alternatehistory.com

In 1970, there was a three way race for the US Senate from New York. The candidates were Richard Ottinger, the Democrat, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Ottinger a liberal congressman who had shown an interest in the environment before it became fashionable; Charles Goodell, the nominal Republican candidate (he had been a moderate conservative in the House of Representatives but had moved steadily to the left after Governor Rockefeller appointed him to the Senate to fill Robert Kennedy's seat) who also had the backing of the Liberal Party; and James Buckley, the Conservative candidate, who the Nixon-Agnew administration clearly regarded as the *real* Republican candidate. (Even Rockefeller thought Goodell had moved too far to the left, and tacitly supported Buckley.) Anyway, Spiro Agnew's baiting of Goodell had exactly the intended effect: it not only rallied Republicans behind Buckley but led some liberals to support Goodell, resulting in a narrow Buckley plurality victory--38.95% Buckley, 36.96% Ottinger, 23.91% Goodell. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=6551

Suppose the liberals hadn't foolishly divided their vote and Ottinger had won? (This is one of the rare cases where a *New York Times* editorial--they endorsed Goodell--may actually have changed history.) Here's my thought--if he wanted to, he could still be US Senator today! I'm serious about that. He would almost certainly have been re-elected in 1976 (when FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD doomed Republicans in New York). 1982 was a Democratic year, in New York and nationally. In 1988, New York was one of the few states Dukakis carried. 1994 would have been the most difficult year, but Senator Moynihan was easily re-elected in OTL http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3459 and even Governor Cuomo, for all the wear and tear he had accumulated, *almost* won. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=7207 So it's at least conceivable Ottinger could have been re-elected in 1994, and if he had, he could have won in 2000, 2006, and 2012, all good years for Democrats in New York.

So--no Senator Buckley, no Senator Moynihan, no Senator Clinton, no Senator Gillibrand? (And he might even decide to run again in 2018, despite being 89...)
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