Dixiecrats 1964

If Goldwater did not get the Republican nomination in 1964, would Southern Democrats have bolted the national party and supported the GOP nominee, especially if that nominee is a moderate? Or would they attempt what they did in 1948 and run their own candidates?
 
George Wallace was going to run until Goldwater sucked all away all his support; then there was a brief stint where a Republican Congressmen suggested Goldwater make Wallace his Running-Mate. As you can probably guess Goldwater never seriously considered the idea due to the connotations such a ticket would bring.

If Goldwater isn't in, then Wallace sure as hell is.


Edit: Any other Republican will pick up more states (some in the West, Vermont/Maine/New Hampshire), but still get clobbered overall.
 
LBJ had far greater control over the party than Truman did. He was an extremely skilled political operative, and as a southerner himself was able to reach out to other southerners in a way that a northern liberal could not. He was also someone you had to be leery of crossing. Antagonizing LBJ could hurt your political career in Congress in a way that Truman never could. LBJ also had the advantage that he was able to invoke the name of JFK.

So while it is possible someone might defect from the pary and challenge LBJ (like George Wallace did in 1968), that person might as well be ending his political career.
 
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