DBWI-Kennedy Doesn't Primary Carter in 1980

IOTL, Ted Kennedy was able to snatch the Democratic presidential nomination from President Carter in the 1980 presidential election. What would happen if Carter successfully fought off Kennedy's challenge?
 
Honestly I think Carter get the nomination of the Democratic Party in 1980, is ASB.What would happen is that Ronald Reagan was able to become US president and would have policies that would change the 1980s that ATL , or perhaps it would be Bush ..... all depends on whether Reagan would survive the attack made ​​by John Hinckley Jr.
 
Reagan's victory would probably not be such a landslide as It was OTL.

Kennedy was such a liberal that he got just 38% of the vote, while Reagan got 54%.
 
Probably a worse drubbing by Reagan. I'd doubt if Carter could even win a single New England state compared to Kennedy's sweep of the region. New York and Pennsylvania likely goes to Reagan. On the other side Carter could probably swing a few more Southern states like Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, and of course his native Georgia (I think Terry Sanford's acclaimed benefits for the ticket are overstated, but that's another discussion). Texas and Virginia are probably out of the question.
 
Personally, I really can't imagine a scenario where Carter does worse against Reagan than Ted did. I don't know how he could arrange it, but Ted should have copied Reagan's 76 play book of challenging a sitting President and just falling short, so that he could then run in 84. People don't remember how unpopular Reagan was in 1983, but I think Ted might have been able to take him down.
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
Personally, I really can't imagine a scenario where Carter does worse against Reagan than Ted did. I don't know how he could arrange it, but Ted should have copied Reagan's 76 play book of challenging a sitting President and just falling short, so that he could then run in 84. People don't remember how unpopular Reagan was in 1983, but I think Ted might have been able to take him down.

I do concur.

I feel that for Carter to have had a chance, you would need him to not be tarred by his Nephews actions; if you can have Carter in some way handle William Spann's '80 Murder Trial better then he did, or simply avoid the sordid issue all together, you could probably have him win renomination.

The latter might be better; having your Nephew gun down a cop and try to pin it on the guy he was being given a ride by is a situation I don't think even the best Spin Doctor could handle.
 
Last edited:
Top