Question About Nixon And The Vice Presidency

[Lincoln Republican]

If Eisenhower had not tapped Nixon for Vice President in 1952, and Nixon was still a Senator in 1960, which is very likely

1.  Would Nixon have won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1960?

2.  If Senator Nixon had won the nomination, how well would he have done in the election against Kennedy? 

[J. J.]

He might have run.  Prescott Bush might have been the GOP candidate.

[gorkay]

1. Probably not. Whoever had been Ike's VP for the past eight years would have been the overwhelming front-runner for the nomination, and it would have been tough for Nixon or anyone else to beat him.

2. It's hard to say. A lot would have depended on Nixon's record in the Senate.

[CPT MikeyMike]

Whoever had been Ike's VP for the past eight years would have been the overwhelming front-runner for the nomination, and it would have been tough for Nixon or anyone else to beat him.

That's the probable guess as well. My guess was that Ike would have selected Henry Cabot Lodge in '52 and would have been the favorite in '60.

[gorkay]

Lodge would've been a good possibility... maybe Harold Stassen? Christian Herter? Earl Warren?

[Lincoln Republican]

Lodge would've been a good possibility... maybe Harold Stassen? Christian Herter? Earl Warren?

Harold Stassen ceased being a serious contender, or even a half serious contender, in American politics in 1948.

[gorkay]

Stassen was actually well-regarded and -respected through most of the fifties as well, and certainly was still taken seriously in '52.

[gorkay]

BTW, speaking of Nixon and vice-presidential possibilities, Arthur Schlesinger claims in his recently published Journals that Nixon offered Nelson Rockefeller the vice-presidential nomination in 1960, but that Rocky turned it down.

[Lincoln Republican]

BTW, speaking of Nixon and vice-presidential possibilities, Arthur Schlesinger claims in his recently published Journals that Nixon offered Nelson Rockefeller the vice-presidential nomination in 1960, but that Rocky turned it down.

True.  Nixon wanted Rockefeller, as he believed he would be the strongest asset to the ticket, and would help him in closely contested swing states in the northeast and midwest.  Nixon offered, and was turned down by Rockefeller.  Rockefeller said he was not made of "standby material."