1988: Bill Bradley vs. Jack Kemp

[Turbo Flame]

Two former professional athletes clash with each other. What would be the results? Who would be their running mates?

[dw93]

Both were flawed candidates, but Kemp narrowly wins it.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ)/Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-MO) 229 EV

Rep. Jack Kemp (D-NY)/Gov. George Deukmejian (R-CA) 309 EV

Bradley would have been a more popular candidate, but Kemp would have come across as a more legitimate heir to the Reagan mantle than did Bush 41.

[dw93]

Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ)/Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-MO) 229 EV

Rep. Jack Kemp (D-NY)/Gov. George Deukmejian (R-CA) 309 EV

Bradley would have been a more popular candidate, but Kemp would have come across as a more legitimate heir to the Reagan mantle than did Bush 41.

This more or less, though I think Kemp is more likely to go down to defeat in 1992 than Bush as I don't see Kemp keeping a cool head during all the international changes of the early 90s, and I also see him coming off as unsympathetic during the recession, while with Bush it was just that he was out of touch.

[darklordoftech]

Senator Bill Bradley/Senator Lloyd Bentson: 332
Representative Jack Kemp/Vice President George Bush: 206

Bradley didn’t have Dukakis’s weakness on crime, Kemp believed in the gold standard, and a Republican had been in the White House for 8 years.

[dw93]

I wonder what Reagan getting succeeded by an athlete would signal? Can only celebrities win the Presidency?

[NewYorkExpress]

I wonder what Reagan getting succeeded by an athlete would signal? Can only celebrities win the Presidency?

At least Reagan and Bradley had at least bothered to win elected office first (Reagan winning Governor of California and Bradley as Senator from New Jersey). Trump didn't even try to run for anything else.

[Sir Mohamed]

Doubt that Bradley would ever have been a good candidate. Maybe better than Dukakis, but that's a low bar.

✓ HUD Secretary Jack Kemp (R-NY)/Senator Pete Wilson (R-CA): 351 EVs.; 52.2%
Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ)/Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX): 187 EVs.; 46.9%