I know this isn’t very likely, and I hope this is not a completely implausible scenario, but I believe he did finish third in Iowa, so if he could energize the liberal base and stand out some more he might have had a shot at being a factor in the primary. My question is, if George McGovern had succeeded at becoming the nominee of the Democrats in 1984 for the second time, would history have changed in any significant fashion? He’d have lost in a landslide of course, but would he have done any better then Mondale did in OTL? Would his nomination and subsequent lost have caused the Democratic party to undergo any sort of transformation? Would there be any difference in the 1988 Democratic primary’s? I imagine had McGovern’s picked a “good” running mate this person could be a significant contender in 1988, but they face the risk of there role on a McGovern ticket hurting them more then it helps them.
Any thoughts on what things would change in this scenario, if anything?