Two 1896 Election Ideas

I've come up with two ideas for TLs hinging on the 1896 election, a very important election in OTL, and in a period that I want to cover. I would like to see if anyone has any suggestion for how either of them might turn out or any interest in one or the other.

Idea A: In 1893, McKinley actually resigns as Governor over his debt crisis in 1893, and while Hanna helps to get his career back on track afterwards, in 1896 Thomas Reed wins the Republican nomination instead. Reed beats Bryan in the general, and soon is forced to face the issue of Cuba, where he is one of the most anti-interventionist politicians against a very jingoistic public and congress.

or

Idea B: The 1896 St. Louis Tornado comes only a month later, hitting the 1896 Republican convention building and basically decimating the Republican party's convention members. This is before voting on a nominee- and one of the dead is Mark Hanna.

Any ideas for what would happen with either POD and do people think either idea sounds more interesting?
 
Personally I prefer idea A. Assuming no Maine explosion, Reed could probably withstand the pressure to go to war. The internal politics of the situation would be fascinating. As would the development of the United States without colonies.
 
I've come up with two ideas for TLs hinging on the 1896 election, a very important election in OTL, and in a period that I want to cover. I would like to see if anyone has any suggestion for how either of them might turn out or any interest in one or the other.

Idea A: In 1893, McKinley actually resigns as Governor over his debt crisis in 1893, and while Hanna helps to get his career back on track afterwards, in 1896 Thomas Reed wins the Republican nomination instead. Reed beats Bryan in the general, and soon is forced to face the issue of Cuba, where he is one of the most anti-interventionist politicians against a very jingoistic public and congress.

or

Idea B: The 1896 St. Louis Tornado comes only a month later, hitting the 1896 Republican convention building and basically decimating the Republican party's convention members. This is before voting on a nominee- and one of the dead is Mark Hanna.

Any ideas for what would happen with either POD and do people think either idea sounds more interesting?

Hi, T.G., glad to see you around again!

While Idea A sounds fun, I think it'd be pretty cool if you tried Idea B. There aren't a lot of severe weather related PODs out there, and it'd be pretty unique. :D

In any case, with scenario B, the Republican Party is going to have a *hell* of a time putting themselves back together after that. However, my one question is: Who survives the twister? Do William McKinley and Thomas Reed die as well as Hanna? There's lots of ways this scenario could go, really.
 
Well, with regards to McKinley and Reed, this was back in the time when candidates generally didn't show up at conventions. So they would be alright.
Does anyone else have any ideas as to what the longer term consequences might be?
 
Personally I prefer idea A. Assuming no Maine explosion, Reed could probably withstand the pressure to go to war. The internal politics of the situation would be fascinating. As would the development of the United States without colonies.

I'd also prefer Idea A--not that I'm entirely opposed to natural PODs, but they're harder to pull off without looking arbitrary. How likely would a tornado strike at that moment have been IOTL?
 
I'd also prefer Idea A--not that I'm entirely opposed to natural PODs, but they're harder to pull off without looking arbitrary. How likely would a tornado strike at that moment have been IOTL?

Really depends on the setup. While peak tornado season in that part of the country generally falls around the month of May, there's nothing that says a very similar, or even virtually identical, event couldn't have happened in June, and I honestly doubt it matters much how likely it may or may not be; the 1925 Tri-State tornado managed to kill 700+ people on its own.....the 2011 Joplin tornado managed to kill 155 people; and the Super outbreak that happened late the previous month produced 325 tornadoes, 211 on April 27th alone, and some of the deadlier tornadoes carried death tolls that were beyond what you'd expect from their strength(most notably the Tuscaloosa tornado).

As for Idea A, again, it also sounds interesting as well, but TBH, what I wanted to say earlier is that it is going to be kinda tough to pull off well, I'm afraid, at least if the idea is to *successfully* have Reed keep us out of any wars during his presidency. Even without a Maine explosion, something else could very well come along in it's place; and then there's the problem of people like William Randolph Hearst, who'd take perhaps the smallest of incidents, and blow it up into such a scandal, you'd think whoever started it was trying to start the first World War! So yeah, it'd be tough.
 
I'll admit, for A the most likely result might just be Reed resigning, which is what he did in OTL as Speaker in a comparable situation. That of course would also make large butterflies.
 
I think I'm going to go with Idea A for this one. Any TL name suggestions? So far the best one I can think of is "They Could Do Worse"
 
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