What if Gerald Ford had been reelected?

[President Johnson]

What if Gerald Ford had been reelected in 1976 (I would have voted for him that year)? What would his second term have look like? And what would happen in 1980?

Election 1976 (just switched Ohio and Wisconsin; however, he could have won Texas and Pennslyvania either)

President Gerald Ford/Senator Bob Dole: 277 EV. (49.74%)
Former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter/Senator Walter Mondale: 261 EV. (48.66%)

[Dancing with Myself]

Most people tend to think Gerry would have had it rough and finished in 1981 a mediocre president.

But tbh I don't think he would have done as bad as Carter did. Carter was an extremely naive optimist who himself admitted that he did a terrible job of reaching out to people. He was too much of an outsider who was extremely vague on what he wanted  to do. Ford on the other hand was a master at congress and knew how to use that to his advantage. I see more successful stuff being passed or at least Ford trying to pass his versions of it.

Domestically I think he would have done better than Carter did. The economy was on the up for most of 76. His tax cuts were working and things were going well. He wanted to do more to help make things more efficient and keep creating jobs, he had almost 4 million new ones by July 76. He wanted to pass some more tax changes and de-regulate some industries. IDK if that could have worked but the tax thing could have.  He wanted to have more domestic drilling too which could have helped if the 79 oil crisis came around.

The main thing that I am 50/50 on is Iran. He could either refused the Shah or let him in. I like to think he would have done the former but who knows. Either way it would have made or broke the 4 years.

Economy wise it's really iffy to say. He could have easily improved things in long term or he could have just made them stay where they were until his last year or so and his successor would have had to deal with it. Inflation would have been a headache regardless.

As for who would have followed I say a democrat it would have been. Reps would have been in for 11 years and that's a good while. I see Dole getting the nom with Bush as his VP, and the Dems nominating Kennedy, Brown, or Mondale.  I see Brown getting it more than anything. Kennedy would stay out and Mondale was a bore.

Brown/Bentsen-321 EV's, 51%
Dole/Bush-217 EV's, 44%
Anderson/Lucey-0 EV's, 5%


Anderson kills Dole and the Reps chances. Debate happens in RL and Brown wins with his version of Reagan's pitch.  Reagan is just bitter he is not the lead here, the party stays more moderate and conservatism doesn't happen for the Reps.

Brown is there at least until 84 but if he's half as bit as successful as Reagan was he would be in until 89, where Bentsen gets it until 92 or 96.


I think in the end Ford would have went down as a fine President. Not the best or worst he did the best with a rough as hell situation.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Ford almost certainly would have done better than Carter for the simple reason that he would not have nominated William Miller to be head of the Federal Reserve, who without a doubt was the person least suited to the post to have ever held it.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

327: Gov. Pete McCloskey(R-CA)/Rep. Guy Vander Jagt(R-MI) - 46.8%
211: Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson(D-WA)/Sen. Sam Nunn(D-GA) - 45.6%
Eugene McCarthy(I-MN)/John Lindsay(I-NY) - 7.3%
Other: 0.3%

Why, why, why in God's name would Pete McCloskey pursue the GOP nomination, how would he get it, and how do you think he would win, especially with Southern states? McCloskey was a combination "liberal Republican" and anti-war leftist who wouldn't have a shot in post-1964 GOP period, let alone a chance at winning the presidency!

[Oldiesfreak1854]

You mean elected to a full term?

[President Johnson]

You mean elected to a full term?

Yes, elected in 1976 over Carter for the 1977-81 term.

[Kingpoleon]

Secretary of the Treasury Alan Greenspan, Fed Reserve Chair Alfred Hayes, and Secretary of Commerce Anne Armstrong would all have helped prevent the recession.

My prediction:
Gerald Ford leaves office with 55% approval ratings, but a charismatic Henry Scoop Jackson and national hero John Glenn together take down Secretary of State John Eisenhower and Governor Jack Kemp. Governor Jack Kemp and Senator Barry Goldwater, Jr. split the conservative vote against Representative Millicent Fenwick, although the establishment supported Senator John Connally, another person who split the conservative vote. John Connally was given the keynote speaker slot to unite the party.

List of Presidents:
1981-1983: Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson(D-WA)/Sen. John Glenn(D-OH)
1983-1985: Vice Pres. John Glenn(D-OH)/Sen. Gillis Long(D-LA)
1985-1993: Rep. Millicent Fenwick(R-NJ)/Gov. Pete McCloskey(R-CA)
1993-2001: Sen. Nathan Deal(D-GA)/Gov. Catherine Long(D-LA)
2001-2006: Gov. Winthrop P. Rockefeller(R-AR)/Rep. Susan Ford(R-CA)
2006-2009: Vice Pres. Susan Ford(R-CA)/Sen. Barack Obama(R-NY)
2009-2017: Gov. Scott Angelle(D-LA)/Sen. Michelle Nunn(D-GA)
2017-2021: Fmr. Pres. Susan Ford(R-CA)/Mayor Raymond Kelly(R-NY)

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Secretary of the Treasury Alan Greenspan, Fed Reserve Chair Alfred Hayes, and Secretary of Commerce Anne Armstrong would all have helped prevent the recession.

They may well have avoided stagflation, but I doubt they could have avoided having a recession.  Miller may have been an idiot as Fed Reserve Chair, but he wasn't a complete idiot and his excessive pump priming had been intended to stimulate the economy out of recession.

[Sir Mohamed]

In all fairness, I think Ford would have done better on the economy and foreign policy than Carter. And it would have strengthened the moderate GOP Forces and would have prevented Ronald Reagan from entering the White House.

1980 could have gone that way:
Vice President Dole becomes the Republican nominee after beating Bush for the nomination. He picks John Anderson as his running mate. Democrats nominate Walter Mondale, who wins against Ted Kennedy. California Governor Jerry Brown, who suspended his camopaign after the first primaries, is nominated for Vice President.

Senator Walter Mondale (D-MN)/Governor Jerry Brown (D-CA): 304 EV. (50.4%)
Vice President Robert Dole (R-KS)/Congressman John B. Anderson: 234 EV. (47.5%)

President Mondale presides over an era of economic stability and no major foreign crises. In 1984, Bush finnaly is nominated by the GOP but loses against the incumbent.

President Walter Mondale (D-MN)/Vice President Jerry Brown (D-CA): 337 EV. (52.8%)
Former CIA Director George Bush (R-TX)/Senator Paul Laxalt (D-NV): 201 EV. (46.4%)

In 1988, with the end of the Cold War in sight (President Mondale negotiated well with Gorbachev, and Soviet Union collapsed anyway a year later), Vice President Brown is the Democratic nominee. However, he loses in a very close race against Jack Kemp, who is defeated for reelection in 1992 by Bill Clinton due to the ecomimic downturn in the early 1990s.

[Kingpoleon]

Secretary of the Treasury Alan Greenspan, Fed Reserve Chair Alfred Hayes, and Secretary of Commerce Anne Armstrong would all have helped prevent the recession.

They may well have avoided stagflation, but I doubt they could have avoided having a recession.  Miller may have been an idiot as Fed Reserve Chair, but he wasn't a complete idiot and his excessive pump priming had been intended to stimulate the economy out of recession.

Ford, for all the teasing he received about his intellect, was very intelligent economically. Without Carter's signing the Humphrey-Hawkins bill, repeated slight tax cuts with spending increases, economic deregulation, and pro-labor policies all mixing for an unwieldy economy, I expect a recession to be delayed until it combines into one with the 1982-1983 one OTL from 1981 to maybe as late as 1984. At the very least, Ford would have delayed the recession. His 1975-1976 economic growth plan was not an accident.

[Sumner 1868]

Dead hostages and a war with Iran in 1980.

[Kingpoleon]

Secretary of the Treasury Alan Greenspan, Fed Reserve Chair Alfred Hayes, and Secretary of Commerce Anne Armstrong would all have helped prevent the recession.

They may well have avoided stagflation, but I doubt they could have avoided having a recession.  Miller may have been an idiot as Fed Reserve Chair, but he wasn't a complete idiot and his excessive pump priming had been intended to stimulate the economy out of recession.

"Intended". The economy was on the rise 1975-1976, and it's only because of Nixon Ford didn't win and actually stimulate the economy out of the recession.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Secretary of the Treasury Alan Greenspan, Fed Reserve Chair Alfred Hayes, and Secretary of Commerce Anne Armstrong would all have helped prevent the recession.

They may well have avoided stagflation, but I doubt they could have avoided having a recession.  Miller may have been an idiot as Fed Reserve Chair, but he wasn't a complete idiot and his excessive pump priming had been intended to stimulate the economy out of recession.

"Intended". The economy was on the rise 1975-1976, and it's only because of Nixon Ford didn't win and actually stimulate the economy out of the recession.

Miller's policies were basically Hayes' policies on steroids, and Hayes stayed on as Fed Chair for the beginning of Carter's term.

[Kingpoleon]

Secretary of the Treasury Alan Greenspan, Fed Reserve Chair Alfred Hayes, and Secretary of Commerce Anne Armstrong would all have helped prevent the recession.

They may well have avoided stagflation, but I doubt they could have avoided having a recession.  Miller may have been an idiot as Fed Reserve Chair, but he wasn't a complete idiot and his excessive pump priming had been intended to stimulate the economy out of recession.

"Intended". The economy was on the rise 1975-1976, and it's only because of Nixon Ford didn't win and actually stimulate the economy out of the recession.

Miller's policies were basically Hayes' policies on steroids, and Hayes stayed on as Fed Chair for the beginning of Carter's term.

This is equivalent to me saying that because Governor X raised the minimum wage $1 in 2002, it was just "the same thing on steroids" when Governor Y raised the minimum wage $500 in 2003. Furthermore, Hayes was a Friedman-literalist, not a pragmatist. Lastly, Hayes was never NATIONAL Fed Reserve Chair.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Secretary of the Treasury Alan Greenspan, Fed Reserve Chair Alfred Hayes, and Secretary of Commerce Anne Armstrong would all have helped prevent the recession.

They may well have avoided stagflation, but I doubt they could have avoided having a recession.  Miller may have been an idiot as Fed Reserve Chair, but he wasn't a complete idiot and his excessive pump priming had been intended to stimulate the economy out of recession.

"Intended". The economy was on the rise 1975-1976, and it's only because of Nixon Ford didn't win and actually stimulate the economy out of the recession.

Miller's policies were basically Hayes' policies on steroids, and Hayes stayed on as Fed Chair for the beginning of Carter's term.

This is equivalent to me saying that because Governor X raised the minimum wage $1 in 2002, it was just "the same thing on steroids" when Governor Y raised the minimum wage $500 in 2003. Furthermore, Hayes was a Friedman-literalist, not a pragmatist. Lastly, Hayes was never NATIONAL Fed Reserve Chair.

Well, whoever was Fed Chair before Miller. I didn't remember the name, so I assumed when you said Hayes was, that you were referring to the Fed Chair.

[Kingpoleon]

Secretary of the Treasury Alan Greenspan, Fed Reserve Chair Alfred Hayes, and Secretary of Commerce Anne Armstrong would all have helped prevent the recession.

They may well have avoided stagflation, but I doubt they could have avoided having a recession.  Miller may have been an idiot as Fed Reserve Chair, but he wasn't a complete idiot and his excessive pump priming had been intended to stimulate the economy out of recession.

"Intended". The economy was on the rise 1975-1976, and it's only because of Nixon Ford didn't win and actually stimulate the economy out of the recession.

Miller's policies were basically Hayes' policies on steroids, and Hayes stayed on as Fed Chair for the beginning of Carter's term.

This is equivalent to me saying that because Governor X raised the minimum wage $1 in 2002, it was just "the same thing on steroids" when Governor Y raised the minimum wage $500 in 2003. Furthermore, Hayes was a Friedman-literalist, not a pragmatist. Lastly, Hayes was never NATIONAL Fed Reserve Chair.

Well, whoever was Fed Chair before Miller. I didn't remember the name, so I assumed when you said Hayes was, that you were referring to the Fed Chair.

Paul Volcker, I believe. Yes, one of Ford's more iffy appointments.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Secretary of the Treasury Alan Greenspan, Fed Reserve Chair Alfred Hayes, and Secretary of Commerce Anne Armstrong would all have helped prevent the recession.

They may well have avoided stagflation, but I doubt they could have avoided having a recession.  Miller may have been an idiot as Fed Reserve Chair, but he wasn't a complete idiot and his excessive pump priming had been intended to stimulate the economy out of recession.

"Intended". The economy was on the rise 1975-1976, and it's only because of Nixon Ford didn't win and actually stimulate the economy out of the recession.

Miller's policies were basically Hayes' policies on steroids, and Hayes stayed on as Fed Chair for the beginning of Carter's term.

This is equivalent to me saying that because Governor X raised the minimum wage $1 in 2002, it was just "the same thing on steroids" when Governor Y raised the minimum wage $500 in 2003. Furthermore, Hayes was a Friedman-literalist, not a pragmatist. Lastly, Hayes was never NATIONAL Fed Reserve Chair.

Well, whoever was Fed Chair before Miller. I didn't remember the name, so I assumed when you said Hayes was, that you were referring to the Fed Chair.

Paul Volcker, I believe. Yes, one of Ford's more iffy appointments.

Volcker was appointed in 1979 by Carter. And he was a badass.

[MATTROSE94]

Most people tend to think Gerry would have had it rough and finished in 1981 a mediocre president.

But tbh I don't think he would have done as bad as Carter did. Carter was an extremely naive optimist who himself admitted that he did a terrible job of reaching out to people. He was too much of an outsider who was extremely vague on what he wanted  to do. Ford on the other hand was a master at congress and knew how to use that to his advantage. I see more successful stuff being passed or at least Ford trying to pass his versions of it.

Domestically I think he would have done better than Carter did. The economy was on the up for most of 76. His tax cuts were working and things were going well. He wanted to do more to help make things more efficient and keep creating jobs, he had almost 4 million new ones by July 76. He wanted to pass some more tax changes and de-regulate some industries. IDK if that could have worked but the tax thing could have.  He wanted to have more domestic drilling too which could have helped if the 79 oil crisis came around.

The main thing that I am 50/50 on is Iran. He could either refused the Shah or let him in. I like to think he would have done the former but who knows. Either way it would have made or broke the 4 years.

Economy wise it's really iffy to say. He could have easily improved things in long term or he could have just made them stay where they were until his last year or so and his successor would have had to deal with it. Inflation would have been a headache regardless.

As for who would have followed I say a democrat it would have been. Reps would have been in for 11 years and that's a good while. I see Dole getting the nom with Bush as his VP, and the Dems nominating Kennedy, Brown, or Mondale.  I see Brown getting it more than anything. Kennedy would stay out and Mondale was a bore.

Brown/Bentsen-321 EV's, 51%
Dole/Bush-217 EV's, 44%
Anderson/Lucey-0 EV's, 5%


Anderson kills Dole and the Reps chances. Debate happens in RL and Brown wins with his version of Reagan's pitch.  Reagan is just bitter he is not the lead here, the party stays more moderate and conservatism doesn't happen for the Reps.

Brown is there at least until 84 but if he's half as bit as successful as Reagan was he would be in until 89, where Bentsen gets it until 92 or 96.


I think in the end Ford would have went down as a fine President. Not the best or worst he did the best with a rough as hell situation.

It is entirely possible that Ford would have supported the Shah much more than Carter in lead up to the Iranian Revolution, which might have resulted a much more bloodshed in the Revolution than in RL (I know that the Shah killed about 60,000 people during the Revolution in RL, so the death toll would probably be much higher if the US directly supported the Shah).