In 1960 Reagan publicly endorses Kennedy for president over Nixon. The two men become great friends. Butterflies cause Kennedy to never get shot and in return is elected in a landslide against William Scranton in 1964. In 1965, the congress passes and Kennedy signs a Civil Rights Act.
In 1968, Reagan decides to run for the US Senate in California and defeats state controller Alan Cranston in the Democratic primaries. He goes on to defeat Republican incumbent Thomas Kuchel in the general election. Also in 1968, Michigan governor George Romney narrowly defeats Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson with George Wallace running a much more successful third party campaign.
In 1972, Senator Reagan an outspoken critic of President Romney decides to run for the Democratic nomination. However in the end, the Democrats pick Washington Senator Henry M. Jackson with the philosophy "only a moderate can unseat a moderate." Jackson surprised the country by picking Reagan as his running mate to balance the ticket. The Jackson / Reagan ticket goes on to defeat Romney / Agnew by a comfortable margin. However, relations between the vice president and president slide downhill.
Jackson and Reagan end up having a major falling out after Reagan deemed many of Jackson's policies "not liberal enough." In return promising the American people "a choice not an echo" vice-president Reagan challenges President Jackson to the Democratic nomination in 1976. The battle is close but in the end, Jackson won the nomination. Reagan is very upset but he still believed that America needed him so he decides to do something that forever altered his political career.
Reagan after losing the Democratic nomination creates his own "Liberal Party" to oppose Jackson and the establishment Democrats. He picks South Dakota senator George McGovern as his running mate. To replace Reagan who resigned from his position to join the new Liberal Party, President Jackson appoints Lloyd Bentsen as the new vice-president.
1976 is a three way race. After a remarkable performance in the debates, Reagan and the Liberals surprisingly steal second place from Jackson and the Democrats. However, the great split in the Democratic vote causes the Republican ticket of Gerald Ford and Howard Baker to win in a landslide.
After being the deciding factor in the Republican victory in 1976, Reagan retires from politics and moves with his wife to Hawaii to live in obscurity. He dies in his sleep in 1984 at the age of 73.
The moral of the story: Reagan was much better off as a Republican.