I heard someone say that "There is something wrong with this country if there is no place for Gore Vidal in the Senate".
Can Vidal beat Jerry Brown for the nomination in California in 82? Or is there a different opportunity for him to get into the Senate?
Would Vidal, carrying the toxic labels of "Staunch Liberal" and "homosexual" even stand a chance in Reagan era California? Probably not, even if he wasn't running for the Democratic Nomination against an incumbent Governor (who himself was still unable to beat Pete Wilson in in the general election.)
On a side note, this brings up a good idea for a TL. What if Vidal and Barry Goldwater Jr., (who sought the Republican nomination in the same election) somehow got their respective parties nomination? Now that would have been one hell of a race (in which I'd be pulling for Vidal).