Played a bit in President Elect 1988, and found this scenario really interesting, so I made a write-up to go with it.
1968 Delayed.
After sixteen years of Democratic government, first under Kennedy (1961-1969) and then Johnson (1969-1975) and finally under Humphrey (1975-), there was an atmosphere for change.
President Humphrey was determined to win a term in his own right, to continue the Democratic dominance and to see off yet another Republican challenger. This Republican challenger was yet another "old hand", former Vice-President and Governor of California Richard Nixon who challenged Kennedy in his first election all the way back in 1960. He too was determined to win an election and show that he was more than just a vice-president.
And then the former President of the Ford Company, Lee Iacocca, declared that he too was running. Iacocca reached dizzy heights in the polling, but after the campaign trail wore down the three, he fell to third place, behind the two former vice-presidents determined to prove their worth for the top office.
As the campaign went on and Iaccoca fell behind, Humphrey and Nixon turned their fire on to each other. No way was the other going to take their ambition, their aim, from them. As the Times dubbed it "The Final Charge", the two campaigns attacked each other and challenged their candidate as the best. Iacocca still remained strong, but in terms of the Electoral College he was merely a "who?".
Their running mates Governor Mike O'Callaghan of Nevada and Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut were essentially excluded entirely from the narrative as the "Final Charge" dominated the conversation. Which of the former vice-presidents would win in this final lunge for victory after careers of many decades? As November approached, the polls tightened even more.
On Election Night, Humphrey had the lead at first, but as more polls came in, Nixon tightened it further and finally took the lead as the majority of Plains states came in. In the end, those who really really wanted to know who would win the election stayed up until Alaska, which finally put Nixon over the top and confirmed him as the nation's thirty-eighth president.
Fmr. Vice-President Richard M. Nixon (R-CA)/Senator Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (R-CT): 272 EV, 34,110,080 votes (42%)
President Hubert H. Humphrey (D-MN)/Governor Mike O'Callaghan (D-NV): 266 EV, 33,640,264 votes (41%)
Businessman Lee Iacocca (I-MI)/various candidates (I-US): 0 EV, 13,526,986 votes (16%)
1968 Delayed.
After sixteen years of Democratic government, first under Kennedy (1961-1969) and then Johnson (1969-1975) and finally under Humphrey (1975-), there was an atmosphere for change.
President Humphrey was determined to win a term in his own right, to continue the Democratic dominance and to see off yet another Republican challenger. This Republican challenger was yet another "old hand", former Vice-President and Governor of California Richard Nixon who challenged Kennedy in his first election all the way back in 1960. He too was determined to win an election and show that he was more than just a vice-president.
And then the former President of the Ford Company, Lee Iacocca, declared that he too was running. Iacocca reached dizzy heights in the polling, but after the campaign trail wore down the three, he fell to third place, behind the two former vice-presidents determined to prove their worth for the top office.
As the campaign went on and Iaccoca fell behind, Humphrey and Nixon turned their fire on to each other. No way was the other going to take their ambition, their aim, from them. As the Times dubbed it "The Final Charge", the two campaigns attacked each other and challenged their candidate as the best. Iacocca still remained strong, but in terms of the Electoral College he was merely a "who?".
Their running mates Governor Mike O'Callaghan of Nevada and Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut were essentially excluded entirely from the narrative as the "Final Charge" dominated the conversation. Which of the former vice-presidents would win in this final lunge for victory after careers of many decades? As November approached, the polls tightened even more.
On Election Night, Humphrey had the lead at first, but as more polls came in, Nixon tightened it further and finally took the lead as the majority of Plains states came in. In the end, those who really really wanted to know who would win the election stayed up until Alaska, which finally put Nixon over the top and confirmed him as the nation's thirty-eighth president.
Fmr. Vice-President Richard M. Nixon (R-CA)/Senator Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (R-CT): 272 EV, 34,110,080 votes (42%)
President Hubert H. Humphrey (D-MN)/Governor Mike O'Callaghan (D-NV): 266 EV, 33,640,264 votes (41%)
Businessman Lee Iacocca (I-MI)/various candidates (I-US): 0 EV, 13,526,986 votes (16%)
