Lyndon Baines Johnson defeats W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel

I'm not sure how plausible this is, but what if the 1941 Texan Senatorial election had gone the other way, and LBJ had entered the Senate in 1942? What would the consequences of a Johnson victory in that election be both for the country and Johnson himself?
 
Certainly plausible. LBJ won that election, O'Daniel's enemies stole it from LBJ to keep O'Daniel out of Texas. If John Connally had not told the judges in South Texas to report their findings immediately, LBJ could have cheated in the South to offset O'Daniel's cheating in the West.
LBJ serves in the war per OTL. He had made that promise during the '41 campaign IOTL.
LBJ becomes Majority Leader after Barkely, meaning that the Fair Deal probably succeeds. LBJ saved the House from going Republican in '40, come '48 the Dems could have a larger majority.
So I could see UHC and Civil Rights in Truman's second term. If China doesn't intervene in Korea, a Dem (it could be Truman. Or it could not.) wins in '52. LBJ has a good chance of being on the ticket there or in '56 or '60.
 
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Certainly plausible. LBJ won that election, O'Daniel's enemies stole it from LBJ to keep O'Daniel out of Texas. If John Connally had not told the judges in South Texas to report their findings immediately, LBJ could have cheated in the South to offset O'Daniel's cheating in the West.
LBJ becomes Majority Leader after Barkely, meaning that the Fair Deal might succeed. LBJ saved the House from going Republican in '40, come '48 the Dems could have a larger majority.

LBJ would not become Majority Leader- he would be Scott Lucas' whip. Now that would be an interesting relationship, because while Lucas wasn't nearly as effective as LBJ he was still a strong personality with a mercurial temperament and close to Truman. If Lucas still goes down in '50 (and Korea+ McCarthy, the 2 reasons why he lost IOTL, could be butterflied away) then LBJ becomes Majority Leader 2 years earlier than OTL. If not, then he stays as whip.
 
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