Here is one to ponder.
In 1962 the race for Governor of Minnesota was one of the closest on record.
The Democrat ended up winning by 91 votes.
Two years later President Johnson picked Hubert Humphrey as his running mate in the 1964 campaign.
But what if those 91 votes had flipped and the GOP governor had won re-election ?
This would mean that a Humphrey election as VP would allow the governor to appoint a GOP replacement.
Might LBJ have balked picking Humphrey ?
Who might he have picked instead ?
He needed someone to placate the northern liberal faction.
Perhaps Governor Brown of California ?
Or Ed Muskie 4 years earlier (though he was up for re-election in 64) ?
In 1962 the race for Governor of Minnesota was one of the closest on record.
The Democrat ended up winning by 91 votes.
Two years later President Johnson picked Hubert Humphrey as his running mate in the 1964 campaign.
But what if those 91 votes had flipped and the GOP governor had won re-election ?
This would mean that a Humphrey election as VP would allow the governor to appoint a GOP replacement.
Might LBJ have balked picking Humphrey ?
Who might he have picked instead ?
He needed someone to placate the northern liberal faction.
Perhaps Governor Brown of California ?
Or Ed Muskie 4 years earlier (though he was up for re-election in 64) ?