Truman loses the 1940 election

Something I just found out that I never realised before was that Harry Truman actuatly struggled when he sought a second term in 1940. He only won the primary by 8000 votes, likely benefiting from split opposition. He then only won in the general by a slim margin.

So what would have happened had the campaign went differently, and Truman lost either the primary or the general? Would he have wanted to/been able to come back into politics later on? And more importantly, who would FDR pick in 1944 when he needed a new running mate?
 
Conventional wisdom has it that James Byrnes was a strong contender for the second spot on the ticket in 1944. The major sticking point: Byrnes was a southerner (South Carolina), which wouldn't have gone over too well with more centrist/liberal northern Democrats. Still, given wartime conditions, they'd probably have gritted their teeth and gone along grudgingly. Then, comes a day in 1945 when Byrnes succeeds Roosevelt, and becomes the first true southerner since Zachary Taylor to be president. (I maintain Wilson, though thoroughly southern in outlook, doesn't quite qualify given that he cut his political teeth in the north.)

Truman's re-entry into politics? Not sure about that. He might well have gotten disgusted (don't know the particulars around that primary / general election) and opted out, perhaps returning to his haberdasher business. Could be today we'd have a nationwide chain known as "Truman's Menswear"...
 
Would he have wanted to/been able to come back into politics later on?


I'd say yes. Politics was among Truman's few professional successes and he would have still been highly regarded by many in western Missouri for his previous work as a "county judge". (The title used at the time is misleading. The "judges" were elected to act as county commissioners and not as jurists.) He would have been able to win local office very easily.

Whether a former US senator would be "satisfied" with "only" a local office is another question, but I believe a one-term Truman would have no problems with the idea. After all, we're talking about a guy who, in 1953 after serving as President of the United States, packed Bess into the Chrysler and drove from Independence to New York City in order to take in a Broadway show and celebrate his wedding anniversary. No media sycophants, no Secret Service goons, no flunkies, just Harry and The Boss on the road and eating lunch in diners.

It's a shame that we as a nation and as a people no longer produce men like Harry Truman. :(

And more importantly, who would FDR pick in 1944 when he needed a new running mate?

I'll go with James Byrnes too and for much the same reasons already posted.
 
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