse him in the primaries over Bush.

OTOH, it's possible that he would have thought that he needed to pick someone who endorsed Bush (or was neutral), in order to build bridges within the primary.  I guess it partly depends on how decisively he wins the nomination.