WI: Humphrey-McGovern '76

Spun off from a number of my previous threads... President McGovern and Any Democrat but Carter '76 primarily. The fascinating prospect of the two men who lost to Richard Nixon teaming up for a bit of a 'revenge ticket' upon his fall from grace.

But yes, pretty simple thought and idea. How do they run? How do they do in the general election? Does Ford still pick Dole? How's the Humphrey presidency look? Does Humphrey die as early as OTL, or gain a few years? Does the revelation of his cancer help or hurt him? Does Humphrey stick around until his death or retire early? What's McGovern like finishing Humphrey's term? How does President McGovern do in 1980? What are their legacies like today?
 
The problem was Humphrey's cancer. He missed most of the fall campaign because of cancer treatments. He won but he was running for reelection as Senator from Minnesota. He cannot be absent from the campaign trail if he is running for president. Maybe running on adrenaline he skips the cancer treatments and dies after election day. I think they can win if Reagan wins the Republican nomination in a bitter primary fight. Since they are not playing defense, Democrats have plenty of time to paint Reagan as an extremist. With the help of moderate Republican stay at homes, the Humphrey McGovern ticket wins Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, DC, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and Missouri for 276 electoral votes. Of course, if Humphrey dies before the electoral college votes do enough Democrat electors support for McGovern?
 
^ Well if Humphrey knows he's in the process of, you know, dying, I'm sure he can put in a few good words in McGovern's favor. He knew he had cancer.
 

Stolengood

Banned
^ Well if Humphrey knows he's in the process of, you know, dying, I'm sure he can put in a few good words in McGovern's favor. He knew he had cancer.
There is no way in hell they're going to run a man who only won one state in the last election again. Not without him being second-banana, at least.
 
Humphrey would have beaten either Ford or Reagan. I do believe there may have been more pressure on Reagan to run has a VEEP with Ford. Deep down inside I believe the republicans did not think they would loose to Carter.But Humphrey was in their mind a lot tougher. If HHH still dies on schedule , then George is President. Remember George was a Senator from South Dakota. He is more moderate than people think. He is also a war veteran. He would have handled Iran a lot better. If there was a hostage stituation and the first raid failed, he would have understand that you may have to try more than once to get the mission done. McGovern was good friends with Ted Kennedy, so he would not have had to worry about a Primary challenge. I never asked George who he would have picked to be his VP. Maybe Mondale, but I doubt it. Not Carter, he disliked Carter. I know he liked Fred Harris a lot, but Harris did not have much political heft. If i was to guess he would have picked Ed Muskie. In 80 McGovern beats who ever they throw against him. McGovern would have been a very good, decent, honest, President. So much of a difference from Nixon.
 
Humphrey would have beaten either Ford or Reagan. I do believe there may have been more pressure on Reagan to run has a VEEP with Ford. Deep down inside I believe the republicans did not think they would loose to Carter.But Humphrey was in their mind a lot tougher. If HHH still dies on schedule , then George is President. Remember George was a Senator from South Dakota. He is more moderate than people think. He is also a war veteran. He would have handled Iran a lot better. If there was a hostage stituation and the first raid failed, he would have understand that you may have to try more than once to get the mission done. McGovern was good friends with Ted Kennedy, so he would not have had to worry about a Primary challenge. I never asked George who he would have picked to be his VP. Maybe Mondale, but I doubt it. Not Carter, he disliked Carter. I know he liked Fred Harris a lot, but Harris did not have much political heft. If i was to guess he would have picked Ed Muskie. In 80 McGovern beats who ever they throw against him. McGovern would have been a very good, decent, honest, President. So much of a difference from Nixon.

I don't know about winning against Reagan, but I'd like to comment that the scenario you set up is all the spare parts of the (anti)Nixon era coming back with a vengeance. Richard Nixon's personal hell could not look much different.
 
Is it possible more time can be bought for Humphrey's survival, even if only by a year or two?
 
I really don't think McGovern as VICE President is so impossible - yes, the idea of him running on top of the ticket was toxic, but I don't think they'd raise half an eyebrow - and mind you, I imagine Humphrey on top of the ticket would have stressed McGovern's loss to Nixon's hands as his own if the issue came up, justify McGovern as a good public servant who lost because of Nixon's dirty tricks. McGovern still had a base of loyal supporters after all.

I'm not saying he wouldn't be controversial, but as a VICE presidential candidate I think it was something that could still happen.
 
Almost ASB

Humphrey as the potential Democratic presidential nominee in 1976 is plausible, because (1) he previously served as Vice-President of the United States; and (2) he narrowly lost to Nixon in a 3-way race in 1968 due largely to the unpopularity of both LBJ, personally, and of the Vietnam War.

On the other hand, McGovern as the vice-presidential candidate on a Democratic ticket after 1972 is almost ASB--the man was toxic after his 49-state landslide loss to Nixon in 1972. I only say "almost ASB" because McGovern was re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974 and later finished 3rd in the 1984 Iowa Caucuses (well behind Mondale, but closely behind Gary Hart).

Humphrey, having learned the lessons of 1968, would have likely picked a respectable southern or border-state Democrat untainted by Jim Crow (such as Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter), or a Democrat from a major swing-state (like Sen. John Glenn of Ohio) as his running mate to balance the ticket in 1976. I just don't see Humphrey picking another northern liberal from a small state like Muskie or McGovern--especially not McGovern.
 
Humphrey was leading the polls in the early months of 1976. If he had run he would have gotten the nomination. I have read that he did discuss with McGovern the possibility of running together. I do think a Southern running mate might be more likely. Maybe if Carter shows some strength in the primaries. it might be him.
 
On the other hand, McGovern as the vice-presidential candidate on a Democratic ticket after 1972 is almost ASB--the man was toxic after his 49-state landslide loss to Nixon in 1972. I only say "almost ASB" because McGovern was re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974 and later finished 3rd in the 1984 Iowa Caucuses (well behind Mondale, but closely behind Gary Hart).

Humphrey, having learned the lessons of 1968, would have likely picked a respectable southern or border-state Democrat untainted by Jim Crow (such as Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter), or a Democrat from a major swing-state (like Sen. John Glenn of Ohio) as his running mate to balance the ticket in 1976. I just don't see Humphrey picking another northern liberal from a small state like Muskie or McGovern--especially not McGovern.

Another member who seemed to have known McGovern personally stated the two men were in talks to go through with the idea and it was relatively set until Humphrey's cancer got in the way. Humphrey supposedly felt bothered by people's lack of care for McGovern after his previous loss and the leadership barring him from running again.

McGovern is not a 'northern liberal from a small state' either - well, I suppose South Dakota is northern on a map, but that's not how the term is used. He was definitely liberal, but I could see him moderating his image - with Humphrey's urging, focusing more on his war hero status, for example.
 
McGovern is not a 'northern liberal from a small state'.

With all due respect...McGovern was certainly a northern (midwestern)liberal. I can understand Humphrey being cordial towards a fellow US Senator from a neighboring state who--like Humphrey himself--won the Democratic presidential nomination only to lose to Nixon in the fall election. Both men were suffered from the deep divisons within the Democratic Party itself. In short, they had quite a bit in common.

For Humphrey to win the 1976 Democratic nomination, it would likely require a multi-ballot brokered convention which we haven't really seen in major-party American poltics since the 1952 Democratic convention (Gov. Adlai Stevenson won the nomination in the 3rd round of balloting). That was certainly possible in 1976, where several candidates won delegates in the primaries, cuacuses and state conventions held that year--including Humphrey (who won delegates from Minnesota and North Dakota), Jimmy Carter, Congressman Mo Udall of Arizona, Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Senator Frank Church of Idaho, and Governor Jerry Brown of California.

Had he been nominated at such a brokered convention, Humphrey would have been under some pressure from party leaders to select a running mate from among the candidates who actually ran in the primaries and caucuses in 1976, as well as to consider traditional ticket-balancing factors. Those considerations point towards someone like southern moderate Jimmy Carter or western moderate Scoop Jackson as running mates for Humphrey, rather than McGovern-- a fellow liberal Senator from neighboring South Dakota.
 
With all due respect...McGovern was certainly a northern (midwestern)liberal.
I suppose I misunderstood how you meant the phrase. My apologies.

For Humphrey to win the 1976 Democratic nomination, it would likely require a multi-ballot brokered convention which we haven't really seen in major-party American poltics since the 1952 Democratic convention
I've been told multiple times on this board - perhaps incorrectly, I'm just explaining how I arrived where I did - that Humphrey was of such a force in 1976 that he was considered the man to beat and that many might not have even run if he'd joined in. If that was the case then a brokered convention probably wouldn't have been necessary.

If a brokered convention did occur, then your logic is sound - I guess the real question is how successful Humphrey would've been in the primaries.
 
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