Reagan-Laxalt in 1980?

In 1992, Bill Clinton defied conventional wisdom about ticket-balancing and chose Al Gore as his running mate, giving the Democrats a national ticket of two youngish southern "new Democrats." Suppose Reagan had done the same in 1980 and chosen Paul Laxalt as his running mate, giving the GOP a ticket of two genial western conservatives? (Nancy Reagan thought that her husband preferred Laxalt and only rejected him for geographical reasons. http://books.google.com/books?id=ywa9p2PNLzAC&pg=PA43) Presumably the ticket wins, but what then? Can Laxalt get the GOP presidential nomination in 1988? After all, he will be younger then than Reagan was in 1980...

(Another thing I wonder about is whether his daughter's affair with Pete Domenici will come out earlier than it did in OTL: "During the 1970s, Laxalt's daughter Michelle had a son, Adam Laxalt, with Laxalt's then-Senate colleague, Sen. Pete Domenici from New Mexico. Adam is currently the Attorney General of Nevada.[14] The affair was not brought to light until 2013." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Laxalt)
 
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