LBJ's career without majority leadership?

IOTL LBJ advanced so quickly in part because of his talent, but partly because of the GOP's scalping strategy. In 1950 Scott Lucas fell to Ev Dirksen, in 1952 Ernest McFarland to Barry Goldwater. Let's say that one or both of them hang on. How does LBJ's career progress?
 
My guess is that Coke Stevenson will win his rematch in 1954 over LBJ (he won the 1948 Democratic primary by 48 votes) and align with the Dixiecrats.

If Ralph Yarborough is still elected to the Senate in 1957 and reelected in 1958, Jack Kennedy might pick Yarborough as his running mate.

Now that would make a great TL.
 
My guess is that Coke Stevenson will win his rematch in 1954 over LBJ (he won the 1948 Democratic primary by 48 votes) and align with the Dixiecrats.

If Ralph Yarborough is still elected to the Senate in 1957 and reelected in 1958, Jack Kennedy might pick Yarborough as his running mate.

Now that would make a great TL.

The Genocide says that after he lost to LBJ in '48 IOTL, Stevenson became so enbittered that he switched parties: supporting Nixon in '60 and Goldwater in '64. So I doubt that.

IOTL McFarland resented LBJ enormously because he overshadowed him both in terms of personality and effectiveness, almost an early version of Reid-Schumer. However under Lucas that might be different- he was a moderate New Dealer like LBJ, but nowhere near as effective in parliamentary terms. By 1962, Lucas might decide to pack it in at 70 and therefore LBJ becomes Majority Leader 8 years later than OTL.
 
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