1952 without Eisenhower

JoeMulk

Banned
If Eisenhower hadn't sought the Republican nomination in 52 could the moderates have gotten somebody plausably to stop Taft? If Taft got the nomination he'd probably be seen as too conservative and lose to Stevenson. He'd definitly lose some midwestern states due to Taft-Hartley.
 
I wouldn't count Taft out. Remember, the Truman administration was deeply unpopular, and therefore the election would be a uphill battle for Adlai Stevenson in any case. Even if Truman was personally popular, his party has held the White House since 1933. By 1952 incumbent fatigue had certainly set in. If given the choice I'd certainly prefer President Stevenson to President Taft, but I'm not sure the electorate of 1952 would agree. That said I can see Taft vs. Stevenson being considerably closer than the election that actually happened, since Taft is a far more partisan figure than Eisenhower was.

What really matters here, in my opinion, is who Taft chooses as his VP. Taft is still going to die in 1953, and so a Taft victory really means the Presidency of whoever Taft selects as Vice President.
 
I wouldn't count Taft out. Remember, the Truman administration was deeply unpopular, and therefore the election would be a uphill battle for Adlai Stevenson in any case. Even if Truman was personally popular, his party has held the White House since 1933. By 1952 incumbent fatigue had certainly set in. If given the choice I'd certainly prefer President Stevenson to President Taft, but I'm not sure the electorate of 1952 would agree. That said I can see Taft vs. Stevenson being considerably closer than the election that actually happened, since Taft is a far more partisan figure than Eisenhower was.

What really matters here, in my opinion, is who Taft chooses as his VP. Taft is still going to die in 1953, and so a Taft victory really means the Presidency of whoever Taft selects as Vice President.


Truman was polling in the low 20s (where Nixon was in August 1974!) in 1952, which along with Bess' refusal was the reason he didn't run again. K1C2, plus a crappy economy, incumbency fatigue and a deeply unpopular Democratic Party point to a Taft win. He probably picks Nixon since Nixon had ties to both camps and was trusted by both wings. So President Nixon 16 years earlier than OTL.
 
Top