WI: Alf Landon loses the 1932 Kansas gubernatorial election?

Nofix

The 1932 Kansas gubernatorial election was a three way battle: Incumbent Democrat Harry H. Woodring faced liberal Republican and state chairman Alf Landon, but also faced an independent candidacy by the disbarred "doctor" (and now well-known quack) John R. Brinkley. All three men polled above 30 percent, and Landon only won by 5,637 votes (.7%) over Woodring, with Brinkley not that far behind either of them:

Alf Landon (R) – 278,581 (34.82%)
Harry Woodring (D) – 272,944 (34.12%)
John Brinkley (I) – 244,607 (30.58%)

Now, regardless whether Woodring or Brinkley win, the main effect would be that Landon wouldn't be Governor, and wouldn't have the clout to win the 1936 Presidential nomination. The main questions I have are: Who would be the 1936 Republican nominee? What direction would the party take after their likely loss in it?

One the state level, assuming the quack doctor wins, what would a Brinkley administration look like? Having a disbarred quack running a state during the Great Depression would be interesting if nothing else.
 
Stolengood

Stolengood

Banned
If nothing else, Landon doesn't get tarred with the stigma of 1936 -- he was a moderate, even liberal-leaning, Republican, and I don't think he deserved becoming the punchline of the Roosevelt years. If he runs again, he may have a better shot at 1940 -- possibly as a VP.
 

Coiler

Brinkley probably stuffs the necessary boards with the right people to get his license back and then leaves at the end of his term. That was his real goal and his platforms for both runs were nothing but aimless posturing.

On the national level, Frank Knox probably becomes the 1936 nominee assuming few other butterflies, and gets crushed by FDR as easily as Landon was (also assuming no other severe butterflies).
 

wilcoxchar

First thought would be Vandenberg as the front runner for the 1936 nomination. Also without Landon as the nominee, you would not have RNC Chairman John D. M. Hamilton from 1936 to 1940. Hamilton was influential in modernizing the GOP campaigning methods during that period and organizing the huge comeback in Congress during the 1938 midterm elections.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1405361 This is a good article on the 1938 midterms and the GOP resurgence.
 
Indicus

Indicus

Landon was something of the first Dewey Republican. I'd say he'd run for Senator, then run for President in 1940. He wouldn't beat Willkie if he runs, but in 1944, he'd surely win the nomination and would lose to FDR. If we put a bit of a butterfly net, Dewey likely runs for the Republican nomination in 1948; without the experience of 1940, he'd campaign hard against Truman like he did against FDR IOTL, and he'd win in a huge landslide.

As for the 1936 election, I'd say Frank Knox runs and wins the nomination, but he probably gets crushed by FDR by an even larger margin than Landon IOTL.
 

Emperor Julian

If the GOP nominated Vandenberg, or worse, arch-conservative Styles Bridges, 1936 would be a gigantic blowout. There were several close Senate races - in Maine, Kansas, New Hampshire, and Oregon - which could easily flip in this scenario, plus a scattering of House races.
 

Nofix

Stolengood said:
If nothing else, Landon doesn't get tarred with the stigma of 1936 -- he was a moderate, even liberal-leaning, Republican, and I don't think he deserved becoming the punchline of the Roosevelt years. If he runs again, he may have a better shot at 1940 -- possibly as a VP.
Click to expand...

Good point. Maybe he could even win in the 1934 election (which he won as an incumbent).

Coiler said:
Brinkley probably stuffs the necessary boards with the right people to get his license back and then leaves at the end of his term. That was his real goal and his platforms for both runs were nothing but aimless posturing.

On the national level, Frank Knox probably becomes the 1936 nominee assuming few other butterflies, and gets crushed by FDR as easily as Landon was (also assuming no other severe butterflies).
Click to expand...

Would Brinkley be so willing, after achieving power, to drop the office? He wouldn't be interested in serving out the remainder of his term, even doing nothing valuable except aggrandizing himself?

I know Knox got picked as Vice-President despite never holding elective office, but President? Yes, yes there was Wendell Willkie the following election; but my point stands. There were a bunch of other candidates in 1936 that Republican bosses could have flocked to.

wilcoxchar said:
First thought would be Vandenberg as the front runner for the 1936 nomination. Also without Landon as the nominee, you would not have RNC Chairman John D. M. Hamilton from 1936 to 1940. Hamilton was influential in modernizing the GOP campaigning methods during that period and organizing the huge comeback in Congress during the 1938 midterm elections.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1405361 This is a good article on the 1938 midterms and the GOP resurgence.
Click to expand...

Interesting.

Thanks for the link, but I don't have an account, nor want to make one. Maybe a summary?

fjihr said:
Landon was something of the first Dewey Republican. I'd say he'd run for Senator, then run for President in 1940. He wouldn't beat Willkie if he runs, but in 1944, he'd surely win the nomination and would lose to FDR. If we put a bit of a butterfly net, Dewey likely runs for the Republican nomination in 1948; without the experience of 1940, he'd campaign hard against Truman like he did against FDR IOTL, and he'd win in a huge landslide.

As for the 1936 election, I'd say Frank Knox runs and wins the nomination, but he probably gets crushed by FDR by an even larger margin than Landon IOTL.
Click to expand...

I answered some of these points above in this post.

Emperor Julian said:
If the GOP nominated Vandenberg, or worse, arch-conservative Styles Bridges, 1936 would be a gigantic blowout. There were several close Senate races - in Maine, Kansas, New Hampshire, and Oregon - which could easily flip in this scenario, plus a scattering of House races.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of this old thread.

Galba Otho Vitelius said:
How many people would Brinkley had gotten killed if he had gotten his license back?
Click to expand...

I'm gonna spitball about 30. Probably a little high to be honest.
 
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Coiler

Nofix said:
Would Brinkley be so willing, after achieving power, to drop the office? He wouldn't be interested in serving out the remainder of his term, even doing nothing valuable except aggrandizing himself?
Click to expand...

I wasn't saying he'd stuff the board and then resign. I was saying he'd probably stuff the board, and then not run for reelection.
 
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