Goldwater was already the presumptive Republican nominee in late 1963, so what if Kennedy was never killed and instead of getting re-elected he loses to Goldwater?
Goldwater was already the presumptive Republican nominee in late 1963, so what if Kennedy was never killed and instead of getting re-elected he loses to Goldwater?
Well, that can't happen. Kennedy was very popular and Goldwater was too conservative (He was talking about nukes like they were regular weapons for god sake). Maybe, with a PoD before 1963, this can happen
Goldwater was nothing more than a sacrificial lamb. In the event that JFK lives and somehow becomes vulnerable for re election, which I agree with Golfman76 that you'd need a POD before 1963 for that to happen, the GOP would nominate someone else. Heck, if Kennedy does bad enough, Nixon may run a buyer's remorse campaign.