alternatehistory.com

Sidney Johnston Catts was basically the early 20th century version of one of those far-right conspiracy nut bloggers who happened to be elected governor of Florida, on the Prohibition Party ticket no less. He was extremely racist, even by Jim Crow-era standards, and also hardcore anti-Catholic. Notably, he believed there was a conspiracy between Germans, Blacks, and Catholics (including Catholic monks) to take over Florida during World War I and move the Vatican to the state to shut down every Protestant Church. He only served one term, and was never elected to another office as much as he tried.

Now your challenge is, how much further can Catts take his political career? If socialism ever looked to be getting out of hand in the US, could Catts be a prominent national figure in the opposition? If a Catholic Republican ever gained any sort of power between the end of his term in 1921 and his death 15 years later, could he play off that? Or was he incapable of ever rising that high on the nation stage?
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