Kennedy vs Goldwater

[Reaganfan]

Kennedy.

[ShapeShifter]

Kennedy.

ditto

[© tweed]

Kennedy.

Goldie would have done well in the south, but outside of that, he would he hard pressed to win a state.

[PBrunsel]

Barry Goldwater.

[© tweed]

Barry Goldwater.

The question is who would have won.

[Ben.]

Against Kennedy Goldwater would have probably done slightly worse than he did against LBJ, the campaign would have been less dirty as both Goldwater and Kennedy knew and liked each other from JFK’s days in the senate despite the ideological divide…

In this cordial atmosphere however I don’t see Goldwater doing any better, unlike LBJ Kennedy would not be running on proposals for a massive increase in public spending nor would he have alienated many in the deep south within his own party, while Kennedy by 1963 was generally very much likes throughout the party, LBJ was not trusted by the southern wing of the party while they respected Kennedy for his hawkish views and moderate positions in government, that said I think that the issues of civil rights and Goldwater’s opposition to it would still have allowed him to pick up all the deep southern states with the possible exception of LA and/or GA, however I think GA would be the most likely to stick with Kennedy while LA would probably still go for Barry…

So the elections would not be much changed at all…

 

John F Kennedy/ Lyndon B Johnson (Democrat) 498 electoral votes
Barry Goldwater/ William Miller (Republican) 40 electoral votes      

[PBrunsel]

Barry Goldwater.

The question is who would have won.

I think Goldwater could have won.

[The Dowager Mod]

Kennedy in a walk.

[Aaron]

Kennedy would win, sadly. I would definately be a Goldwater supporter.

[© tweed]

Kennedy probably would have won Arizona against Goldwater.

[The Dowager Mod]

Kennedy was despised down south,i still remember my ol gramps bitching about him.

[PBrunsel]

Kennedy-Johnson:438

Goldwater-Miller: 100

[Ben.]

Kennedy-Johnson:438

Goldwater-Miller: 100

Why on earth would Goldwater do so much better?... sorry but in 1964 with JFK leading the dems i strongly doubt that so much of the south would have voted for goldwater, FL, AR and NC would be very unlikley to vote for Barry as would MT, WY and ID... a 1964 race between JFK and Goldwater would in many ways be like Clinton facing Buchanan in 1996...

[PBrunsel]

Kennedy was dispised in the South far more then LBJ. LBJ was liked in the South. Idaho and Wyoming almost went Goldwater in 1964 and Utah has been Republican territory for years. Cubans in Florida rallied around Goldwater due to his staunch anti-Castro anti-Communism stance and they were upset with Kennedy over the Bay of Pigs fiasco.

[Ben.]

Kennedy was dispised in the South far more then LBJ. LBJ was liked in the South. Idaho and Wyoming almost went Goldwater in 1964 and Utah has been Republican territory for years. Cubans in Florida rallied around Goldwater due to his staunch anti-Castro anti-Communism stance and they were upset with Kennedy over the Bay of Pigs fiasco.

In the west JFK would have been just as powerful a candidate as  LBJ was in 1964, while at the same time JFK would have been a stronger candidate in the south than LBJ. LBJ's failure to sign the "southern manifesto", his support for massive spending programs and his rush towards civil rights where resented by many in the south, by comparison, Kennedy with his hawkish foreign policy, his moderate yet populist social policy and his cautious approach to both spending and civil rights was respected far more in the south than LBJ...

It is true that JFK was a polarising figure for many in the south about 40% loathed him while 50% loved him with 10% in the middle not caring very much, LBJ's southern support in 1964 was largely based on many southern voters "giving him the benefit of the doubt" with JFK they wouldn’t have felt that they would have had to do this as they already trusted his record... so i see no reason at all why JFK a more moderate and cautious politician than LBJ would have had a reduced margin of victory over Goldwater when compared to the landslide which LBJ enjoyed, the simple fact is that in the west JFK would have been just as strong as LBJ (who won Utah by 10%!) and in the south he would have been just as strong if not stronger than LBJ...

…another point in 1964 FL went for LBJ who was just as much associated with the “bay of pigs” and relations with Cuba as JFK was, the fact is that in 1964 the Cuban community was not as organised politically as it later became nor was it as large as it latter became, at this point the democratic machine in FL was still the most powerful political force in the state, though that did not prevent a close contest in 1964 (FL was lost by Goldwater by only 3%), still with LBJ winning it JFK would almost certainly have won it…

[PBrunsel]

Goldwater didn't do that well in my map. He lost Republican strongholds in New Hampshire, Maine, Soth Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, California, and Ohio.