1964: LBJ vs. George W. Bush

[bagelman]

LBJ faces George W. Bush who traveled back in time from the turn of the millennium to face him. Dick Cheney did not make it through so Bush has to pick a VP from the local time, and he cannot pick his father or any other family members.

This is a bit of a random scenario, both candidates are from TX, but LBJ claims Bush is merely a transplant from lower New England.

[Vosem]

A direct comparison between the LBJ '64 and Bush '04 campaigns yields this map (whoever received a greater percentage of the vote in a given state won that state), which seems like a pretty reasonable picture for the scenario you're suggesting:

[Clark Kent]

Without adjusting for the 40-year difference in population, Bush (2004) vs. LBJ (1964):

Adjusted for the time period:

Democratic: Lyndon B. Johnson - 54.39%, 393 EVs
Republican: George W. Bush - 45.19%, 145 EVs

Closest states were:

Montana: R+0.10%
North Carolina: D+0.12%
Virginia: R+0.13%
Florida: R+0.92%
Tennessee: R+1.15%
Arkansas: D+1.58%
Texas: D+1.79%
Indiana: R+3.41%
Kentucky: D+3.60%
South Dakota: R+3.72%
Alaska: D+3.81%
North Dakota: R+4.04%

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

President Lyndon Johnson/Vice President Hubert Humphrey 379 Electoral Votes 54.3%
Future President George W. Bush/Gov. George Wallace 179 Electoral Votes 44.6%

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

dats 1964 btw^

[Clark Kent]

President Lyndon Johnson/Vice President Hubert Humphrey 379 Electoral Votes 54.3%
Future President George W. Bush/Gov. George Wallace 179 Electoral Votes 44.6%

Why would Bush pick Wallace? Wallace was a racist Democrat.

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

President Lyndon Johnson/Vice President Hubert Humphrey 379 Electoral Votes 54.3%
Future President George W. Bush/Gov. George Wallace 179 Electoral Votes 44.6%

Why would Bush pick Wallace? Wallace was a racist Democrat.

After Bush came from his time machine, it took him to Alabama and he went on bus stops to a few governor's offices who didn't want to be his veep but then Wallace volunteered and they became good friends and ran for office.

[Clark Kent]

President Lyndon Johnson/Vice President Hubert Humphrey 379 Electoral Votes 54.3%
Future President George W. Bush/Gov. George Wallace 179 Electoral Votes 44.6%

Why would Bush pick Wallace? Wallace was a racist Democrat.

After Bush came from his time machine, it took him to Alabama and he went on bus stops to a few governor's offices who didn't want to be his veep but then Wallace volunteered and they became good friends and ran for office.

But why would Bush accept? He's not a racist.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

*TIME WARP*

In a mixup of literally cosmic proportions, George W. Bush is born to Prescott and Dorothy Walker Bush. The entity our timeline knows as George Herbert Walker Bush would become "Dubya's" eldest son later on. George, known as a rather immature lad, after prodding from friends and family, agrees to serve in the Second World War. Pushed into his father's business in the post-war period, the previously alcoholic son finds both God and responsibility and becomes a follower of Reverend Billy Graham. Moving to Texas after working on his father's 1950 Senate campaign, Dubya acclimates to local and state politics, working on John Tower's political campaign. Having achieved a folksy swagger and becoming prominent in Republican circles, he is nominated for Governor in 1960 and, surprising everyone, wins! Following Richard Nixon's 1960 loss, Governor Bush befriends the former Vice President, and Nixon takes him in as a political protege--knowing full well that he manipulate this young and politically lucky man. Come 1964, Bush's ragtag presidential campaign, saturated with funding both from Houston oilmen and East Coast money brought in by his retired father, manages to form a centrist path between the liberal Rockefeller & co. and the ultra-conservative Goldwater. Running as a "compassionate conservative", Bush redefines the word by promoting what we would nowadays call populist and/or Third Way policies. With the recent signing of federal civil rights legislation by President Johnson, Bush criticizes government overreach while being an on-paper civil rights proponent. With the guidance of Nixon, Congressman and campaign co-chair Donald Rumsfeld, and "Poppy", Bush manages to forge a path to victory. The state of Florida would take weeks to unravel, but at the end, George W. Bush had won while still losing the popular vote.

Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)/Congressman Gerald R. Ford (R-MI) 282 electoral votes, 47.9% of the popular vote
President Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX)/Senator Albert Gore Sr. (D-TN) 256 electoral votes, 48.4% of the popular vote

Despite having criticized Johnson's foreign policy, Bush increased involvement in Vietnam while touting the "Vietnamization" line. With the Democrats left staggering after losing what was thought to be a sure victory, they sloppily nominated the divisive Senator George McGovern in 1968. Nevertheless, with evidence coming to light of by-then-Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld's "waterboarding" and a host of unsavory international deals cut by Secretary of State Nixon, the President faced the threat of impeachment and was forced to resign in 1970. President Ford would go on to lose his race for a full term to Teddy Kennedy in 1972. President Kennedy would be re-elected in 1976 against former Michigan Governor George Romney. Right now, it is 1979, and Wyoming Senator Dick Cheney, the establishment choice, is floundering in primary polls against beer billionaire Joseph Coors. Whoever the winner is will likely go up against former Secretary of State Hubert H. Humphrey.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Without adjusting for the 40-year difference in population, Bush (2004) vs. LBJ (1964):

Adjusted for the time period:

Democratic: Lyndon B. Johnson - 54.39%, 393 EVs
Republican: George W. Bush - 45.19%, 145 EVs

Closest states were:

Montana: R+0.10%
North Carolina: D+0.12%
Virginia: R+0.13%
Florida: R+0.92%
Tennessee: R+1.15%
Arkansas: D+1.58%
Texas: D+1.79%
Indiana: R+3.41%
Kentucky: D+3.60%
South Dakota: R+3.72%
Alaska: D+3.81%
North Dakota: R+4.04%

I surprised LBJ won more raw votes in PA than Bush did 40 years later