1960 Primaries (The Hearse at Monticello)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

His independent campaign for the presidency notwithstanding, practical concerns would soon compel President Estes Kefauver to reenter the Populist fold in the weeks following his victory in the 1956 Presidential Elections. After meeting with Populist Congressional leaders and making amends with Dwight Eisenhower, the party's official nominee for president in 1956, Kefauver announced that he would govern as a Populist, giving him the legislative clout necessary to enact his agenda over the next four years.

On domestic matters, Kefauver has more or less toed the party line, supporting organized labor and advocating for expanded farm subsidies. The president has likewise embraced the burgeoning Feminist Movement, advocating for action to increase gender parity in colleges and the workforce. Internationally, Kefauver has maintained his predecessors' policies in regards to the Soviet Union, reluctantly continuing limited military action in Vietnam and otherwise seeking to contain the spread of communism.

Kefauver heads into the 1960 campaign cycle with modest approval ratings, having sustained heavy criticism from conservative politicians over the last four years. His opponent in the Populist Primary election is Alabama Governor George Wallace, who has criticized Kefauver's "hesitant" foreign policy. The American Party primary, meanwhile, is a crowded field, with candidates representing both the progressive and conservative wings of the party vying for the nomination. The front runners are Senators Barry Goldwater and John F. Kennedy, who ran as a single ticket in 1956; however, Henry C. Lodge, Jr., Margaret Chase Smith, and Everett Dirksen are also in the running.

Have at it!

[Goldwater]

Goldwater/Chase Smith

[Boston Bread]

Can we have at least one election series without Goldwater winning every nomination he contests?

[VPH]

Voting Margaret Chase Smith just because I don't want to see the typical Goldwater blowout and I plead you all to follow me in this noble pursuit.

[Mr. Smith]

Voting Margaret Chase Smith JFK just because I don't want to see the typical Goldwater blowout and I plead you all to follow me in this noble pursuit.

[Zioneer]

I'm going for a Kefauver two-termer.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I'm going for a Kefauver two-termer.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Bump.

[Zioneer]

So this timeline has had Civil Rights for a while, right? So George Wallace's only talking point is foreign policy?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

So this timeline has had Civil Rights for a while, right? So George Wallace's only talking point is foreign policy?

Pretty much. Thanks to a more aggressive Reconstruction policy and the survival of the Populist Party, blacks have enjoyed equal rights with whites in the South for some time now. As such, Wallace's main difference from Kefauver is on foreign policy, though he's also more suspicious of the emerging Feminist movement.

[TDAS04]

I'm going for a Kefauver two-termer.

 

[Mr. Smith]

So it's leaning towards K. vs K.

Wonder who Jack will pick.