Senator Margaret Chase Smith, elected in 1948, first rose to prominence when she attacked Joseph McCarthy in her 1950 "A Declaration of Conscience" speech. Soon after, Newsweek published an article titled “Senator Smith: A Woman Vice President?” and McCarthy apparently threatened her by touting his control over the Wisconsin delegation in the RNC. Obviously, nothing came of this, but what if Ike or an alternate Republican nominee had chosen her as his running mate in 1952? Her rise to fame is tied to her opposition to McCarthyism, so one way to boost her chances could be to have McCarthy fall from grace in 1951 or early 1952 instead of 1954.
Smith would be a ballsy choice (when Gallup asked if voters were willing to vote for a female presidential candidate in 1949, they were split 48-48; in 1955, it had risen to 52-44 in favor), but with 1952 being such a heavily Republican year, I doubt it would significantly hurt the ticket's chances. If Smith became VP, how would this affect her political career and the general perception of women in politics? Would she have a shot in 1960 or a later year? Most interestingly, what if Ike had died in office and thrusted her into the Oval Office?