WI George Wallace won the 1958 Alabama Gubernatorial Primary?

An interesting POD for the Civil Rights era, I think, would be George Wallace winning the 1958 Democratic Gubernatorial primary in Alabama rather than losing, as he did IOTL. Wallace ran in 1958 with the support of the NAACP against a candidate supported by the Klan; he was considered a moderate-to-liberal on racial issues and was 'downright pink' when it came to fiscal issues. After his loss and the famous line about not being outdone again on segregation, Wallace switched positions and became a hardcore segregationist that we all know from OTL. (He later recanted in the 1970s and won elections in Alabama with a biracial coalition of voters, IOTL as well)

WI Wallace doesn't lose in 1958? What if he wins the primary, and serves as Governor from 1959 to 1963? Alabama Governors were limited to one term (they could serve non-consecutively, as Wallace did four times) at the time, so he can't run again in 1962. Where does ATL Wallace go from here? What changes, politically? Could a more liberal Wallace be an ATL equivalent to Jimmy Carter? (Or probably better, Wallace was a shrewder politician, after all)
 
I've thought about this before, and I think it's very likely Wallace ends up as President. It's just a matter of when. If JFK lives, he's a prime spot to replace LBJ, and he'll run in 1968. Hell, he'll probably run in 1968 anyway. I could see him doing a native son thing in 1960 too.
 
The important thing to remember about George Wallace is that even when he was "moderate-to-liberal" on race relations, he was still definitely racist towards black people. Not out of hatred, but rather out of contempt: he still regarded black people as an inferior race, and his switch to hard-line segregationism shows that ultimately he just didn't give a fuck about them. Even back in the 1950s when he had a reputation as a remarkably racially-tolerant judge, all that showed was that he wasn't actively hostile towards black people at the time -- he was the equivalent of a man who'll smile and shake a gay man's hand but feel revolted inside.

So I've got to say that when it comes to segregation, an earlier Governor George Wallace will probably go where the wind is blowing for his state. An early win means it won't become the one main cause he champions (probably), but he's not going to become some civil-rights crusader either. At best he may end up taking a neutral position.
 
I've thought about this before, and I think it's very likely Wallace ends up as President. It's just a matter of when. If JFK lives, he's a prime spot to replace LBJ, and he'll run in 1968. Hell, he'll probably run in 1968 anyway. I could see him doing a native son thing in 1960 too.

I think 1976 may well be his best shot at the presidency ITTL, if he can remain politically relevant enough to run.

He could run the "outsider" campaign like Carter did, which would play well in a post-Watergate political climate. I think he'd be more affective as a Campaigner than Carter was-not that that's saying much.

Could that mean he'd be facing Reagan rather than Ford though? I think it's a possibility-but he probably beats either of them.
 
If Wallace wins in 1958, then he's not going to be anywhere near as politically influential as he was in OTL. I believe that Wallace was one of the most shrewd politicians in this country; as an example he was able to turn his defense of segregation into a national appeal as far north as Wisconsin in 1964. But without the firebrand Wallace of 1963 and 1964, he's not going to have any sort of national reputation and he'll quickly be forgotten in the midst of everything that's happening AFTER he's been governor since he'll be term limited out after four years. Bottom line: he'll have not staying power.

So a pretty forgettable governorship, followed maybe by a failed run at the senate, some VP speculation in 1968 and then fade to black for his political career.
 
I agree with terrelk. With his motivation to never be outflanked again he's probably going to be a pretty forgettable Governor. He's going to sign the Southern Manifesto because any Alabama Governor would and he's going to come out against segregation and he might even ply that into a Senate seat. But unless he adopts his OTL hardline stance he's just going to be another Southern Democrat and that isn't going to get him on TV.
 
There aren't any open Senate seats until 1968 when Lister Hill retires. Hill's the moderate and Sparkman the hardliner, so both slots are taken. Plus Wallace isn't the sort of personality who would be interested in that.
 
Eh, I don't know that Wallace wouldn't want to be a senator. He was, at heart, someone who coveted influence (and the power that comes with it) more than anything else. I'm not saying that he'd have been a good senator or that he could have even won a seat since he'd have been out of office, presumably, for six years by the time Hill retired. But I think it'd be a failed run at either that office or a maneuver at the 1968 convention to be included as VP on the ticket with, all things being the same, Humphrey. Not that anyone would pick him, since it was pretty well known what a sonofabitch he was. Still, I can't see Wallace resigning himself to a fate of obscurity, and maybe once things had calmed down a little, the early 1970's maybe, he might even run for governor again. Maybe folks would think that "Hey, things weren't so bad when he was governor last time," and he'd win. But there would be no national career whatsoever as a southern moderate.
 
I've thought about this before, and I think it's very likely Wallace ends up as President. It's just a matter of when. If JFK lives, he's a prime spot to replace LBJ, and he'll run in 1968. Hell, he'll probably run in 1968 anyway. I could see him doing a native son thing in 1960 too.

Wow, scary thought. But I think he was too much of the politician not to try an manipulate segrigation at some point. Perhaps when he runs again in 1963 for Governor. At some point his true colors will shine through, which (I'd like to think) would keep him out of the White House.

His best chance for the White House is still in 1976, and that is if in this new TL he doesn't get shot
 
Wallace was a political genius. I wonder if the 1963 governor ITTL would have known to just give a segregationist speech and walk away when The University of Alabama was integrated.
 
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