1968: Romney vs. Humphrey

[Robespierre's Jaw]

What if Michigan Governor George Romney hadn't of made the comments I was brainwashed in Vietnam? And thus became the GOP nominee in '68. Who would Romney select for Vice President? On the Democratic side: Hubert Humphrey is nomination after the delegates are in disaray. Humphrey selects Ed Muskie as his running mate. How would this election turn out? Discuss with maps please.

[Reaganfan]

Romney/Rockefeller: 299
Humphrey/Muskie: 154
Wallace/LeMay: 85

[johnpressman]

An interesting "what if".  Rockefeller had realized his chances of winning the 1968 GOP Presidential nomination were very slim, given his divorce and his disasterous appearance before the 1964 convention.  He, along with other Republican governors and members of the liberal wing of the GOP put forth Romney as their candidate.  Soon, even before the "brainwashing" statement, it became apparent that Romney's Mormonism was working against him.  The press, for one, decried the lack of liquor at Romney's functions and made fun of his personal style. 

It would be interesting, however, to speculate would would happen if Romney somehow won the GOP nomination over Nixon, campaigning on an anti-war platform.  How would this have affected McCarthy's campaign and LBJ's decision not to run?  What about RFK?  Would he see a need to enter the race with anti-war candidates  running for both the GOP and Democratic
nomination?  As for who would Romney pick for VP???  As a midwestern moderate he would best be served by picking a more conservative running mate to placate the rank and file GOP and to battle Wallace in the South. Reagan was not an option as he was not interested in the VP slot with Rockefeller when a Rocky/Reagan ticket was proposed just before the 1968 GOP Convention.  Spiro Agnew anyone??

I would see a close three-way race with Wallace gaining in both the popular and Electoral College totals in states like TX, TN, VA, FL, NC and SC and many conservative voters staying home.  This could cause the election to go to the House of Representatives.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Humphrey: 200
Romney: 249
Wallace: 89
HHH wins in the House.

[Lincoln Republican]

Romney picks experienced Kentucky Senator Thruston B. Morton for Vice President, and wins in a close, hotly contested election.

Morton helps Romney carry a good share of the southern states.

The nation was looking for a change in 1968.   

Romney/Morton                       271
Humphrey/Muskie                    222
Wallace/LeMay                           45

[gorkay]

I don't think Romney staying in the race would have had any effect on McCarthy entering it. The anti-war Democrats were already looking for a peace candidate to oppose Johnson when Romney was still in the race. They would have preferred RFK, but when he was reluctant to run, they turned to McCarthy. I also don't think it would have affected LBJ's decision to step down; he had simply had enough of the war and the Presidency and didn't want to drag his party down to defeat.

I agree that Romney, if nominated, would have looked for a southern or border-state candidate for VP. Agnew and Morton would have been possibilities. The outcome of the election would have depended in large part on how the campaign played out. Humphrey certainly would have had an edge in experience as a national campaigner on Romney that he didn't enjoy over Nixon, and that might have had an effect. Romney's ability to convince the electorate of his and his party's sincerity about ending the war would have been crucial, as well. Nixon was able to do this well enough to attract a lot of anti-war votes, although his policies once in office didn't reflect the way he had campaigned. (1968 was one of the only modern elections in which the Republicans were seen by a significant portion of the electorate as more dovish than the Democrats.) The election could quite easily have gone to the House, where the Democrats would seemingly be favored. But if neither party had a majority of state delegations, it all would have depended on Wallace.

Two other 1968 possibilities that would make for interesting speculation are Romney vs. Johnson (LBJ decides to seek another term) and Romney vs. Kennedy (RFK lives to go to the convention and wins the nominatin there).