1992 - Richard Shelby vs. Arlen Specter

[bhouston79]

In 1992, Alabama Senator Richard Shelby was still a Democrat.  What would have happened in a hypothetical matchup between the Conservative Southern Democrat, Richard Shelby, and the socially liberal Republican Senator, Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania?  Would Perot have entered the race under such a scenario?  If so, how would that have played out?

[bhouston79]

Here's my map:

Electoral Votes
Shelby     280
Specter   258

Illinois would have been the crucial swing state that wasn't called until 4:00 a.m., and it would of course also provided the crucial margin of victory.

[Bacon King]

To really understand how this hypothetical would turn out you'd need to draw the line as to whether a given state votes on partisan grounds and/or ideological grounds. That is, the difference between a "conservative state" and a "Republican state" (or Democratic/liberal)

In this elections you'd see conservatives + partisan Dems for Shelby and liberals + partisan GOPers for Specter. An electoral map would be quite messy.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I give it to Specter, 273-265:

[TeePee4Prez]

I'd actually vote for Specter in this situation without a second thought.