Lets say that for whatever reason Bill Clinton never becomes POTUS, either he doesn't run or he gets defeated. I assume that Hillary will still try for a political career of her own so what course would that take? Could she make it to Congress earlier or later than IOTL? Would she go for a House seat as opposed to the Senate and what would her Presidential chances be viewed as ?
No President Bill Clinton, does Hillary still make it to Congress?
- Thread starter The Oncoming Storm
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For starters, it would depend where she runs. In post places I say no, she really did ride into office on her husband's coattails.
I say no due the the fact she is basically running with her husband endorsing her. Also, I think that maybe she got into the politcal field because of him. Basically, she is a woman running on the endorsements of her husband
Not having national name recognition, she may only have a chance in the House. An advantage in this scenario is that with Bill not being the president, there will only be a local opposition group against her. Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Times, and the American Spectator will probably never mention Hillary and build animosity against her.
Hillary would have to stay in Arkansas, but really it only became possible for her to have an independent electoral career post-Monica. In 1990 they had an acrimonious dispute when the idea of Hillary running to succeed Bill that year was quickly shot down. While dynasties aren't unwelcome in Arkansas, direct succession is a no-go.
Your ad hominem jab aside, Hillary's views on childrens' and family issues would likely impact to some degree her electability to federal office.
Assuming Bill only lost the race for President and was still the Governor of Arkansas/Presidential Nominee she can have a career similar to Liddy Dole's. I'd assume she could run for Senate right off the bat in Arkansas, though maybe stay in the House. Eventually I think she'd be able to run for President, though I don't know when.
Largely unrelated: An interesting TL would be if Hillary ran for President in 2004 instead of 2008,
Largely unrelated: An interesting TL would be if Hillary ran for President in 2004 instead of 2008,
Actually, if it was a scandal on the scale of John Edwards that winds up bringing Bill down, then there would be an outpouring of sympathy for Hillary. She could be a good candidate for Lieutenant Governor at some point. If Bill falls during his 1992 presidential campaign and gets convicted for something, his governorship is over. If it's the special election in 1993, it would likely be Hillary Clinton vs Mike Huckabee.
Liddy Dole had served in senior government posts before POTUS and Senate, Hillary hasn't.