While Ford would initially be popular, averting the oil/ much of the inflation controversies, he would narrowly lose re-election due to an economic slowdown (although not a recession at this point) and him being weakened by a primary challenger to the right (Likely someone like Jesse Helms).
1980:
While most moderates were initially hesitant about a Kennedy candidacy, he chose senate minority leader Robert Byrd who was acceptable to both Dixiecrats and progressives as a compromise candidate for VP. Kennedy's strategy proved to be successful.
Senator Ted Kennedy/Senator Robert Byrd: 49%President Gerald Ford/Vice President Bob Dole: 49%
1984: With a roaring economy, V.P. nominee Bob Dole is seen as a sacrificial lamb against incumbent president Ted Kennedy. Kennedy is credited for reviving the Rust Belt economy, averting a potentially devastating farming crisis in its early stages, and for his foreign policy successes, including de-escalation of The Soviet Union. Despite Kennedy's successes, Dole has gained some respect among Southern conservatives, some of whom voted for Kennedy but were alienated by his liberalism during his first term. Unlike Reagan, Dole is not able to fire up The Christian Right and they are likely not going to become a formidable voting group until the culture wars of the 1990s.
President Ted Kennedy/Vice President Robert Byrd: 54%Former Vice President Bob Dole/Representative Jack Kemp: 44%
