1972 - What if McGovern Had a Different Running-Mate?

[Fuzzy Bear]

In 1972, then-Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter (D), while being a vocal member of the “Anybody But McGovern” movement dedicated to stopping the nomination, aggressively lobbied behind the scenes to be McGovern’s running mate.  McGovern turned Carter down, and the way Carter went about things (afterward, he announced that he would vote for McGovern, but not do anything in the way of campaigning for the national ticket) left McGovern with a distaste for Carter that led him to cast his 1976 vote for Gerald Ford.

What would have happened if McGovern had, in fact, taken Carter up on his offer?  He was one of the few who actually WANTED the VP nomination on a ticket that was likely to lose?  Carter offered geographical balance, some credibility with moderate and conservative Democrats.  Carter was seen as a moderate conservative who accepted Civil Rights legislation.

Could Carter have expanded the map for McGovern?  Could he have caused McGovern to avoid defeat in 49 states?  Here’s my take:

NIXON/AGNEW     485 EV
McGOVERN/CARTER    53 EV

[© tweed]

at the very least you have to give him the Hump's 42.7%.  so maybe 8 or so states.  ma ri sd mn wv ny...

[© tweed]

a more fun what-if is if McGovern got Ted Kennedy to accept the vp.

[badgate]

I'm not sure which I'd prefer, if his DNC speech had been in prime time, or if he had gotten Kennedy for VP.

[Jerseyrules]

a more fun what-if is if McGovern got Ted Kennedy to accept the vp.

Would the stigma of Chappaquiddick have done Ted in though?  Perhaps worse than Eagleton, and maybe even killed Ted's presidential ambitions with a disastrous loss at the bottom of the ticket?

[© tweed]

a more fun what-if is if McGovern got Ted Kennedy to accept the vp.

Would the stigma of Chappaquiddick have done Ted in though?  Perhaps worse than Eagleton, and maybe even killed Ted's presidential ambitions with a disastrous loss at the bottom of the ticket?

couldn't have been worse than Eagleton.  JFK/RFK mystique goes a long way.

[Free Bird]

Maybe be slightly less crushed

[Mister Mets]

I'd imagine that he'd have done a few points better without the shock therapy scandal. It's not that Carter would have expanded the map, but he wouldn't have hurt the ticket.

That said, Mondale lost his second-best state (Minnesota) by 5.51 points. Even if Carter would have been five points better, it might not have been enough to swing any state.

Georgia was Nixon's second-best state giving him more than 75% of the vote, so it's unlikely that would have swung McGovern's way.

[Fuzzy Bear]

My first thread ever.  What do people think of this now?>

[Agonized-Statism]

Maybe, but the New Deal Coalition was through and it would be very difficult for any Democrat to win without something like an earlier Watergate. McGovern's best option electorally would be to run with a Lunch-pail Democrat who could package his anti-war positions in a way Hard Hat Rioter types would approve of, but that only gets him something like the Humphrey map.

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

I'd imagine that he'd have done a few points better without the shock therapy scandal. It's not that Carter would have expanded the map, but he wouldn't have hurt the ticket.

That said, Mondale lost his second-best state (Minnesota) by 5.51 points. Even if Carter would have been five points better, it might not have been enough to swing any state.

Georgia was Nixon's second-best state giving him more than 75% of the vote, so it's unlikely that would have swung McGovern's way.

I think he would have an off-chance in Georgia with Carter on the ticket. Keep in mind how much more elastic the electorate in general was in that era.

[Liminal Trans Girl]

McGovern/Mondale