Election Timeline Starting in 1952

[True Democrat]

1952:
Popular Republican war hero Eisenhower cruises to victory to the Republican nomination after Taft decides not to challenge him.  Eisenhower picks Nixon as his running mate.  The Democrats nominate Stevenson after a long heated primary and nomination fight.  Stevenson decides to pick Democratic competitor Kefauver as his running mate.  Every poll shows that Eisenhower is going to easily win with 65-70% of the vote, so he barely campaigns.  He makes a total of only 5 speeches during the campaign.  Stevenson campaigns like crazy, doing a Truman-type whistlestop tour, sometimes making 3 speeches in one day.  It almost pays off, as the election comes down to New York, where Stevenson loses by 2,000 votes.  He had planned to make a final large speech in New York City with a ticker tape parade, but he got the flu and had to cancel it the day before the election, which may have led to the Eisenhower win there.  Stevenson also better than expected out west and the upper midwest, but does horribly in the South.

Eisenhower/Nixon: 49%, 296 electoral votes
Stevenson/Kefauver: 49%, 235 electoral votes

[True Democrat]

1956:
After a stroke in the 3rd year of his term, Eisenhower has been mostly disabled and chooses not to face reelection stress.  He is still extremely in the party and tells the party to choose Nixon as his successor.  Nixon is easily nominated and picks Ohio Governor C. William O'Neill who had been elected in 1953.  The Democratic nomination is a little more exciting than the Republican one.  In the primaries are Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, and Senator George A. Smathers of Florida.  Humphrey wins the the midwest, Kennedy the northeast, and Smathers the South, however Humphrey wins out West, giving him the nomination.  Here is a map of the primaries:

Red: Humphrey
Blue: Kennedy
Green: Smathers



Humphrey ends up picking Governor Edmund Muskie of Maine in an effort to win over support of Northeast Democrats who resent him from the primaries.  However, this does not add much support in the northeast after the entire Kennedy family refuses to endorse Humphrey.  Two independent candidates decide to run also.  The first candidate is Strom Thurmond of South Carolina who picks Mississippi Governor J.P. Coleman (who was elected in 1952).  Early polls show Nixon pulling away with a victory:

Nixon: 46%
Humphrey: 34%
Thrumond: 8%
Other/Undecided: 12%

However, Humphrey campaigns hard and his support goes up to about 42%, within striking distance of Nixon.

In an unexpected move, Republican Congressman Henry J. Latham enters the race as an Independent Republican.  He picks fellow Republican Congressman Francis E. Dorn, also of New York.  However, they make little headway in the polls and only take votes away from Nixon.

On election day, Humphrey does better than expected.  Latham's best state ends up being New York, as expected, where he gets 11%.  He averages about 6% in the rest of the Northeast.  This hurts Nixon only.  Humphrey does win the popular vote though because of his huge margins in the midwest.  Thurmond does much worse expected, even in the South where he gets majorities in only two states.  He is on the ballot in only 7 states outside the South.

Humphrey/Muskie: 46%, 241 electoral votes
Nixon/O'Neill: 45%, 239 electoral votes
Thurmond/Coleman: 6%, 51 electoral votes
Latham/Dorn: 2%, 0 electoral votes



However, Humphrey does not get a majority of electoral votes, and the election is thrown to the House, where Humphrey wins because most House delegations are majority Democratic.

[Beet]

This is one of the more eventful timelines.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Thurmond was too busy in 1956 politically to be running for the Presidency that year.  His write-in election in 1954 was due solely to a intra-party dispute over who should replace Sen. Maybank on the ballot after he died.  Thirmond had promised to resign and give the voters the chance to elect him Senator as a Democrat in 1956.  I can’t see Thurmond choosing to give that up for a second quixotic campaign.  Thurmond wasn’t up for any other election 1948, so he could afford to be quixotic.  He doesn’t have that luxury in 1956 unless you are going to butterfly Maybank’s death as happening iearlier so that the Democrats have a primary race in 1954.  Incidentally, without his being able to charge that his 1954 opponent had been hand-picked by the party bigwigs, Thurmond could very well have lost the 1954 primary, just as he lost the 1950 Senate primary.

I realize that you want to spice things up, but I really do wish you’d find other people besides Thurmond for these Dixiecrat campaigns you are so fond of in your timeline.  Thurmond’s main attraction in 1948 as the Dixiecrat candidate was that he was available, not that he was a fire-eater.

[True Democrat]

1960:

Humphrey has an approval rating of about 57%, however he is still very unpopular in the Northeast.  Instead of two factions, the Democratic party now has three: the south, the midwest, and the northeast.  The Republicans still see a weakness in President Humphrey, hoping to capitalize on the disapproving Northeast Democrats.

For the Republican nomination, the main candidates are Richard Nixon of California, Governor Ronald Reagan of California, Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York, and Governor Theodore R. McKeldin of Maryland.

Rockefeller cruises to victory in the primaries for many resons.  First, the conservative Republicans are split between Nixon and Reagan.  Also, McKeldin drops out after losing New Hampshire.  Finally, Rockefeller wins the midwestern primaries after abandoning the Souther ones.

Rockfeller: Red
Nixon: Blue
Reagan: Green



In the general election, Rockefeller runs a horrible campaign.  He loses much needed support from conservatives out west.  He picks McKeldin as his running mate.  With the passage of the Civil Rights Act (which Rockefeller voted for, but was Humphrey's legislation), Humphrey's approval goes up to 71%.  The Republicans know it will be nearly impossible to beat Humphrey.  The South is still steadfast for Rockefeller though, as they refuse to vote for a northern Democrat or risk giving a Democrat a win in the House again.  One month before the election, Senators John F., Robert F., and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and New York give their support to Rockefeller.  They campaign all over the Northeast for Rockefeller, which greatly helps him.  However, on election day, Rockefeller loses big, even being upset in his home state of New York.  In the South, Rockefeller wins big, and the last Democratic stronghold of Georgia falls.  In the electoral college, Rockefeller does so well because of very close wins in the Northeast, and the the solidarity of the South.

Humphrey/Muskie: 62%, 341 electoral votes
Rockefeller/McKeldin: 37%, 196 electoral votes

[True Democrat]

1964:

Humphrey leaves office popular, but controversial.  Muskie decides not to run for the nomination, citing health reasons.  In the Democratic primary, the main candidates are Indidana Governor Matthew Welsh, Governor Lester Maddox of Georgia, and Senator Clair Engle of California.  Engle was the favorite going into the primaries, but in Iowa Welsh won, but it wasn't too much of an upset.  However, in New Hamphsire, Engle won a close victory, in what was expected to be a blowout.  Welsh got the momentum and went on to win in the primaries.  Maddox didn't win outside the South.

Engle: Red
Welsh: Blue
Maddox: Green



The Republican nomination is between Former Presidential Candidate Nelson Rockefeller and former Governor Charles Russell of Nevada.  Rockefeller wins easily, and Russell wins onlya few primaries.  In the South, Rockefeller does better than last time, but only wins about half the Southern states.

Red: Rockefeller
Blue: Russell



In this campaign, Rockefeller does much better.  He picks Representative Charles Teague of California as his runnimg mate.  Welsh picks Utah Governor (elected earlier than in real life) Calvin Rampton as his running mate.  Rockefeller cruises to victory, as he still has the support of northeastern Republicans.   However, the  South is split as Maddox gives a surprise endorsement of Welsh.

Rockefeller/Teague: 55%, 355 electoral votes
Welsh/Rampton: 44%, 183 electoral votes

[True Democrat]

1968:

President Rockefeller is the most popular President in the history of the United States.  His approval is 73%, even 58% among Democrats.  The Democratic party knows Rockefeller is unbeatable, so they decide not to run anyone important.  The only candidate in the primaries are Honolulu Mayor Neal Blaisdell.  No national Democrat will run with him, so he chooses J.P. Harrelson, a South Carolina State Senator.  Early in the campaign, Blaisdell becomes very sick with a pneumonia that lasts for weeks.  Harrelson does barely any campaigning.  In some northeastern states, such as Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Maine, and a few others, Harrelson isn't even on the ballot and must be written in because the state Democratic party actually supports Rockefeller.  He ends up only winning his home state of Hawaii.  Rockefeller, however, does worse in the South than the last election.  Rockefeller's best state is Vermont, where he breaks 90%.  Rockefeller breaks 80% in many states, including New York, Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire.  Rockefeller even gets former President Humphrey's endorsement.  Turnout ends up being in the low 40s, as many anti-Rockefeller supporters do not even show up.  The only group Blaisdell does better than expected in is Republicans.  Many conservatives are angered at Rockefeller, and Blaisdell is the only alternative.  Exit polls show the following (only Rockefeller results, rest goes to Blaisdell, as there is no strong third party):

Republicans: 79%

Independents: 83%

Democrats: 60%

Whites: 66%

African-Americans: 91%

Rockefeller/Teague: 72%, 534 electoral votes
Blaisdell/Harrelson: 27%, 4 electoral votes

[Ebowed]

Great timeline.  The only problem I have is Humphrey losing MA and RI in 1960, which he certainly would have won.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Insert joke about DC being solidly Republican here.

[True Democrat]

Insert joke about DC being solidly Republican here.

I know, but African-Americans support Humphrey, and Humphrey supported Rockefeller.

[True Democrat]

1972:
As he leaves office, Rockefeller has approvals in the high 70s, however many Republicans still dislike him.  He has similar approval from Republicans and Democrats.  In the primaries, the main Republican candidates are Vice President Teague, Senator Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts, and Reprsentative John Schmitz of California.  Moderates are split between Teague and Brooke, so Schmitz easily wins the nomination.  In the middle of the campaign, Teague is thought to maybe be able to make a comeback, but he loses California to Schmitz and loses the nomination.

Red: Schmitz
Blue: Teague
Green: Brooke



More to come for 1972 later. . .

[TommyC1776]

I want to see the rest soon.

[True Democrat]

Sorry it's so late, I thought grew bored of this timeline.

1972 (cont'd):

In a bold move, Schmitz picks a conservative for his running mate.  His short includes Dole and Reagan, however he chooses former Vice-President Richard Nixon, who is 17 years his elder.  Nixon promises never to run for the presidency.  Rockefeller is unhappy with this ticket, but does not express it publicly.

For the Democrats, Senator Edward Kennedy, Governor Walter Mondale of Minnesota (who was elected as one of the youngest governors of Minnesota), and Representative Richard Fulton of Tennessee.  Mondale easily wins with Humphrey's endorsement.  Northeast Democrats are still angry at the Democratic party, and Mondale's win further alienates the South.

Red: Mondale
Blue: Fulton
Green: Kennedy



Mondale shocks the Democratic establishment and chooses newly elected Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen.

Kennedy decides to run as an independent and chooses Massachusetts Representative Michael J. Harrington as his running mate, who is only 36 years old.  With Humphrey's endorsement and Rockefeller's lack of endorsement of Schmitz, it appears Mondale will win the election easily.  Kennedy's votes, however, make the election close.  A poll two weeks beforet the election shows the following:

Schmitz/Nixon: 38%
Mondale/Bentsen: 36%
Kennedy/Harrington: 14%
Other/Undecided: 12%

With common sense in mind, Kennedy drops out and gives a stunning endorsement of Mondale.  All northeast Democrats end up endorsing Mondale.  In the debate one week before the election, Mondale paints Schmitz as a extremist neoconservative, and gains among the American people.  On election day, it appears Kennedy's endorsement would not have made a difference, as even the outer South falls to Mondale.  Schmitz does make a last campaign push in the West and does fairly well there, especially in newly found conservative states, like Utah and Idaho.

Mondale/Bentsen: 57%, 419 electoral votes
Schmitz/Nixon: 42%, 119 electoral votes

[True Democrat]

1976:

Mondale has shown to be an extremely weak president.  He has been especially weak on relations with the USSR, including allowing the invasion of Afghanistan in 1975.  (I know, there was no Iranian revolution to trigger it, but it occurred).  The Republicans see an easy target in Mondale, and after huge gains in the 1974 elections, in which they almost captured the Senate, only two serious candidates enter the Republican primary.  These candidates are Senator George Bush of Texas (considered a moderate) and well-known conservative Governor Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming.  This was a true test of whether the Republican party was moving in a conservative or moderate direction, and with a solid Malcolm win, the conservative trend was confirmed.

Blue: Wallop
Red: Bush



No Democrat challenges Mondale, as he is still popular among party leadership and liberals in the party.  Wallop ends up choosing Bush as his running mate in attempt to make peace with moderates in the party.  Recently turned independent Governor Jerry Brown of California, a leading leftist opponent of Mondale, throws his hat into the ring.  His moderate record helps him gain votes.  He picks another new independent, Senator Robert P. Griffin of Michigan, a former Republican, who was a leading advocate for the Civil Rights Act as a member of the House.

Wallop runs an excellent campaign, but is still shown to be conservative.  Polls a month before the election show the following:

Mondale/Bentsen: 31%
Malcolm/Bush: 35%
Brown/Griffin: 16%
Other/Undecided: 18%.

With 17% of the nation still undecided, Brown sees a chance in the debates to gain some momentum, however this does not happen.  Instead, Wallop wins both debates and goes on to win the election.  Brown does better than expected, but does not win any states.

Wallop/Bush: 44%, 323 electoral votes
Mondale/Bentsen: 38%, 215 electoral votes
Brown/Griffin: 18%, 0 electoral votes

[True Democrat]

1980:

Wallop's presidency is marked by a huge scandal.  Wallop is shown to use federal money to payoff friends, corporations, and his own gain in terms of houses and personal fortune.  Wallop resigns, and Bush takes over in 1979.  Bush enters the primaries with great opposition.  Another conservative, little-known conservative Kansas Governor Pat Roberts decides to run.  In the beginning, it appears Bush will win as he takes Iowa and New Hampshire by huge margins.  However, an early Super Tuesday consisting of many conservative Southern and Western states, gives Roberts the momentum to win the nomination.  Bush ends the primaries with more delegates, but Roberts convinces the party leadership to vote for him to seperate the ticket from the recent scandals.

Blue: Bush
Red: Roberts



Roberts sees that the conservative base is still not fully trustful of the party, so he chooses fellow conservative 39 year old Mississippi Representative Trent Lott.

Jerry Brown enters the Democratic primaries as he has rejoined the Democratic party.  Many liberals are angry at him for handing the election to Wallop, however the party leadership sees an opportunity for a huge win, so they favor Brown.  Also entering the primaries is Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who does not do very well.

Blue: Kennedy
Red: Brown



Brown decides to pick liberal southerner Florida Governor Bob Graham to win over the South and liberals in the party.

Polls show Brown with leads reaching 60-20 over Roberts.

Disgusted over Brown as the Democratic nominee, outgoing liberal Massachusetts Governor Edward J. King decides to run.  He picks activist Jesse Jackson as his running mate, in an effort to gain African-American voters.

Further allegations come out of the Wallop's scandal connecting the Republican leadership and many Republican Senators and Representatives.  Rumors are circulating that even Roberts is connected, but Roberts refuses to acknowledge them.  On election day, the Republicans do horribly, as the Democrats gain a 69-30-1 majority in the Senate ( the Independent won against a Republican where the Democrats didn't run a candidate) and the House by 312-123.

In the presidential election, King proves not to be a spoiler, as his supports drops to nearly nothing as Brown does extremely well in the debates.  Most of King's votes come from either Massachusetts (where he gets 40%) and Rhode Island (where he gets 35%).  He averages about 1% in non-Northeastern states.   Roberts basically says a week before the election that he has no chance, so his supporters don't show up.  He also makes conservatives angry by vetoing an anti-abortion bill in Kansas, in attempt to win over moderates.  This ploy does not work.  Most conservatives do not even show up.  Brown wins by a super majority, even larger than Rockefeller's reelection.  Brown even gets over 90% in many states.  Former Presidents Rockefeller and Humphrey both endorse Brown.

Brown/Graham: 77%, 524 electoral votes
Roberts/Lott: 20%, 14 electoral votes
King/Jackson: 3%

[Gabu]

Holy crap, that map rivals the ones in my Liberal Revolution timeline.

[True Democrat]

Holy crap, that map rivals the ones in my Liberal Revolution timeline.

Yeah, my timeline is all about giant landslides.  Just wait for another Republican one.

[True Democrat]

1984:

After two presidential campaigns (only one successful), President Jerry Brown decides not to seek reelection.  His approval is in the high 50s as he leaves office.  Brown endorses no one in the primaries.  The main candidates are Vice-President Bob Graham of Florida, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, and Senator Herb Kohl of Wisconsin.  Iowa quickly falls to Graham, who loses New Hampshire, which is expected.  The South goes for Graham, the Northeast for Dukakis, and the Midwest for Kohl, but the West is split among the three of them.  Going into the convention, there is no clear winner, and it must come down to a floor vote.

Red: Graham
Blue: Dukakis
Green: Kohl



At the convention, each candidate makes a speech before the first vote.  In an effort to reach out to non-Southerners, Graham makes a very liberal speech including references to being pro-choice, pro-environment, anti-big business, anti-tobacco, and pro-gay marriage, something unheard in mainstream politics.  He gains a few northern delegates, but loses much more than he gains.  The party sees him as too liberal to nominate.  The South holds all the cards and cannot decide between Dukakis and Kohl, both seen as liberal.  Walking up to the podium to make a speech in support of Governor Dukakis is Majority Whip Bill Clinton.  Instead of making an endorsement, Clinton uses this time to submit his own name for the nomination.  He makes his attempt at a floor nomination.  The South, except Florida, quickly falls to Clinton.  He also makes a very impassioned speech about supporting family farms, and the midwest and parts of the west also fall to Clinton.  He captures the nomination on the third vote.  For Vice-President, he reconciles with Governor Dukakis and chooses him.  The Democrats are very divided coming out of the convention.

The Republican party members finally realize they cannot nominate someone as conservative as Pat Roberts or Trent Lott and still win.  Only two main candidates enter the primaries: Governor Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina.  It is a close fight, but Specter wins both Iowa and New Hampshire.  However, for his victory speech in New Hampshire, Specter comes out and says that Republicans should not be afraid to be pro-choice, thinking he has the nomination wrapped up.  Helms goes on to win easily, and picks Specter as his running mate.

Red: Helms
Blue: Specter



The Republicans have done it again; they have nominated another conservative.  Clinton's lead never dips below 15 points leading up to a month before the election.  However, at this time, a moderate Republican, who was later shown to be on strong anti-depressants and have mulitple disorders, kills Helms, citing what he considers Helms' fascist views as the reason.  Specter immediately replaces Helm and picks Colorado Senator William L. Armstrong as his running mate.  Specter immediately takes a 20 point lead over Clinton.  If the election were held two weeks after Helms' death, Specter would have won easily.  However, the election is held one month after the assassination.  Many conservatives begin to look at Specter and the moderates badly as they realize it was a moderate Republican who killed Helms.  Many of them switch over to Clinton, as they see him as a conservative Southerner.  On election it's razor thin.  The South mainly goes for Clinton along with the Midwest.  The Northeast mainly goes for Specter, citing Clinton as a "conservative Southerner".  However, in the West, Specter better than an analyst could have predicted, as he captures every Western state.  It turns out to be on of the least polarizing elections in history.  The Libertarian candidate (Edward Clark) also does surprisingly well.  It all comes down to Virginia, where Clinton pulls out a 274 vote victory, causing a tie in the electoral college.  The House (301-133-1 Democratic majority) where 37 of the state delegations are Democratic.  The Senate, with its 72-28 Democratic majority, the highest in since the Roosevelt administration, easily elects Dukakis.

Clinton/Dukakis: 48%, 269 electoral votes
Specter/Armstrong: 48%, 269 electoral votes
Clark/Lewis: 4%, 0 electoral votes