Could Nixon have been denied the 1960 nomination

Was there any other possible Republican candidate?

If Nixon did not get the shot he did in OTL would that have the effect of downgrading the value of being VP?

Oh and would another candidate have beaten John Kennedy or lost by more?
 
To deny Nixon the 1960 nomination would have put the Republicans in a very bad position. Nixon was the sitting Vice-President and he was seeking the Republican Presidential nomination. Denying it to him would have been almost as bad as having a sitting President eligable and running for re-election and denying him the party's nomination. It has happened only a few times in history, I believe the last time was The Democrats in 1920, and when it has that party lost pretty badly in the general election.
 
Rockefeller.

Same deal as JFK—kick Nixon's ass in a bunch of primaries (as, I believe, he would have) and the party bosses will give him the nomination.

He'll then handily beat JFK in the general (if Nixon came close, Rockefeller—who got, incidentally, even bigger crowds than JFK—would win).


And I don't agree with The Mists Of Time—denying a sitting VP the nomination is nothing like denying a sitting President the nomination. No one was troubled in 1988 by Bush challengers, and if Gore had been beaten by Bradley in 2000 no one would have cared.

It's not really a big deal to challenge, or beat, a sitting VP it's just quite tough to do so.

Further this was Nixon. Even Eisenhower didn't like Nixon. If Rockefeller shows that he is successful, he gets the nod and likely beats JFK (does better in debates, and Eisenhower doesn't kneecap him).
 
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