In 1958, former Minnesota governor Harold Stassen ran for the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. Apparently he was expected to get the nomination, but the establishment of the GOP recruited Arthur T. McGonigle, a wealthy businessman to run against him. McGonigle went on to defeat Stassen by about 20% before losing to the Democrat in the general election by 2%.
But what if McGonigle had not run, or had and turned out to be a poor candidate, and Stassen had won the nomination? Given how close the general election had been, I think Stassen has at least a chance of winning it, though accusations of carpetbagging could hurt him.
But assuming he can win, does a Stassen who successfully becomes governor revive his political career, and does he remain a factor on the national scene going into the 60's?