Alternative Hillary vs. McCain Election

[nini2287]

In March 1990, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton suffers a massive heart attack and dies at the age of 44.  Democratic Lt. Gov. Jim Tucker takes office.  He announces that he will run for a full term in the upcoming fall election.  However, while riding a wave of popular support after her late husband's death, First Lady Hillary Clinton defeats Tucker in the Democratic primary.  Gov. Clinton serves two succesful terms as Arkansas Governor continuing many of the successful programs of her late husband.  She wins the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2000 in the race to succeed two-term President Tom Harkin.

Meanwhile, in 1991, Freshman Senator John McCain of Arizona resigns from the Senate after being implicated in the Keating Five scandal.  He is later cleared on all charges, but moves to Virginia to work with the Republican National Committee.  He quickly re-establishes his clean reputation and in 1994, riding the Republican tide of that year, McCain edged Senator Chuck Robb in the Senate race.  He announced that he would not run for re-election in 2000 despite his 70% overall ratings to instead run for President and defeated Texas Gov. George W. Bush to win the nomination.

So who would you vote for and who would win:

Fmr. Gov. Hillary Clinton (D-AR) vs. Sen. John McCain (R-VA)

[adam]

You pretty much stacked it for Clinton...but I would still vote for McCain, and he'd probably win.

[Lincoln Republican]

In the scenario you have made

Hillary Clinton, successful two term Governor of Arkansas, enacting popular legislation for the people.

John McCain, implicated in scandal, though cleared.  Moves from Arizona to Virginia, puts the scandal behind him, and re-establishes his good name.

If it was the Democrats that implicated McCain in the scandal, and he was found to be in fact completely innocent, McCain wins the Presidency by a wide margin.

If the Democrats were not involved in implicating McCain in the scandal, and McCain is completely cleared, this would be a closer race.

However, given the fact that Democrat Tom Harkin had been President for the previous eight years, the voters may be in a mood to elect a new administration, and change from Democrat to Republican, with a candidate, McCain, who has been found to be completely innocent of the charges against him.

The fact that McCain is now a Virginia Senator should help his candidacy even more in the south, and Hillary would not be as successful in the south as was Bill Clinton in reality.

The only drawback I can see for McCain is, once implicated in scandal, this may stay in the minds of many voters, even though completely cleared and completely innocent.

My vote would be for McCain.