alternatehistory.com

The straightforward answer to this question might be "of course Nixon, because he was Vice President, led in the polls, etc." But I'd still like to expand on that a little bit.

As we know, Nixon's under-performance in the first debate was critical, and his ill condition was the result of having been in the hospital to treat a knee injury. Plus, as he refused to abandon his pledge to visit all 50 states, his time off the campaign trail messed up his schedule and likely cost him a few crucial states.

What I'm wondering is this: is Nixon's knee injury such a fluke event that, in most timelines where he and JFK were the nominees, Nixon would have won (even if just slightly)? Or was Nixon bound to screw up the campaign for himself, leading Kennedy to win? Was Johnson the key player in this scenario?
Top