George Wallace becomes a Republican

samcster94

Banned
George Wallace was a very conservative Democrat(albeit had moderated on race) late in life, and had even voted for Bush. What would it take, even in retirement, for himself to officially call himself a Republican???
 
He offered to switch parties during 1964 if Barry Goldwater agreed to make him VP. Goldwater didn't because Wallace was only popular in the south, but maybe if he knew he was gonna lose the election, he might just to get the South in the Republican voting block for future elections.
 
What sense would it make for Goldwater to choose Wallace as his running mate in 1964? Goldwater tried to maintain that he voted against the civil rights bill of 1964 not out of any sympathy for segregation but because he questioned the constitutionality of some of its provisions. Choosing an avowed segregationist like Wallace as his running mate would destroy this defense of his vote. Whether you think Goldwater was sincere about this or not, it was the minimum he could do to keep some moderate Republicans supporting him. If he had chosen Wallace, he would have done even worse than in OTL with Republicans in the North--and would gain absolutely nothing in the South in return. For the segregationists were supporting him anyway. He got 87.14 percent of the vote in MS and 69.45 percent in AL (where LBJ wasn't even on the ballot!)--how can he do any better with Wallace on his ticket? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1964
 
@David T I had the same exact thought, though technically the OP isn't necessarily about that.

As for what (if anything) this would change...I can't think of much, honestly. Part of it depends on when he decides to switch. 1968? 1972, in a scenario where HHH wins in '68? 1976, 1980, etc.? The only one of these where I can see Wallace having any chance in a Republican Presidential primary would be the HHH wins scenario, assuming he still moderates to some extent on the race issue anyways. And even then, I don't know how effective he'd be in a general election.
 
@David T I had the same exact thought, though technically the OP isn't necessarily about that.

As for what (if anything) this would change...I can't think of much, honestly. Part of it depends on when he decides to switch. 1968? 1972, in a scenario where HHH wins in '68? 1976, 1980, etc.? The only one of these where I can see Wallace having any chance in a Republican Presidential primary would be the HHH wins scenario, assuming he still moderates to some extent on the race issue anyways. And even then, I don't know how effective he'd be in a general election.

I mean it would change a lot. Though it's a stretch that Goldwater would choose him, if he does it makes Wallace a contender in '68, taking the support of the increasingly powerful Southern delegates from Nixon. It was widely surmised that if the convention deadlocked on the first ballot, Reagan would be the compromise candidate. In fact, he tried to take southern delegates from Nixon with a 'Stop Nixon' campaign, but Strom Thurmond's support of Nixon kept them secure. With Wallace in the running, Reagan would likely become the final compromise candidate in a convention split between Nixon, Wallace and Rockefeller. Unlike Nixon, he'd probably pick a liberal like John Lindsay as his VP.

EDIT: ik this is kind of irrelevant, but Humphrey would probably pick Connally as his VP, as there was talk of it during the convention that never materialized, while ITTL Texas would be a key swing state that Humphrey and Johnson would take no risks in shoring up.
 
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I mean it would change a lot. Though it's a stretch that Goldwater would choose him, if he does it makes Wallace a contender in '68, taking the support of the increasingly powerful Southern delegates from Nixon. It was widely surmised that if the convention deadlocked on the first ballot, Reagan would be the compromise candidate. In fact, he tried to take southern delegates from Nixon with a 'Stop Nixon' campaign, but Strom Thurmond's support of Nixon kept them secure. With Wallace in the running, Reagan would likely become the final compromise candidate in a convention split between Nixon, Wallace and Rockefeller. Unlike Nixon, he'd probably pick a liberal like John Lindsay as his VP. Humphrey-Muskie is still probably the democratic ticket.

I was referring to Wallace flipping in general, not his becoming Goldwater's running mate in '64. That would obviously be more consequential.
 
I don't think he'd get far as a Republican. Wasn't Wallace a New Dealer on economic issues? That wouldn't fly well with Business Conservatives and many Movement Conservatives.
 
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