AHC: President Dale Bumpers

Dale Bumpers died a few days ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Bumpers Challenge: Make him, rather than Jimmy Carter, the "New South" candidate for the presidency--and the winner of both the Democratic nomination and general election in 1976. Or have him, rather than Al Gore, be the southern candidate in 1988, and have him make the breakthrough in the North that eluded Gore.
 
Another way you could get Bumpers the nomination and the Presidency is have Ford win in 1976, which guarantees the Democrats the White House in 1980, and have Mondale or who ever becomes the nominee (after Carter losing in '76, I doubt they'd put a southerner on the top of the ticket again) to pick Bumpers as the Vice Presidential nominee to balance the ticket. They win the election against Reagan or would be Vice President Dole, get re elected in 1984, and Bumpers as the incumbent Vice President during good times, wins the Democratic nomination and the Presidency in 1988.
 
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