1988: Gary Hart the nominee and no Donna Rice affair

[darklordoftech]

How would Hart do against Bush without Rice?

[brucejoel99]

Tossup. In real life, Dukakis was leading Bush by 17 points in the summer of '88, & while this big of a lead was never gonna last, it did show that Bush was indeed beatable, so if Hart runs an effective campaign, gives enough detail about his "new ideas," & responds quickly & effectively to the Atwater smear machine, he could probably beat Bush, albeit narrowly.

Of course, Bush could just as easily still win (albeit, narrowly as well) on Reagan's popularity & the economic fundamentals alone.

[Sir Mohamed]

Narrow HW win

✓ Vice President George H.W. Bush (R-TX)/Senator Dan Qualyle (R-IN): 289 EVs.; 50.8%
Senator Gary Hart (D-CO)/Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX): 249 EVs.; 47.7%

[President Johnson]

I think Hart would have won without the scandal. He stood for youth and a new direction without the problems Dukakis had. Poppy, despite being a highly competent politician, was actually a lackluster candidate who won on a combination of Reagan's popularity and Dukakis' disastrous campaign.

✓ Senator Gary Hart (D-CO)/Senator John H. Glenn (D-OH): 291 EV. (49.74%)
Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush (R-TX)/Senator J. Danforth Quayle (R-IN): 247 EV. (48.31%)