And who suceeded him? I'm on the edge of my seat.
Thought it’d be fun to split it by era/party system, with pre-Worthington being the Fifth Party System, Humphrey being that party system’s spent energy and Percy being the first forces against it. The Sixth Party System begins with a president not beholden to either major party. He founds the Independence Party while in office, which is a centrist, populist political vehicle. With the presidency gained, the following elections, beginning in ‘82 see the Independence Party begins to build its caucuses in the House (where many incumbents defected to the new president) and the senate (which had two independent senators, minus John Chafee, who join the party upon its creation).
1988:
Sen. Jack Eckerd (R/I-FL)/Gov. Robert Finch (R/I-CA)
Gov. Samuel Griffin (D-GA)/Gov. Robert Edgar (D-PA)
1992:
Pres. Jack Eckerd (R/I-FL)/VP Robert Finch (R/I-CA)
Sen. William Arnone (D-NY)/Lawrence Fountain (D-NC)
1996:
Sen. Pierre Howard (D/I-GA)/Gov. Jack Cullerton (D/I-IL)
Gov. Fred Thompson (R-TN)/ Gov.John Silber (R-TX)
2000:
Pres. Pierre Howard (D-GA)/VP Jack Cullerton (D-IL)
Gov. Fred Thompson (R/I-TN)/Sen. Tommy Thompson (R/I-WI)
2004:
Gov. Nat Goldhaber (IR-OR)/Sen. Matt McCoy (IR-NC)
VP Jack Cullerton (D-IL)/Sen. William Waller (D-MS)
WI: Johnson dies of a heart attack in 1967
Abridged list of Presidents:
36th - Lyndon Baines Johnson 1963-1967* (Democratic)
37th - Hubert Horatio Humphrey 1967-1973 (Democratic)
38th - Charles Harting Percy 1973-1981 (Republican)
39th - Calvin Coolidge Worthington 1981-1989 (Independent/Independence)
*Died in office
40th -
Jack Milton Eckerd (
Republican)
41st -
Pierre DuVinage Howard (
Democratic)
42nd -
A. Nathaniel Goldhaber (
Independent Republican)
Following Cal Worthington’s re-election, it became very clear to the Independence Party that they cannot run a reliably successful candidate as a third party. From then on, they would attempt to be a kingmaker, co-endorsing the Democratic or Republican candidate that best aligned with their interests. Worthington left office with a 66% approval rating and would serve as the party’s premier member, and only president, for the rest of his life.
His immediate successor would be Florida Republican Senator Jack Eckerd, a rich, flamboyant drug company owner who nearly divided both parties with his nomination. The growing conservative movement within the Republican Party backed Rep. Pat Buchanan of Virginia in the primaries against Eckerd and hundreds of Buchanan’s delegates boycotted the RNC rather than nominate him. They would attempt to run Buchanan on a Conservative Party ticket line, but failed to gain ballot access in half of the states along with very little national attention, which was focused in on Democratic Party infighting and Eckerd’s remarkable charisma and dual party endorsements. Sam Griffin of Georgia and Bob Edgar of Pennsylvania had spent the election season rallying against each other and proved a poor unity ticket. Bill Arnone and Lawrence Fountain, both boring technocrats, worked much better together but were hardly able to win over anybody besides Democratic partisans. Eckerd would serve eight years, overseeing the Colombian War and the Tech Boom of the 1990s.
Eckerd’s term ended with a recession, minor compared to the economic woes of the ‘70s, but still the worst economic situation since then. Georgia Governor, “boy wonder” Pierre Howard would succeed Eckerd, winning the Independent nomination over the Tennessean Fred Thompson. He would institute a national healthcare system and pull his entire party kicking and screaming into embracing social democracy. Among some, this ran counter to his campaign into office, which was about unity and improving the economy, but came about fixing its faults so nobody was left out to suffer. For his re-election campaign, Howard would once again face Fred Thompson, but this time Thompson would be armed with the Independence endorsement. Their defeat would be a major rejection of business centrism as the ruling philosophy for the nation. The Independence Party would also see major losses in the following midterms. Weak and on the decline, the Independence Party would agree to uniting with the Republican Party, giving the new Independent Republican Party a majority in the Senate. This majority would obstruct and stonewall President Howard whenever possible.
Howard spent his last two years in office as a lame duck, but still pretty damn popular. His VP, the very old Jack Cullerton, would narrowly lose to Oregon Governor Nat Goldhaber. Goldhaber was a very liberal Republican and a committed environmentalist. His election swept a new generation of liberal-leaning Republicans into power, the most left wing GOP leadership since Teddy Roosevelt’s time. He would do all he could to balance the budget and strengthen environmental protections, coming up short of his desired goals, but achieving enough to satisfy himself and his base.
