Ron Reagan in 2000?

Is there anyway that Ronald P. Reagan could have run for the Democratic nomination in 2000? If so, what are his chances? With and without a Gore candidacy.
 

CaliGuy

Banned
His chances would probably be extremely low; after all, both his last name and Gore's establishment support would probably cripple his chances.
 
Considering that he was a radio talk show host with no political experience, his chances would be practically non-existent. Even without Gore, the Democrats had strong candidates like Bill Bradley, Paul Wellstone, and Dick Gephardt that could've gotten the nomination. The only way to make this plausible is to have a POD somewhere in the 90s or before and have Reagan get elected to public office (probably a House or Senate seat) and build up his name recognition.

EDIT: He's also an atheist, which is the reason he says he can't seek public office. According to Gallup, only 49% of Americans would have voted for an atheist in 1999 and even in 2012 only 58% of Democrats would.
 
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shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
Issues: Democrat running with the name 'Reagan'. Holds no prior elected office, and didn't really want to hold prior elected office. Is an unabashed atheist.

Solutions: Runs for office in Washington State somewhere between leaving College and 1992, probably a Representative for one of Washington's more Liberal districts in '90 or '92. The name wouldn't be too much of a hindrance as long as he's able to strike out on his own. The Atheist aspect is a little more tricky; he could just never come out, instead playing the part of agnostic, but then again it all depends on how long he can hold out for.
 
The Atheist aspect is a little more tricky; he could just never come out, instead playing the part of agnostic, but then again it all depends on how long he can hold out for.
If someone won't vote for an atheist, I doubt they'd vote for an agnostic.

Maybe he could somehow end up being so popular that people stop caring that he's an atheist? After all, nobody would have predicted that a self-described socialist could get as far as Bernie did in 2016. Then again, being a (democratic) socialist in 2016 is completely different than being an atheist in 2000.
 
A lot of people respect the name "Reagan" (even independents and Democrats), but Ron Reagan is a professed atheist, and he knows that he can't get far in politics because of that. He knows he'd be facing that hurdle from the get-go, a "scandal" which already exists and is out there.

He'd have to try for Congress first before he aims at the presidency. There have been atheists and agnostics there. If he's in an unfavourable district/state, he could just move to one that's better and wait a few years to meet the residency requirements.

An '04 run might be best, assuming Reagan himself dies in the same year. It might give Reagan Jr. a boost.
 
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