Javelin: If Mitt Romney won in 1994

Reader mode
The Boston Globe: 11/9/1994
  • Index

    • Accurateworldwar

    Banned


    jAVELIN_zpslijvkedr.png

    With thanks to @SargentHawk for the title card
    ​
    Boston- As the results of this years mid-terms started coming in, it was clear that the Republican Party won big this year in a repudiation of the policies of President Clinton. In Massachusetts, Republican nominee for the US Senate Mitt Romney, the son of former Governor George Romney, managed to unseat a longtime member of the Senate, Edward "Ted" Kennedy, in an intense Senate race that saw criticisms of Kennedy's character as well as criticism of Romney's tenure as the CEO of Bain Capital. Romney, in his victory speech, declared that "The people of Massachusetts have spoken, and I will work to serve you well as a representative of the people in the Senate". His victory came very narrowly, winning over Senator Kennedy by a mere ten thousand votes. Senator Kennedy conceded the race gracefully, stating that he "wishes Romney well as he prepares to take office in January". Romney's win was among many for the GOP, which was able to take back both the House of Representatives and the Senate from the Democrats.
    -The Boston Globe, 11/9/1994




     
    Last edited:
  • Index
    • Kennedy vs Romney, 1994
  • Index

    • Accurateworldwar

    Banned
    The Race: Kennedy vs Romney, 1994
    upload_2017-1-10_9-30-45.jpeg

    Senator Kennedy and Republican Senate nominee Mitt Romney in a debate
    ​
    When Mitt Romney decided to make his run for the United States Senate, the incumbent Senator Ted Kennedy proved to be very vulnerable. In several polls, Romney was shown to be ahead of Kennedy by the margin of error, invigorating the Romney campaign. The Democrats were worried enough that President Clinton came into Massachusetts to campaign for Kennedy. Kennedy attempted to hammer Romney on the LDS Church's past policy on forbidding black people from becoming priests, but Romney easily deflected these attacks, stating that "religion should not be an issue in this campaign, and it is shameful that Kennedy continues to make it an issue". Romney also declared his support for the Roe v Wade case during the debates, and he worked to show an image of transparency. The Romney campaign put in 12 million dollars towards the campaign in contrast to Senator Kennedy's 10 million, which many say contributed to Romney's narrow victory in November. During the debates, he worked to keep the image of transparency, and successfully worked to defend himself from attacks against Bain Capital, and the first debate was widely seen as a tie between the two candidates. In the final stretch of the campaign, Romney ran several last-minute campaign ads on the day before election day, portraying a positive image of Romney. On Election Day, the competitive race ended with Romney very narrowly winning the election against Kennedy with around 10,000 votes.
     
  • Index

    • Puzzle

    Donor
    How close was it OTL? I'm enjoying these Romney timelines even if it meets the Salt Lake olympics might have trouble.
     
    Heliogabalus

    Heliogabalus

    KorgusCyborgus said:
    Still couldn't really be considered close.
    Click to expand...
    Yeah, Romney lost by a 17% margin, but that was only after poor campaigning and debate performance. At one point earlier in the race, he was 2% ahead in the polls. It's very possible that he could have won if the race had gone differently.
     
    Prussian1871

    Prussian1871

    KorgusCyborgus said:
    Still couldn't really be considered close.
    Click to expand...

    This is true. Kennedy still won by like 17 points and I feel like this TL doesn't really go over the PoD that changes that. If Romney campaigns better, I'd like to see details on that. If it's a Kennedy/Clinton scandal, I'd like to see that. No offense whatsoever, but this just brushes over what would be the beginning of Senator Romney.

    Without much detail, it's hard to see Romney making a difference even if he does campaign better to beat Kennedy, unless you have say Bill Weld as the candidate. I always wondered what would happen if he went up against Kennedy in an epic showdown. Yeah, he lost to Kerry in 1996, but he kinda went easy on him in an election where the President was reelected handedly and the Democrats generally slumped Republicans. Plus Weld won, like, 70% of the vote in 1994. If there's anyone who could have beaten Kennedy, it probably would have been him.
     
    Heliogabalus

    Heliogabalus

    As I said before, for a time, the race was very close and Romney was actually leading in some polls around September. Just based on the Wikipedia article of the race, I think of a few ways it could have turned against Kennedy. For example, his attack adds could have backfired, or he could have had a poor debate performance.
     

    Blackfox5

    Romney's political inexperience showed, especially in the debates. I think if he was better prepared and performed better, Romney could have won albeit in a close race. A poll on September 20 had Romney ahead 44% to 42%, and another at 43% to 42% ahead, September 25 showed Ted at 48% and Romney at 46%, and in early October it was Ted at 49% and Romney at 44%. These are all in the margin of error and indicate a very close race. The first televised debate was on October 25 after which Ted clearly jumped ahead. Obviously the debate was important in deciding people's opinions.

    At the time, Ted had lost a lot of his appeal. He was an aging bloated alcoholic suffering from the 25th anniversary of the Mary Jo Kopechne death and the 1991 William Kennedy Smith trial in Florida where his nephew was accused of raping a woman he met in a bar where both he and Ted had entered. Smith supposedly raped the woman at the same compound Ted was staying at. Although Smith was acquitted, it did not look good for Ted especially given the sexual peccadillos of his family and his own experience in the Chappaquidick. Ted was carrying a lot of baggage at that point and many wondered if he still could be the liberal lion in the Senate.

    Romney just performed badly in the debates. I've seen the debates - Ted was a complete ass, but his fighting spirit boosted the liberal old guard and Romney did not effectively fight back (a trait which also hurt him in the 2012 debates). I think if Romney was polite, but was much more firm and went on the attack, the election would have been much closer and a slim victory becomes plausible. Romney might not have it in him to do that, but it's certainly a possibility he could have.

    I think the scenario is plausible enough to not discount it.
     
    Senator Romney sworn into office
  • Index

    • Accurateworldwar

    Banned
    upload_2017-1-19_9-0-2.jpeg

    Senator Willard "Mitt" Romney is sworn into office in the Capitol, 1/3/1995
    ​
    WASHINGTON- The 104th United States Congress convened today, with the Republican Party having swept its way to power last November in a repudiation of the incumbent President Bill Clinton. In the House, Republicans hold 232 seats in the House in a majority, while the Democrats hold 202 seats. The new Speaker of the House, Newton L. "Newt" Gingrich, was sworn in today. In the Senate, the Republicans hold 54 Senate seats in a majority, with many notable Democrats having been knocked out of power last year, and all eyes were on the incoming Senator Mitt Romney, who defeated longtime Senator Ted Kennedy in a stunning victory last year. With the Republicans in control of Congress, many in the GOP were optimistic about the future. "We will work for the betterment of the people, and I will work to serve not only the people of Massachusetts, but all Americans". Senator Romney commented to the media after having been sworn in by Vice President Al Gore.
    -The Washington Post, 1/4/1995
     
  • Index
    • Senator Romney's Promise
  • Index

    • Accurateworldwar

    Banned
    images

    Senator Mitt Romney during a live interview on NBC News
    ​
    WASHINGTON- Senator Mitt Romney spoke with NBC News yesterday, talking fiscal policy in regards to the Clinton administration. The Senator stated that he would work to make sure that funds are used responsibly by the Clinton administration, and highlighted the recent Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed at over 4,000 for the first time yesterday. "We are going to make sure that we are responsible with our budget" he said. "We have to slow down the rate of government spending, so the Clinton administration can't be reckless with handling something as important as our budget." The Senator's comments come at a time when the Clinton adminstration is working to expand government work towards Medicare and other government programs.
    -from The Washington Post, 3/1/1995
     
  • Index
    • Reader mode
    You must log in or register to reply here.
    Top
    Top