Let's say that for some reason GW Bush is not a candidate in 2000. (My standard POD is that Clayton Williams avoids the infamous rape joke, and wins the Texas governorship in 1990--even *with* the joke, he came within 2.5 points of winning. https://en.wikipedia.org/…/Texas_gubernatorial_election,_19… Bush can't very well challenge the incumbent GOP governor in 1994, and as with Jeb, winning in 1998 doesn't give him enough experience for 2000.) Without a Bush, to whom does the party turn? McCain is suspect to some Republicans as too maverick-y, and as for Liddy Dole--well the GOP hadn't had much luck with her husband four years earlier. In OTL, Kasich's campaign for the 2000 nomination was quite short-lived and unsuccessful. But that was because Bush's Establishment backing was so overwhelming. As Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Kasich was popular with Republicans, who argued that he rather than Clinton was responsible for the first balanced budget in decades. Could he get the nomination in this ATL?