1960 - Battle of the Two-Timing Losers

[CPT MikeyMike]

Another implausible scenario but what the heck...

In 1960 Richard Nixon keeps his promise to his wife and decides to retire from public life. Meanwhile with the Republican nomination wide open, former Presidential Candidate Tom Dewey decides to try for the White House a third time. He is successful in receiving the nomination and selects Kentucky Senator Thruston Morton as his running mate.

Meanwhile, Adlai Stevenson attempts a third run, knowing that he will not be running against Ike again, is nominated and selects Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey as his running mate.

Another battle of the losers. At least it will be a "third times a charm" for someone. But for who?

[Lincoln Republican]

Dewey wins his home state of New York, and adds the big northeast states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, plus Michigan in the midwest, and takes traditionally Republican states in the plains and mountain regions, sending him on his way, at last, to victory and to the White House.  Morton delivers Kentucky.  Nixon campaigns for Dewey in California, helping him win the state.

The south returns almost solidly to the Democrats and Stevenson.

Dewey/Morton                     298
Stevenson/Humphrey          239

[HappyWarrior]

Dewey wins his home state of New York, and adds the big northeast states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, plus Michigan in the midwest, and takes traditionally Republican states in the plains and mountain regions, sending him on his way, at last, to victory and to the White House.  Morton delivers Kentucky.  Nixon campaigns for Dewey in California, helping him win the state.

The south returns almost solidly to the Democrats and Stevenson.

Dewey/Morton                     298
Stevenson/Humphrey          239

Seems about right.  I've noticed ur posts are getting less hackish, good job lol

[CPT MikeyMike]

Winfield - I actually think you were generous to Stevenson.

With the success of Eisenhower, I would have imagined that Dewey might have a chance to win some of the southern states that Ike did like Texas and Florida. Granted Dewey is a Yankee Republican but those states were trending Republican during the 1950's.

Also I would give Connecticut and Massachusetts to the Republicans. Yes I said that. My logic there is Ike won both of those states by large margins in '52 and '56 and with a Yankee Republican running, Dewey does run stronger than Nixon in New England.

Your thoughts?

 

[gorkay]

Hard to see how Dewey, after blowing the 1948 election and being out of Presidential politics for 12 years, would have gotten the Republican nomination. But if he had, I think Stevenson would've beaten him.

[CPT MikeyMike]

With the support and endorsement of the Kennedys, without a doubt Stevenson would have carried Massachussets and other new england states without a doubt.

First learn to spell M-A-S-S-A-C-H-U-S-E-T-T-S. We have a damn spell checker here - USE IT!

Your logic has no standing. First Kennedy was not even on the ticket in 1960. It was a Stevenson/Humphrey ticket.  His support wouldn't move the state. His support would be like Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki winning New York for George W. Bush in 2004. It wasn't going to happen. Besides the Kennedys backed Stevenson in 1956 and lost the Massachusetts by over 20% proving that the Kennedys can influence the ballot box there.

You talk about what Dewey winning some states because of Eisenhower. Let me remind you that Dewey and Eisenhower are not the same.

Ike would have suppored Dewey 100%. Ike got the '52 nomination thanks to Dewey and Dewey was solidly behind the Eisenhower administration. Ike even mentioned Dewey (as well as Earl Warren and Henry Cabot Lodge) as his successor in 1956 thus showing that Ike still had high standing for Dewey.  Ike would be more enthusiastic about a Dewey/Morton ticket and would do more to help than harm the campaign.

[Lincoln Republican]

Winfield - I actually think you were generous to Stevenson.

With the success of Eisenhower, I would have imagined that Dewey might have a chance to win some of the southern states that Ike did like Texas and Florida. Granted Dewey is a Yankee Republican but those states were trending Republican during the 1950's.

Also I would give Connecticut and Massachusetts to the Republicans. Yes I said that. My logic there is Ike won both of those states by large margins in '52 and '56 and with a Yankee Republican running, Dewey does run stronger than Nixon in New England.

Your thoughts?

 

CPT, I thought of such southern states as Virginia, Florida, Oklahoma, which showed strong Republican support at that time, and still do, going to Dewey.  Given the fact that Dewey was a liberal northeast Republican, however, I believe, may have returned these states to the Democratic fold, at least for this election.  Not that Stevenson was a great candidate, far from it, but they may have found the midwestern liberal more pallatable than the northeastern liberal.

Morton may have helped to draw in Tennessee to the Republican side.

Dewey may have taken Connecticut, Massachusetts would have been competitive, Rhode Island goes to Stevenson, but definitely Dewey carries Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, by wide margins.

 

[Lincoln Republican]

Alternate map, showing a strong trend to Dewey, and a rejection of Stevenson.   

Dewey/Morton                         347
Stevenson/Humphrey              190

[Robespierre's Jaw]

I would have thought that a State's Right's ticket would have gained a few EV's in this scenario. They did in RL 1960 by gaining Mississippi and Alabama's Electoral college votes.

[gorkay]

Winfield - I actually think you were generous to Stevenson.

With the success of Eisenhower, I would have imagined that Dewey might have a chance to win some of the southern states that Ike did like Texas and Florida. Granted Dewey is a Yankee Republican but those states were trending Republican during the 1950's.

Also I would give Connecticut and Massachusetts to the Republicans. Yes I said that. My logic there is Ike won both of those states by large margins in '52 and '56 and with a Yankee Republican running, Dewey does run stronger than Nixon in New England.

Your thoughts?

 

CPT, I thought of such southern states as Virginia, Florida, Oklahoma, which showed strong Republican support at that time, and still do, going to Dewey.  Given the fact that Dewey was a liberal northeast Republican, however, I believe, may have returned these states to the Democratic fold, at least for this election.  Not that Stevenson was a great candidate, far from it, but they may have found the midwestern liberal more pallatable than the northeastern liberal.

Morton may have helped to draw in Tennessee to the Republican side.

Dewey may have taken Connecticut, Massachusetts would have been competitive, Rhode Island goes to Stevenson, but definitely Dewey carries Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, by wide margins.

I wouldn't call Dewey a liberal by 1960 standards. He was more of a middle-of-the-roader. I doubt that he would have attracted many liberal votes outside the Republican party.
You have to take into account the personalities and abilities as campaigners of the two. Dewey's two campaigns for the Presidency were failures, and for opposite reasons... he was seen as too strident in 1944 and too complacent in 1948. This suggests that he really had no talent or instinct as a campaigner and just went with what his advisers told him to. It's true that Stevenson's two tries for the Presidency were failures as well, but I really believe that he would have fared much better had he not had to go up both times against one of the most popular figures in American history. If debates had been held between the two in 1960, I can easily see Stevenson carving Dewey up pretty badly... he was a great public speaker and a skilled, witty extemporizer, where Dewey's public utterances were noted for their banality. Of course, it's also possible that Dewey could have learned from his past mistakes and corrected them.
Two other factors which I feel would have favored Stevenson. First, the Democrats were on the upswing after having lost the last two Presidential elections. They had made big gains in the 1958 Congressional elections. Second, I think Humphrey would have been a much more dynamic and effective vice-presidential candidate than Morton.