Nader says yes in 1972

in 1972, after Thomas Eagleton dropped out, the McGovern campaign offered Ralph Nader the Vice Presidential spot on the ticket. in OTL he said no, but what would happen if he said yes?
 
McGovern loses by roughly the same margin as IOTL.

However it would be interesting if Nader became a sort of proto-Gore environmentalist within the Democratic Party… although I doubt butterflies are big enough to change anything until—potentially—the 2000 election.
 
Novak stated that had McGovern not initially picked Eagleton as his running mate only to unceremoniously dump him 3 days later, the election of 1972 may not have been such a massive landslide.

Oh it would still be a landslide alright, once McGovern's in that's a certainty. But without Eagleton, McGovern might be able to pick up a few more states. Minnesota and Rhode Island seem safe as they were close in OTL. Perhaps a few more traditionally Democratic States stay that way in 1972?

Assuming that Nader acquits himself well during the campaign and is able to successfully mobilize a portion of the youth vote, I could definitely see him running (successfully) for a seat in the House of Representatives or the Senate in 1974.
 
Top