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As the tin says, what if President Gerald Ford decides (for one reason or another) to sit out the 1976 Presidential Election? The obvious assumption is that Ronald Reagan, who very nearly defeated Ford in the Republican Primary for that cycle, would wind up becoming the GOP nominee. But if Ford isn't in the race, would others enter? Who's most likely to give it a shot? Would any of them be able to defeat Reagan, or would they actually split the vote and hand it to him? Does this have any impact on the Democratic Primary, or would Jimmy Carter still most likely end up their nominee? And finally, would Reagan (or any other Republican) be able to defeat Carter, or whoever the Democratic nominee is?
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