WI Eagleton declines to be McGovern's running mate?

PoD: Tom Eagleton turns down McGovern's offer to become his vice-president.

Who does McGovern pick as his running mate?
 
The tragic thing is that Sargent Shriver was on a business trip to Moscow. So it would not have been him. They had rejected Kevin White who was Mayor of Boston. Abraham Ribicoff, the Senator from Connecticut had already turned them down.
 
This may be ASB, but what about Doctor Gonzo himself? Hunter S. Thompson, Vice President of the United States?

He had experience of running for office, you don't get much more covering the campaign from the inside than that, he had some talent as a political pundit, the Eagleton Affair showed that the party establishment were happy to see McGovern fail and trying to reconcile with them was a mistake.

All Out for Freak Power...why not? Couldn't have turned out worse for him than OTL.


Now, much of that is frivolous- although what a timeline it would make- but I am serious about the basic point; much like Trump today, McGovern was a renegade, not approved by the party machinery. He tried to reconcile with it, for the good of the party, and failed miserably.

Remains to be seen what the Republican renegade will do, but if Eagleton turns him down, to the point where it looks as if the party is turning it's back on him, who in the radical wing of the Democrats would do? (If MLK had still been alive...)
 
What if McGovern goes for the historicalest of historic tickets and selects Shirley Chisholm? Does he do better or worst? Would the Congressional Democrats do worse?
 
I went back and reread the section of The Making of the President 1972, where Teddy White talks about the selection of McGovern's running mate. They got down to a shortlist of six. Senators Eagelton, Ribbicoff and Nelson, Ribbicoff and Nelson said no. Boston Mayor Kevin White, they decided against him when Ted Kennedy was not enthusiastic. Sargent Shriver, he was out because as I mentioned before he was on a business trip to Moscow. The other name was Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey. I assume if Eagelton had done what he should have and said I can't have too much baggage. It would have Lucey. hiI googled him and found an obituary that said his grandfather immigrated from Ireland. So I assume, like Eagelton, he was Catholic. He went on the be John Anderson's running mate and did not spark any controversy. So I assume he would not have as the Democratic running mate eight years earlier. I don't know how many votes McGovern lost because of the Eagelton affair. I doubt that many. Maybe he gets 38 % or even 39 %. Best case scenario he wins Minnesota.
 
Without the VP fiasco he might flip Minnesota and/or Rhode Island.

Map if he flips those two states with Governor Lucy
genusmap.php

Nixon & Agnew 507 ev
McGovern & Lucy 31 ev
The best I think McGovern could do is below, with him carrying two more states, both under 10% margins, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
genusmap.php

Nixon & Agnew 492 ev
McGovern & Lucy 46 ev
 
Map if he flips those two states with Governor Lucy

Nixon & Agnew 507 ev
McGovern & Lucy 31 ev
The best I think McGovern could do is below, with him carrying two more states, both under 10% margins, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Nixon & Agnew 492 ev
McGovern & Lucy 46 ev

Yeah, my thoughts too. What do you think the PV percentages would be? My guess is without the Eagleton fiasco McGovern might break 40%. After all, even Mondale was able to get 40 and a half percent in his defeat.
 
In a world where Ted Kennedy takes chappiquidick seriously, sharpens his focus, and cuts back on drinking, and really strives to be better. Then maybe he accepts and McGovern does better.

America is still in love with the Kennedy mystic at this point, and Ted is seen as the last survivor of the dynasty.

Or maybe that's all ASB, cause Ted and quit drinking don't go together.
 
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