us politics

According to wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson#Senate_Democratic_leader LBJ suffered a nearly fatal heart attack in 1955. What if instead of narrowly surviving and quitting smoking he died that day? How would us politics change as a result? Who would be the new senate...

The POD is that William Gibbs McAdoo never accepts campaign contributions from Edward L. Doheny, an oil tycoon implicated in the Teapot Dome Scandal. McAdoo is able to overcome his opposition and win the Democratic nomination for President in 1924. McAdoo, not John W. Davis, will be facing...

After he lost the Presidency in 1960 and the California Governorship in 1962, most assumed that Richard Nixon's political career was over. But in 1968 he was renominated by the GOP and he defeated Vice-President Hubert Humphrey in November. After two ignominious defeats, it's hard to see why...

The POD is that neither Goldwater or Rockefeller obtain enough delegates to win the Republican Presidential nomination in 1964. A brokered convention puts forward moderate Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton as a compromise candidate, and he goes on to face President Johnson in November...

Ronald Reagan served as President of the United States from 1977-1985 as a Democrat. Reagan was a lifelong New Dealer who had served as President of the Screen Actors Guild before entering politics. He lost his first race for the House in 1952, but he came back in 1953 when he was elected as...

The 1936 election is famous for FDR's massive landslide against Alf Landon, who only won two states - Vermont and Maine. Is it possible that Landon could have done better against the popular Roosevelt? What is the best possible showing that he could have realistically made in the election?

What would have been the result of the 1868 US Presidential election if Abraham Lincoln was never assassinated?

What if Joe Kennedy Jr had survived WWII, and went on to enter politics after the war instead of JFK?

In 1812 the Federalists considered nominating Chief Justice John Marshall for President, but backed off when DeWitt Clinton ran as an anti-war Republican. They decided not to field a candidate that year. While Clinton got much Federalist support, with the rest going to Rufus King, he nonetheless...

In 1948, FBI Director secretly fed information to Tom Dewey's presidential campaign in the hopes of getting appointed Attorney General - with the ultimate goal of joining the Supreme Court. The POD is Dewey goes with his gut and aggressively campaigns against Truman, allowing him to win the...

Despite great reluctance, General Dwight Eisenhower accepted a draft for the Republican nomination in 1948. He defeated his GOP rivals at the party convention and went on to win the Presidency in a landslide. But what if Eisenhower had declined to run?

In the lead up to the 2004 election, Al Gore was widely expected to run for President once again. But he declined. What if Gore had run?

In 1893, President Grover Cleveland tragically died while under going surgery for throat cancer. The operation was a botched affair, carried out in secret on a boat in the middle of the night. Vice-President Adlai Stevenson, who succeeded Cleveland upon his death, was not told until after the...

Despite his widespread popularity, President Calvin Coolidge considered not running for a second full term in 1928. His son's death and the stress of the presidency had taken a toll on him, and secretly he wanted out. But driven by his resentment of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover, and under...

In 1940, FDR was under pressure to run for a third term as President. But in keeping with Washington's precedent, he declined to do so. What if Franklin Roosevelt had run for a third term?

Martin Sheen's portrayal of Jed Bartlett on "The West Wing" is one of the most popular fictional Presidents of all time. But could a man like Jed Bartlett have been elected President in real life?

As any history buff knows, Robert F. Kennedy was one of only two U.S. Presidents to have been the brother of another President. His older brother John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960, while RFK was elected in 1976. What POD would it take to prevent Bobby Kennedy from becoming President? And what...

1976 was one of the great political upsets of all time. Despite entering the race with a 33% deficit, President Ford won a full term after a strong performance in the TV debates. But Ford was known to be clumsy, and had he messed up in the debates the election could easily have gone the other...

The POD is that instead of assassinating RFK, Sirhan Sirhan tries to kill President Johnson as he initially planned to do in OTL. However, the attempt is foiled by the Secret Service and Sirhan goes to jail. Kennedy continues his presidential campaign and comes close to the nomination, but he...

The POD is JFK experiences a health scare in 1959 that convinces him to sit out the 1960 election and instead wait for 1964. Without Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey wins the Democratic nomination and faces Vice-President Nixon in the general. Who wins the election?