WI: 1996 election after two terms of Bush Sr

Looking back on it, the Democrats would have had their strongest field in many years, if not decades.

Mario Cuomo and Ann Richards would presumably have survived in 1994 with no Republican Revolution so they would have been in prime shape. Al Gore would have been tarnished a bit with the losing Clinton ticket but could have been a strong contender. Paul Wellstone would have made a good grassroots liberal candidate. You'd possibly also have Bob Kerrey from the '92 field.

On the Republican side, Quayle might get something close to a free run. Bill Weld (who was often talked of as presidential contender) might challenge him from the left. Pete Wilson and Pat Buchanan, both significant figures around this time, might still have entered.
 
My guess is Cuomo, Gore, Biden, or Gephardt vs. Bob Dole. I don't think the rank and file of the GOP would back Quayle given that most of the public saw him as a fool. For the general, after 16 years of Republican rule and due to a weak Republican field, the Democrats win back the Presidency and probably keep it in 2000.
 
Not only do I think Quayle wouldn't get a free run among Republicans, I don't even think he would get a free run from within the Bush administration. With a looming potential Bobster nomination especially, I'd expect the Bush WH to pressure Dick Cheney/James Baker into running as the candidates to uphold the Bush 41 legacy, something those two would be qualified to do after a less hesitant US performance in foreign affairs than under Clinton/Christopher. Cheney especially IOTL was warily eyeing that race but didn't feel he had the cachet into it given the undercurrents of the post-1994 party. Would be different ITTL.
 
Cuomo passed on runs in 1988 and 1992. I don't think he wanted the job.

Rank and file Democrats would argue that moderation didn't work, so it'll be someone from the left.
 
Cuomo passed on runs in 1988 and 1992. I don't think he wanted the job.

Rank and file Democrats would argue that moderation didn't work, so it'll be someone from the left.
I get the impression Cuomo passed on '92 because he thought he couldn't win at the outset of primary season. But by the end of the year, things had turned sour for Bush Snr and he was looking a lot more vulnerable. I think a big part of Cuomo's decision not to run was deliberately saving himself for 1996.
 
Do enough of the American public like split government + anger at Republican White House to give Democrats both House and Senate going into '96 elections?
 
Do enough of the American public like split government + anger at Republican White House to give Democrats both House and Senate going into '96 elections?
The Democrats would still have the house and senate going into '96 TTL. I doubt a Republican Revolution would happen 6 years into a Bush/Quayle Administration, no matter how stable things were.
 
I get the impression Cuomo passed on '92 because he thought he couldn't win at the outset of primary season. But by the end of the year, things had turned sour for Bush Snr and he was looking a lot more vulnerable. I think a big part of Cuomo's decision not to run was deliberately saving himself for 1996.

Cuomo didn't really have that sort of personality. Besides, he was incredibly close to actually running in 1992. He literally had a plane waiting to take him to New Hampshire to file for the primary, and a guy in Nashua to file for him (with the papers already signed!) if he didn't make it.

The idea that 1996 would be good ground for Cuomo is in any case pretty questionable. After passing on two presidential nominations, in both cases where there was a huge amount of demand for him to run, a lot of people would conclude he just didn't have the gumption or desire to be president - which he probably did not. Also, by the md-nineties his legacy in New York was being seriously contested, he'd been in office for a decade after all. It was a long way from 1986, when he'd romped home to re-election. 1994 IOTL was a strong Republican year, but even in 1990, he barely managed a majority of the vote against a fractured, token opposition. Assuming a fairly underwhelming re-election in 1994 ITTL, the shine would have substantially peeled off Cuomo. I don't think he would be the favourite for the nomination that a lot of people are assuming.

I'm doubtful he would even run tbh, the suspicion was always that he wanted to be handed the nomination rather than having to fight for it (Going back to the old fascination of a brokered convention in 1988 a lot of people at the time had) and if the field is looking strong, with some acceptably Liberal candidates, there's no assurance he'd automatically run. He made a career out of not running for presidential nominations, after all, when there was strong demand from within the party for him to do so.
 
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samcster94

Banned
The Democrats would still have the house and senate going into '96 TTL. I doubt a Republican Revolution would happen 6 years into a Bush/Quayle Administration, no matter how stable things were.
The South becoming majority Republican would be delayed in TTL as the 1994 Republican wave would not have happened. Also, who'd the Republicans run given their field in OTL was already bad(Steve Forbes was a candidate in OTL) and they'd held the white house 16 years in TTL.
 

Wallet

Banned
The South becoming majority Republican would be delayed in TTL as the 1994 Republican wave would not have happened. Also, who'd the Republicans run given their field in OTL was already bad(Steve Forbes was a candidate in OTL) and they'd held the white house 16 years in TTL.
It's ironic that it took a democratic ticket from Arkansas and Tennessee for the south to finally jump to the GOP.
 
If I remember right, the Dems had a image problem as they kept losing elections since the 80s and got lucky with Bill. Clinton losing to Bush will add gas to the fire of the Dems weakness and will enforce the Reagan Revolution.

No Don't ask, don't tell. Bush could bomb North Korea and set back their nuclear program by several years, if not more. Somalia can go much better and this allow could stop Islamists, or delay attacks, and bombing on the US, as they switch to other states. Housing crisis is still going to happen. A whole lot depends on just what Bush Senior does in his second term.

The Democrats could run someone like Bill Bradley. He seem like a good bet on winning the next election.
 
The South becoming majority Republican would be delayed in TTL as the 1994 Republican wave would not have happened. Also, who'd the Republicans run given their field in OTL was already bad(Steve Forbes was a candidate in OTL) and they'd held the white house 16 years in TTL.
Dole would be the nominee as in OTL
 

Wallet

Banned
The international stage would be better off OTL. No genocide in the Balkans or Rwanada. UN troops stay in Somalia so less famine. Russia has a smoother path to democracy. North Korea acts more behaved.
 
The international stage would be better off OTL. No genocide in the Balkans or Rwanada. UN troops stay in Somalia so less famine. Russia has a smoother path to democracy. North Korea acts more behaved.

Argee.

No one thought about Bill Bradley yet? The Democrats will still suffer from the image problem. (Losing 4 elections in a row is really hurting them.) As said, the Dems got lucky with Clinton, and him losing will really set them back. (Maybe due to Perot not running, and more focus on the Clinton sex scandals in Arkansas that cost him the race.)

So maybe 96 is also when the Third Party makes a comeback, and get someone serious to win?
 
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