Let's assume in this timeline that the Democrats are concerned that they'll need to have an equally experienced politician run for President, so they nominate LBJ/Humphrey. How do you see the election turning out?
WI: LBJ Runs in 1960
- Thread starter TheGuyWhoHeartsHistory
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It's one thing if JFK doesn't run and the Democrats nominate LBJ. But if as in OTL JFK runs and wins the primaries and a brokered convention denies him the nomination (as came fairly close to happening) and nominates LBJ, there is going to be a lot of resentment from Catholics who will rightly suspect that JFK had been denied the nomination because of his religion. For that reason LBJ will likely choose a Catholic running mate--preferably JFK, or if JFK refuses, the most likely Minnesotan running mate for LBJ is not Humphrey but Eugene McCarthy. (Indeed, McCarthy's speech at the convention for Stevenson was viewed by cynics as a stop-JFK maneuver designed so that that LBJ would be nominated and pick McCarthy as his running mate.) BTW, if the Democrats don't have a Catholic on the ticket there is a chance the Republicans will do so--Nixon considered Secretary of Labor James Mitchell in such an event. https://groups.google.com/d/msg/soc.history.what-if/DHQqERPf0CA/vHps-GHC0dMJ
Paul V McNutt
Banned
He could carry the entire South but he won't the Catholic and Black vote like Kennedy did.
Let's assume LBJ narrowly wins the election with JFK as his running mate. How does an earlier Johnson administration look?
But would Johnson want to offer Kennedy the Vice Presidential nomination, and would Kennedy accept it? Probably not, but to answer your question these are some individuals that might be on Johnson's cabinet at some point during his presidency:
As OTL:
Vice President: Eugene McCarthy
Secretary of State: ?
Secretary of Treasury: Henry H. Fowler, Joseph W. Barr
Secretary of Defense: Clark M. Clifford
Attorney General: Nicholas Katzenbach, Ramsey Clark
Postmaster General: Larry O'Brien, W. Marvin Watson
Secretary of the Interior: ?
Secretary of Agriculture: ?
Secretary of Commerce: John Thomas Connor, Alexander Buel Towbridge, Cyrus Rowlett Smith
Secretary of Labor: ?
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: John William Gardner, Wilbur Joseph Cohen
As OTL:
Vice President: Eugene McCarthy
Secretary of State: ?
Secretary of Treasury: Henry H. Fowler, Joseph W. Barr
Secretary of Defense: Clark M. Clifford
Attorney General: Nicholas Katzenbach, Ramsey Clark
Postmaster General: Larry O'Brien, W. Marvin Watson
Secretary of the Interior: ?
Secretary of Agriculture: ?
Secretary of Commerce: John Thomas Connor, Alexander Buel Towbridge, Cyrus Rowlett Smith
Secretary of Labor: ?
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: John William Gardner, Wilbur Joseph Cohen
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On second thought, I prefer the idea of JFK simply choosing not to run in 1960 and LBJ picking Humphrey as his running mate. Who do you see winning in that scenario?
Most realistically Nixon.
Johnson has a weakness in the cities, and he probably wouldn't be able to carry Illinois, New Jersey, or New York. Quite possibly turns Michigan to Nixon, too.
EDIT: Although I must say that barring incapacititation, it's very unlikely that Kennedy doesn't seek the Presidency in 1960 unless we're changing things enough that the election would be fundamentally different.
I started an abortive TL once that had a Nixon v. Johnson match up. Below is how I imagined the election going. Turnout is (a little)lower without Kennedy in the mix, and turnout really helped Kennedy.
The Election to 1960
(With All Credit to Gonzo for Making This)
(Gonzo Made the Wikibox)