I've had the opinion that had Nelson Rockefeller won a presidential election or been nominated for the vice presidency or a cabinet post, that John Lindsay could have run for Governor of New York. What if that happened?
Lindsay was a disaster as mayor, I doubt he could have won.
If he ran for Governor instead of Mayor though, it is likely he could have won it with the support of the Liberal and Republican parties. His charm and charisma would have been a wining element without the baggage of his time as Mayor
It Would probably have to be before he became mayor of NYC. If he ran in 1970 or 1974 he would have burnt too many bridges by that point due to his time as mayor. Keep in mind that not all of those bridges were destroyed on purpose, its just the effect of being Mayor in a City going through the chronic issue New York Faced in the 1960s.
One possibility would be Lindsay going straight from congress to the Governor's mansion in the early 1960s, perhaps due to a vacancy of Governor Rockefeller becoming President or Vice President.