Attn: Kennedy Experts. WI LBJ dies 1961-1963?

A random thought popped into my head today, thought I'd ask the board's resident Kennedy experts before skipping a study session and checking out even more books from the library.

LBJ wasn't the healthiest of guys, he died shortly after he left office, what if he'd kicked the bucket a decade earlier? Some kind of heart attack, nasty fall down the stairs, pick your poison. Only thing is it's after LBJ's been inaugurated as VPOTUS.

Anyways, I was wondering who JFK would pick to replace him as VP. I assume if LBJ dies early enough (sometime in 61?), JFK would have to make a selection sooner or later. Here are my thoughts on possible selections in no particular order. Feel free to critique them or add your own.

Hubert Humphrey: A fairly big figure in the party, main problem I see is the fact that there's nobody to draw the south into voting democrat with two Northern Liberals on the ticket.

Stuart Symington: Supposedly he's one of the guys Kennedy originally wanted as his running mate. Again support of civil rights is going to hurt his chances in the South. Furthermore Missouri doesn't carry that many votes in the electoral college.

Henry Jackson: Same as Symington. Nothing to draw the south in, Washington's a small state in the grand scheme of things.

Orval Faubus: A staunch segregationist in the 50's this former governor of Arkansas moderated considerably in the 1960's where he won 81% of the black vote in 1964. He might be a choice to keep the Southern Democrats onboard.

George Smathers: Senator from Florida, close friend of JFK, ran his 1960 campaign in the Southeast. Seems like a good choice to replace LBJ thoughts?

Ralph Yarborough: Liberal Texan senator not sure if he had the moxie to win the South...

Others?
 
Useless speculation - the Amendment that provided for an appointed and confirmed Vice President if the incumbent VPOTUS dies is not in effect in 1961. The Speaker of the House becomes next in line, IIRC that would be John McCormack after Speaker Sam croakes in early 1961. Excpet for the impact on the line of succession, losing LBJ after he had done his job by securing enough southern votes (and crooked Texas votes) to elect JFKif JFK has zilch effect on anything except maybe Annie Glenn's experience during hubbie's orbital flight. It has big impact still gets plugged in Dallas and old man Mac becomes interim president with no mandate and no real clue as to how to proceed. Now you have a free for all 1964 Democratic nomination (ain't no way old Mac stands for his own term) and probably a much altered GOP experience (if the nomination is not a throwaway then the Eastern Establishment puts up a much stiffer fight against AuH2O). If LBJ kicking the bucket butterflies away Dallas, then JFK can pick anyone he wants as VP in a cruise-control reelection. I would bet on Smathers given the close relationship, giving him a leg up on the 68 nomination.
 
It probably would've been Humphrey in 1964. Name recognition was a bit stronger and he was a campaign asset. The south would be lost anyway with civil rights legislation, but Kennedy would win either way.
 
Faubus would NOT be a good choice, because at this point, the Dixiecrats were practically a lost cause for Kennedy anyway, and there was no point in further alienating civil rights groups by picking the man who appeared on national television affirming something along the lines of segregation now and forever. Kennedy was already beginning to upset some in the civil rights movement by his inability to pass significant legislative reforms in that area, so picking Faubus would do little to gain support among that demographic.
 
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