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The POD from OTL begins in October 1964, in the midst of a heated election campaign. The 1964 election involved a series of debates between Johnson and Goldwater. Barry Goldwater knew he was far behind and had nothing to lose, so he goaded Johnson into a series of debates to try and repair his image. This strategy was not bad, however the debates made Goldwater seem more extremist and sympathetic to Southern Jim Crow supporters. Goldwater especially stumbled when he gave a vague answer on how he would enforce existing civil rights laws and waffled on the idea of extending voting rights to disenfranchised Southern blacks. The black community virtually turned out for Johnson, while Goldwater strengthened his appeal to conservatives and segregationists. The ultimate shift led to Goldwater losing Arizona by a margin of 0.58%, but winning Florida by 1.02%. In OTL, these states were flipped, giving Goldwater a consolation prize of his home state in addition to the Deep South. But with the loss of Arizona, Goldwater came off as even more of a loser, and he consequently left politics, not running for his Senate seat again. The results are as follows:

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The House elections were even worse for Republicans, as the swing led to an even worse downballot disaster for the party. The Democrats saw a swing of 3.2% in the House Elections, which netted them 15 more seats in California, Illinois, Ohio, Idaho, New York, and Wisconsin. It was quite clear that the liberal gain was intense, which would pave the way for Johnson’s Great Society. The Senate elections were just as bad: Democrats defended California and won Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. With 74 seats in the Senate, Democrats now had a filibuster proof majority, a majority that enabled them to press onward with an even stronger agenda. The Republican wipeout led to a round of soul-searching, and ultimately a more conservative, radical path forward for the party than in OTL.


Goldwater would turn towards spirituality in the aftermath of his loss, and he would come upon the Baha’i Faith in 1967. In a time of widespread racial unrest and rioting, he would find himself drawn to the teachings of peace and racial unity/equality, causing him to join and committing himself to a higher, more noble goal.
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