Would Eisenhower Have Lost in '52 Had He Dumped Nixon?

During the 1952 campaign, Nixon was accused of benefitting from a secret slush fund that allowed him to live beyond his means. Many in the press called on him to resign from the ticket, and about half of Eisenhower's aides agreed. Ultimately Eisenhower decided against this as he felt it would cost him the election, and he allowed Nixon to explain himself in the famous "Checkers Speech." But what if Ike had dumped Nixon from the ticket? Would Eisenhower have lost the election to Adlai Stevenson as he feared?
 
Short answer: No. People vote primarily for the president, not the vice-president. They were a lot more concerned about the seemingly endless war in Korea than about whether Nixon would stay on the ticket.

Now I know that McGovern's dumping Eagleton hurt him, though he would have lost badly anyway. But the situations were somewhat different. The public didn't know McGovern very well, and his conduct toward Eagleton seemed that of a panic-stricken politician. By contrast, the public knew (or thought it knew) Ike, and if Ike said he was acting because he insisted on the highest standards of ethics for his team, they would (mostly) believe him.
 

RousseauX

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During the 1952 campaign, Nixon was accused of benefitting from a secret slush fund that allowed him to live beyond his means. Many in the press called on him to resign from the ticket, and about half of Eisenhower's aides agreed. Ultimately Eisenhower decided against this as he felt it would cost him the election, and he allowed Nixon to explain himself in the famous "Checkers Speech." But what if Ike had dumped Nixon from the ticket? Would Eisenhower have lost the election to Adlai Stevenson as he feared?
No both fundamentals and candidate quality favors Eisenhower by a landslide
 
OK, but Eisenhower has a heart attack in 1955. Knowing that, would you replace Nixon for the 1956 campaign?

Eisenhower did make efforts to do so(he went so far as to ask Nixon if he wouldn’t
prefer to be in the Cabinet instead of being
Veep?)But he discovered Nixon was too popular in the Republican Party to be kicked out.
 
Ironically, had Nixon opted out of the second slot and been appointed SecState (given his acumen in foreign affairs, that's entirely plausible, since Foster Dulles was nearing retirement), he'd have been better prepared for the 1960 debates and election. There would have been no question about major administration / policy decisions in which he participated. That alone might have been enough to propel him over the top against Kennedy. Not sure who his successor at VP would have been, though: William Knowland and Nixon didn't get along too well; Ike thought about a Democrat fairly close to the GOP in stances (his name escapes me) but crossing party lines in '56 would have been problematic. Maybe Margaret Chase Smith--who was vetted for '52--might get the nod, although I suspect the GOP would have preferred a more conservative westerner.
 
Ironically, had Nixon opted out of the second slot and been appointed SecState (given his acumen in foreign affairs, that's entirely plausible, since Foster Dulles was nearing retirement), he'd have been better prepared for the 1960 debates and election.
Would Nixon have supported the Overthrow of either Iran or Guatemala government as Secretary of State? I never been able to find out Nixon stand on those actions by the CIA during the OTL.
 
Would Nixon have supported the Overthrow of either Iran or Guatemala government as Secretary of State? I never been able to find out Nixon stand on those actions by the CIA during the OTL.

He overthrew Allende in Chile and replaced him with Augusto Pinochet, so I think he'd definitely support both Coups.
 
I read that President Eisenhower offered Nixon any Cabinet position except State, Defense, and Treasury, if that is true then Nixon was right in turning Eisenhower down.
I believe it was in The People's Almanac by Irving Wallace.
 
I read that President Eisenhower offered Nixon any Cabinet position except State, Defense, and Treasury, if that is true then Nixon was right in turning Eisenhower down.
I believe it was in The People's Almanac by Irving Wallace.

In his book "Nixon: The Life," John Farrell suggests that if Nixon took up the offer - after Eisenhower just had a heart attack - it would show voters that Ike didn't trust Nixon to assume the Presidency and it would make him less electable. Also Eisenhower wanted his Secretary of Treasury to succeed him, but since he had no base of support in the GOP Ike had to reluctantly settle for Nixon.
 
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