1944 : Roosevelt dies in 1943

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Obviously Wallace will attempt to get the nomination for a term of his own, but will he be able to get it?  On the Republican side, with Roosevelt gone, will Taft try for the nomination or will he do as he did in the real 1944 and throw his support behind Bricker?


Wallace faced difficulties from the start and Sen. Harry F. Byrd of Virginia made it quickly known that he would be in the running for the nomination.  Paul V. McNutt of Indiana, head of the Federal Security Agency (until fired by Wallace) made it known that he was interested in the position and quickly became the standard bearer for northern moderates and conservatives.  It took 5 ballots, but a deal brokered between the McNutt and Byrd camps causes the Democratic ticket for 1944 to be:
   Paul V. McNutt for President and Harry F. Byrd for Vice President

Wallace however wasn't without a backup plan, building upon the American Labor Party of New York, he organized, with help from Federal patronage, a third party campaign that took the ALP nationwide.  For his Vice Presidential nominee he managed to convince former Senator George William Norris of Nebraska  to join him in his quixotic quest.
   Henry A. Wallace for President and George W. Norris for Vice President.

Taft decided to concentrate on his reëlection to the Senate and backed Bricker as in our time line.  With a divided Democratic Party, the conservatives are able to insist on a few platform changes, but Dewey's popularity still gives him the upper hand so their 1944 ticket is the same as ours:
   Thomas E. Dewey for President and John W. Bricker for Vice President.

  Maps and other commentary folks?
   
   
   

[Kaine for Senate '18]

McNutt/Byrd: 366
Dewey/Bricker: 165

[minionofmidas]

One would assume that the President of D-Day would be renominated and reelected in 1944. One would also assume that Wallace's views, by 1948, would be very different from the views he held by 1948 in real life.

[Lincoln Republican]

The election is hard fought and bitter, fought against the backdrop of World War II still raging in Europe and the Pacific, and there is a certain resistance to changing administrations from one party to the other during a world war.

There are 531 electoral votes, and Dewey and Bricker fall 1 electoral vote short of outright vcictory, and win more of the popular vote than the Democatic ticket.

In a bitter disappointment, McNutt fails, by a narrow marjin, to carry his home state of Indiana.  During his time as Governor, McNutt gained the reputation of being an old style machine politician, and many in Indiana did not like this aspect of his Governorship.  As well, McNutt had become somewhat detatched from Indiana since 1937, when he was appointed High Commissioner to the Philippines.

Wallace and Norris carry their home states of Iowa and Nebraska, and McNutt and Byrd hang onto just enough states, forcing the election to the House.  The Wallace and Norris wins in Iowa and Nebraska prevent Dewey and Bricker from winning outright in the electoral college.     

Due to the fact there is no electoral college majority, the election goes to the House.  Wallace and Norris ring liberal social concessions out of McNutt and Byrd in return for their support, and the House elects McNutt President.  Byrd is elected Vice President easily by the Senate. 

Dewey/Bricker                      265 EV  47% PV
McNutt/Byrd                          250 EV  42% PV
Wallace/Norris                        16 EV  11% PV

In 1948, there is a rematch between Dewey/Bricker and McNutt/Byrd, in which Dewey and Bricker win by a lopsided majority in the electoral college.

[gorkay]

I think the Democratic ticket would have won in '44 no matter what, mainly because the voters wanted to preserve the continuity of leadership until the war was won. McNutt, who was thought back then to have a promising future that possibly included national office (what happened to him?), would have been a good candidate. I doubt, however, that Byrd would have given up his status as virtual emperor of Virginia for the Vice-Presidency. The Democrats would have gotten a large FDR sympathy vote, as they did a JFK sympathy vote in '64.