Nixon 1964

What if Richard Nixon had won the 1962 California Gubernatorial and in 1964 rides the momentum into the Republican nomination and defeating Kennedy in the general election?

Would there be a Dixiecrat candidate in 1964 if Goldwater isn't the GOP nominee?

Who would be Nixon's running mate?
 

Paul Large

Banned
Nixon knew better then to try and run against Kennedy in 64 and after his death he would know Johnson had it in a lock
 
Nixon knew better then to try and run against Kennedy in 64 and after his death he would know Johnson had it in a lock
For what it’s worth (but I might be mistaken), I believe Nixon himself said that he feel like he would’ve had the nomination thrust upon him in ‘64 if he had won in ‘62, particularly as a middle ground between Goldwater and Rockefeller.

In any event, Nixon would lose to LBJ, though far more respectably than Goldwater did. The Republicans probably nominate Goldwater, Rockefeller, Romney, or Bill Scranton in ‘68, and, which likely means a better result for the Democrats.
 
If I were Governor Nixon of California, I would have done everything in my power to resist being the Republican nominee in 1964. While yes Kennedy was not a lock to win re-election in 1964, once he was assassinated I believe that Nixon would have understood that President Johnson was in a rare position as Kennedy's successor. A vote for LBJ was a vote for America. Nixon would have had a hard time countering that particularly running a Southern strategy in 1964.
 
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