1976: Ford v Carter v Reagan

[astrohuncho]

Let's say something happens in the Republican convention that pisses off the Reagan delegates so much that they end up walking out of the convention and either forming their own splinter party or taking over a third party; then, Reagan goes along with it, becoming the presidential nominee of said party. So what happens? Does this turn 1976 into a 1912 sort of situation and Carter ends up winning by much more of a margin than he actually did because of vote spoiling? Discuss.

[Make America Grumpy Again]

I doubt Reagan could win a state. The conservative areas of the country loved Ford and even if Reagan got some support, it won't be enough to outpace Ford+Carter combined so it would probably look like a 1936 or 1964 style landslide with Carter getting 400+ votes. The only areas I could see Ford winning in this scenario would be the intermountain western states and possibly Vermont and New Hampshire.