The New Frontier (A Different Path, Chapter 1)

[MAINEiac4434]

KENNEDY/HUMPHREY

[Cold War Liberal]

November 7, 1963 - March 10, 1964
The Road to New Hampshire

When it came to choosing party nominees, 1964 was still a time when the will of the people took something of a backseat to political wheeling and dealing with party delegates. Primaries were important, yes, especially when candidates were trying to prove their electability; but even if one candidate won every single pledged delegate, they would still not have enough to win the nomination of either party on the first ballot. The political maneuvering in anticipation of convention battles began well in advance of the start of the 1964 campaign; Barry Goldwater been quietly laying the groundwork for a primary campaign since 1958, and Rockefeller had probably been preparing for far longer than that. John F. Kennedy's position as a popular President of the United States, obviously, means that he was essentially guaranteed renomination.

The first primary on both sides was held in New Hampshire. On the Republican side, the road to New Hampshire was not incredibly eventful. Rockefeller and Goldwater had laid the groundwork for a campaign there throughout 1963, and one of them was expected to win. However, In January, a write-in campaign for U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam and 1960 Republican Vice Presidential nominee Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. began; Lodge was pitched as a moderate candidate in contrast to Rockefeller’s liberalism and Goldwater’s conservatism. Hailing from Massachusetts, he had the advantage of being from a nearby state, and while he did not actively campaign, he held his own against Rockefeller and Goldwater in polls.

Moderate Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton announced his campaign in mid-January, followed by lesser-known candidates like Hawaii Senator Hiram Fong, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith, Ohio Governor James Rhodes, Representative John W. Byrnes (WI-08), and former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen. Scranton was the only candidate polling high enough to get within striking distance of the Big Two nationally, but suffered among party delegates because Scranton was not significantly different ideologically from Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., or even Nelson Rockefeller. Senator Smith was a woman, running for President of the United States. That was an idea so laughable to some folks that it made her campaign a non-starter. The rest were no name favorite son candidates, each hoping to be able to play kingmaker at a contested convention and maybe get the Vice Presidential nomination, if they were lucky.

Nelson Rockefeller threw himself into campaigning in New Hampshire, but so did Barry Goldwater. Rockefeller's moderate liberalism was a much, much better fit for the Granite State than Goldwater's fairly radical conservatism. In response to this, Goldwater moderated his stances on programs like Social Security, which the moderate Republicans of New Hampshire did not want to see dismantled to the extent that Goldwater had previously stated it should be. Rockefeller emphasized his record in New York on things like social programs and infrastructure projects. Scranton did not make a major push to win New Hampshire, as he was trailing the Big Two and Lodge significantly, and was not on the ballot. As election day drew nearer, Goldwater, Lodge, and Rockefeller were essentially tied. Some thought that Lodge and Rockefeller would split the moderate and liberal vote and lead to a Goldwater victory, which, while largely symbolic, would allow the Arizona conservative to tout his perceived electability in states that are typically averse to those who are in that wing of the party.

The Democratic side was uneventful - literally. President Kennedy did not actively campaign there, as he was the only one on the ballot. George Wallace, only valid as a write-in, spoke there once or twice, but mainly spent his time trying (with little success) to get the Southern DNC delegations to support him over the incumbent.

Republican New Hampshire Primary Results, 1964
Nelson A. Rockefeller: 34.9%
Henry C. Lodge, Jr.: 32.1%
Barry M. Goldwater: 28.2%
Margaret C. Smith: 2.4%
William Scranton: 1.3%
Others: 1.1%
(Italics = write-in)

Democratic New Hampshire Primary Results, 1964
John F. Kennedy: 95.9%
George C. Wallace: 3.9%
Others: 0.2%
(Italics = write-in)

[Cold War Liberal]

Author's Note
On Delegates

I'm not doing delegate counts for each primary right now since the whole delegate system was weird and confusing before McGovern-Frasier. In later chapters (probably from '72 on, we'll see how McGovern-Frasier or something like it plays out, if it does) I'll calculate pledged delegates, but for now, I'll do rough estimations based on combining the number of delegates pledged to each candidate + how many they've convinced to vote for them at the convention. This is easier for me and also has the side effect of being more entertaining to read since you, the reader, won't know exactly how the convention delegates will vote until they do it.

[Cold War Liberal]

March 10 - April 28, 1964
Northeast Primaries

The results out of New Hampshire were slightly surprising, as the race between Rockefeller, Lodge, and Goldwater had been something of a dead heat in a poll put out right before the primary, and yet Rockefeller beat Lodge by 2 points, and, in a blow to the conservative movement in the Republican Party, beat Goldwater by 7 points.

There were four weeks until the next primary, in Wisconsin, and candidates spent it courting delegations from states where primaries were not going to be held, as Rep. Byrnes was the only candidate on the ballot in that primary. Out of 1,308 delegates in total, roughly 250 were in Goldwater’s column, 175 in Rockefeller’s, and 70 in Scranton’s, with a few being split among the other candidates and the rest being undecided.

President Kennedy, being the President of the United States, figured he didn't need to campaign in any primaries at all. George Wallace saw this as a weakness, and decided to aggressively contest the Wisconsin primary. He was actually on the ballot, not just as a write-in. Wisconsin was very white and very blue collar, which was exactly the type of people Wallace appealed to. So, he amped up his economic message, toned down the racial dog whistles (but just a little), and cris-crossed the state over the course of the month of March, meeting with tens of thousands of Wisconsinites.

Republican Wisconsin Primary Results, 1964
John W. Byrnes: 99.73%
Others: 0.27%
(Italics = write-in)

Democratic Wisconsin Primary Results, 1964
John F. Kennedy: 79.27%
George C. Wallace: 20.55%
Others: 0.18%
(Italics = write-ins)

The big bombshell was Wallace winning more than 20% of the vote in the Wisconsin primary. This caused a minor panic in the Kennedy campaign, as it showed that Wallace had a much stronger appeal among the white, blue collar workers in the Manufacturing Belt than previously anticipated. In response, Kennedy started to actively campaign for the upcoming Illinois primary, which was also very blue collar, where Wallace was also on the ballot, and which Wallace was actively campaigning to win.

President Kennedy campaigning in Chicago, April 11, 1964

As for the Republicans, Barry Goldwater and Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith were the only two candidates who were actually on the ballot in Illinois. Goldwater campaigned in the rural areas and the manufacturing towns, while Smith mostly campaigned in Chicago, and decried Goldwater's conservatism, which she called "dangerous extremism." Goldwater believed that the simple fact that Smith was a woman would make it impossible for her to come within 20 points of him - a belief backed up by most polls.

Republican Illinois Primary Results, 1964
Barry M. Goldwater: 51.97%
Margaret C. Smith: 42.98%
Nelson A. Rockefeller: 2.67%
Henry C. Lodge, Jr.: 2.06%
William Scranton: 0.22%
Others: 0.10%
(Italics = write-in)


Democratic Illinois Primary Results, 1964
John F. Kennedy: 91.01%
George C. Wallace: 8.34%
Others: 0.65%
(Italics = write-in)

Goldwater “won” Illinois, but did much worse than expected. He polled at well over 20 points ahead of Smith prior to the primary, but didn’t even beat her by 10. Was a major boon to the Rockefeller campaign, as it called into question Goldwater's electability.

On April 16, President Kennedy made a prime time televised speech on the Civil Rights Act, which was still being held up in the House Rules Committee by segregationist Rep. Howard Smith (D-VA). In the speech, he appealed to the “moral imperative we as Americans have to protect the most vulnerable among us, and to ensure everyone has the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Governors Rockefeller and Scranton both applauded the President and reaffirmed support for civil rights legislation. In contrast, Senator Goldwater condemned the President pushing for “massive federal overreach and meddling the lives of millions of Americans,” and Governor Wallace made remarks that future historians refer to as “not suitable for repeating in polite company.”

The last three primaries of April, in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, were uneventful and mostly won by favorite sons.

Republican New Jersey Primary Results, 1964
Henry C. Lodge, Jr.: 32.71%
Barry M. Goldwater: 31.52%
Nelson Rockefeller: 29.12%
Margaret C. Smith: 3.34%
William Scranton: 3.31%
(Italics = write-in)

Democratic New Jersey Primary Results, 1964
John F. Kennedy: 96.32%
George C. Wallace: 3.68%
(Italics = write-in)

Republican Massachusetts Primary Results, 1964
Henry C. Lodge, Jr.: 76.85%
Nelson Rockefeller: 11.21%
Barry M. Goldwater: 8.33%
William Scranton: 1.86%
Margaret C. Smith: 1.47%
Others: 0.28%
(Italics = write-in)

Democratic Massachusetts Primary Results, 1964
John F. Kennedy: 99.01%
George C. Wallace: 0.86%
Others: 0.13%
(Italics = write-in)

Republican Pennsylvania Primary Results, 1964
William Scranton: 51.94%
Nelson A. Rockefeller: 21.80%
Barry Goldwater: 13.54%
Henry C. Lodge, Jr.: 10.47%
Margaret C. Smith:  2.01%
Others: 0.24%
(Italics = write-in)

Democratic Pennsylvania Primary Results, 1964
John F. Kennedy: 94.57%
George C. Wallace: 4.48%
Others: 0.95%
(Italics = write-in)

[Cold War Liberal]

May 1, 1964
Gallup Poll

President Kennedy Approval Rating
Approve: 57%
Disapprove: 35%
No opinion: 7%
Didn’t answer: 1%


Primary Polls
(Democrats only) Who should be the Democratic Presidential nominee in 1964?
President Kennedy: 94%
Governor Wallace: 4%
Other: 1%
Undecided: 1%

(Republicans only) Who should be the Republican Presidential nominee in 1964?
Barry M. Goldwater: 42%
Nelson A. Rockefeller: 42%
William Scranton: 6%
Henry C. Lodge, Jr.: 5%
Margaret C. Smith: 1%
Other: 2%
Undecided: 2%


General Election Polls
Kennedy vs. Goldwater
John F. Kennedy: 47%
Barry M. Goldwater: 36%
Undecided: 17%

Kennedy vs. Rockefeller
John F. Kennedy: 44%
Nelson A. Rockefeller: 40%
Undecided: 16%

Kennedy vs. Scranton
John F. Kennedy: 44%
William Scranton: 39%
Undecided: 15%

Wallace vs. Goldwater
George C. Wallace: 36%
Barry M. Goldwater: 36%
Undecided: 28%

Wallace vs. Rockefeller
Nelson A. Rockefeller: 49%
George C. Wallace: 35%
Undecided: 16%

Wallace vs. Scranton
William Scranton: 47%
George C. Wallace: 36%
Undecided: 17%

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I feel like a POTUS at 67% would poll higher, but good update!

[Cold War Liberal]

I feel like a POTUS at 67% would poll higher, but good update!

Oops, that was meant to be 57%.

I will note, JFK was polling at around 60% approval before he died but was apparently concerned about a relatively (compared to how '64 actually panned out) tight race with Goldwater. There was a lot less polarization (Rick Pearlstein, and probably other people too, called this the "American Consensus") back then. For instance, I assume a lot of northern Rockefeller Republicans supported Kennedy personally but would vote for Rocky if he were nominated

[Cold War Liberal]

May 2, 1964
Nelson

“...an area where President Kennedy and I agree is that the pursuit of civil rights for all Americans is a just, noble, and moral cause...”

Governor Nelson Rockefeller really, really enjoyed campaigning, which was what he was doing here in Fremont, California. Nelson also loved winning, which was not something he’d done much of thus far in the primaries. Goldwater was winning basically all of the conservative vote, while Nelson had to split it among that Pennsylvania Governor… Bill Scatron, he thought it was? Whatever, he was never good with names. He also had to split it with the unofficially official write-in campaign of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., which annoyed Rockefeller. If you’re gonna run for the nomination, be a man and declare your candidacy like a normal person, Nelson thought.

“...did you all see that poll from Gallup yesterday? Probably not, that’s boring stuff for political wonks like me, but it had me up as the most competitive against President Kennedy in November. And you know who was dead last? Barry Morris Goldwater, that’s who. Keep that in mind when you go to the polls on June the second. Vote for me, and vote for victory!”

Nelson waved to the crowd as they cheered, then walked off the stage to greet the cheering mass of potential voters. After the short hand-shaking-and-baby-kissing routine of a Presidential candidate, Nelson was ushered off to a limo, where a major GOP party figure and RNC delegate awaited.

“Hiya, Dick,” Nelson said after getting in the vehicle. “Hello, Nelson,” said the former Vice President of the United States, who was already inside. Several candidates had been vying for the endorsement of Richard M. Nixon, Republican party standard-bearer and an ex-candidate on an apparent losing streak. “Let’s get to the point, Nelson; out of the candidates we have now, or at least the declared ones, you’re the best. Goldwater’s a crazy Jew, Scranton’s a lightweight, and I’m certainly not going to vote for that woman from Maine. Henry would be the only one that’d make me reconsider, but he’s still being coy about whether or not he would even accept the nomination if it were given to him, which it almost certainly will not be. He probably just wants to be kingmaker if the nomination isn’t settled on the first ballot…”

Nelson let Dick monologue for a bit, then interjected with his own two cents, followed by a question. “It’s great that you’ll cast your ballot for me, even if you’ll wait until the convention to endorse me. But Dick, I know you still want to be President. Why didn’t you run this year?”

Nixon paused. “If I thought I stood a chance, I would have. But a rematch of 1960 is not what should go down this year, especially since I lost in 1960, lost here in California in 1962, and would probably lose again in 1964. I’d be politically dead, in my early 50’s. I couldn’t deal with that, Nelson. The time for me is not now.”

“I see. Well, I wish you the best of luck.” “And I wish you good luck as well.” Nixon got out of the limo and got into his own, adjacent car.

When the driver got back to Rockefeller’s California campaign headquarters, one of the high-up campaign staffers rushed up to Nelson. The Governor gave him his signature greeting for people whose names he couldn’t immediately remember - “hiya, fella’ - and asked him what all the rush was about. “It’s your wife, sir. She’s gone into labor.”

Happy isn’t due for, like, another month, Nelson though. I hope her and the baby’ll be OK… I have to get back to New York…

Nelson immediately got back in his car, had the driver take him to Oakland International, where his charter plane was. He went back to New York to be with his wife as she gave birth to their first son (together), Nelson Rockefeller, Jr.


“...the birth of Nelson Rockefeller, Jr., in the early hours of May 3, 1964 refocused attention on the unique - and, according to the cultural conservatives so galvanized by Goldwater, immoral - marriage of Nelson and Happy Rockefeller; both of them had divorced their previous spouses and immediately married each other (neither of them were particularly known for their ability to be subtle). The voters had mostly forgotten about the issue by then; the Rockefeller campaign hoped and prayed that they would forget again, before the June 2 California primary. Of course, as any student of 1960’s political history knows, the Republicans in California voted for…"

Excerpt from “On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller,” by Richard Norton Smith (p. 485, published 2014)

[MAINEiac4434]

Oh no!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

This has me hooked.

[America Needs R'hllor]

This has me hooked.

[Cold War Liberal]

Thank you for the nice comments.

Update incoming.

[Cold War Liberal]

May 2, 1964
Barry

Barry was starting to get a little nervous. He wasn’t performing quite as well as he had expected to, considering that he had been a much-beloved figure in conservative Republican circles for nearly a decade, and had been preparing to run in 1964 since the day after Nixon lost. He was still winning primaries, and was (narrowly) ahead of Rocky in the projected delegate count for the RNC’s first round, but hundreds of delegates were still unpledged, and no one was close to a majority. If this goes to the second ballot, Maggie and Bill’s delegates might bolt to Rocky and put him over the top… Barry knew he almost certainly had to get a majority of the delegates, on the first ballot, if he wanted the nomination, or at the very least if he wanted to avoid a massive party fight that would divide the Republicans and lead to a Kennedy landslide in November.

Not that a Kennedy landslide was any less plausible, even if Barry won on the first ballot; that Gallup poll from the other day had rattled Barry a bit. I’m trailing by 11 points, Barry thought. At least Jack’s also below 50%, which means I theoretically have a shot even if his support doesn’t drop… I can cross that bridge when I get there, I’ve got to lock up the nomination first.

Barry watched as the results from the Texas primary streamed in. He was certainly going to win, which gave him some comfort. But a win in solid conservative territory wasn’t comforting; Barry needed to win in California to cement his place as the best candidate to go against Jack in November.

Republican Texas Primary, 1964
Barry M. Goldwater: 69.89%
Nelson A. Rockefeller: 13.06%
Henry C. Lodge, Jr.: 8.85%
Harold Stassen: 3.79%
Margaret C. Smith: 3.46%
William Scranton: 0.58%
Others: 0.37%
(Italics = write-in)

[Cold War Liberal]

May 26, 1964
George

“Thank you Florida! Tonight, you showed the Kennedy Establishment what Dixie can do! We’re gonna fight for us real Americans all the way to the convention. We’re gonna fight to cut our taxes, fight the Soviets, and fight to keep the white man separate from the nig…”

George Wallace was quite happy with his current position. He wasn’t going to win the Democratic nomination, though he wasn’t going to say that. Not that he wanted to win. This entire thing had been a stunt to increase his national profile so he'd be in a better position for a future, more serous run. And not that he didn't have any supporters among the DNC delegates; Wallace did have the support of the delegations from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, and, thanks to tonight’s win, Florida.

Democratic Florida Primary, 1964
George C. Wallace: 50.47%
John F. Kennedy: 48.54%
Others: 0.99%
(Italics = write-in)

The Florida win wouldn’t be enough to unseat the popular President Kennedy, obviously. Even his most ardent supporters didn't believe that. Hell, he didn’t even win by as much as he’d expected to. Florida’s demographics were supposed to be pretty similar to those in Wallace’s base, plus he was Governor of a neighboring state, which was supposed to give him an advantage. And yet he didn’t even beat the President by two whole points.

Conservatism was not having as good a year as it should have. Wallace wasn’t going to win the Democratic nomination. On the Republican side, Goldwater had recently won Indiana, Nebraska, and now Florida, but Rockefeller had taken West Virginia, Maryland (narrowly), and Oregon (Ohio went to a favorite son, James Rhodes). Goldwater and Rockefeller were each at around 450 delegates (pledged and unpledged; 655 were needed for a majority), while Scranton, Lodge, and Smith (both moderates) had about 175 between them. Roughly 30 delegates went to assorted favorite sons, and 173 were still undecided or unpledged. 86 of those were at stake in next week’s California primary, and Rockefeller was very slightly ahead in the polls.

Rockefeller’s strategy in California was to campaign heavily in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other urban, more liberal areas. He was also exceptionally strong among black voters, and made sure to emphasize his support for the Civil Rights Act while stopping in certain areas of California cities. Barry Goldwater, on the other hand, had spent the past month traipsing across the eastern half of the state and other more rural areas, while simultaneously making inroads in suburbs. Wallace wasn’t sure it would be enough, especially if Goldwater was blown out in the cities, but he was open to being pleasantly surprised.

What if Rockefeller wins the nomination, Wallace wondered? Clarence Manion, the mildly popular conservative radio host and friend of Barry Goldwater, had started his own “American Conservative Party” back in March, as a sort of insurance policy against there being no conservative on the ballot in November. He had ballot access in every state. Problem was: he didn’t have a real candidate in any of them. He’d simply entered Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus’s name on the ballots; though, like in 1960, Faubus showed no intention of actually running for the office. It was a shame too, since it was very possible that the election would come down to two pinkos: Jack and Rocky.

Wallace sure as hell wouldn’t be Manion’s candidate. He’d just taken office last year. He was only really running in ‘64 because he wanted to raise his national profile, and besides, he knew he couldn’t beat Jack. Goldwater, if he lost, was probably too much of a party man to do what was needed to preserve his ideology. Faubus had had his heyday back in ‘57, during the so-called “Little Rock Crisis,” and probably wouldn’t actively campaign. He was a has-been, when conservatives needed a fresh face.

It was still entirely conceivable that Goldwater could still win on the first ballot, especially if he won in California. The whole issue of Rockefeller's marriage had flared up again following the public attention surrounding Nelson, Jr.’s birth, which had hurt Rocky, and more than just a little. Goldwater could use that, though it had mostly subsided by now. Even if he lost, there were still paths to a delegate majority. But if not…

Who’ll carry the conservative mantel in 1964?

[Cold War Liberal]

June 2, 1964
Hillary

"I, Hillary Diane Rodham, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

The crowd cheered upon witnessing the inauguration of the first female President of the United St-

Hillary woke up from her dream. She was on the couch at her parent’s house, having decided to take a nap after school. Her dream would someday come true, she was sure; just not now. She was 16, for goodness sakes.

Hillary looked at the clock. She’d overslept; CBS was about to start reporting results out of the California primary in a few minutes. She ran into the kitchen, quickly made a sandwich, and ran back into the living room to watch Cronkite. While she could not yet vote, she was totally a Goldwater Girl. She liked his independent spirit and rugged Arizona charm. Nelson was fine, she guessed, and Jack wasn’t all that bad, but Goldwater was truly the kind of respectable man who belonged in the White House, with good ideas to boot.

Cronkite’s signature voice announced that, with less than 1% of the vote in, it was a dead heat. Hillary had a feeling that would remain the case until much later in the evening. As she listened absentmindedly to the television, her thoughts drifted to how she hoped to one day run for President herself. She wanted to make a difference in this world, to shake up the boy’s club of politics and implement programs that would lead to a better America for all people. That was one reason she admired Maggie Smith, even if she would have prefered Goldwater, and even if Smith didn’t actually stand a chance of being nominated. Maggie had blazed a trail that she was told wasn’t worth creating, and was going to pass its creation on to some other woman. If she didn’t make it, then she’d pass it on to someone else, and so on, until one day, America elected its first female President, Hillary Diane Rodham. Or so Hillary hoped.

She stopped daydreaming and listened to Walter. “...with 15% in, Goldwater has taken a very narrow lead. Rural voters seem to be out in full force in this…”

[Cold War Liberal]

June 2, 1964
Barry

“...with 57% reporting, Senator Goldwater has regained the lead he has lost and regained multiple times tonight. Turnout for Governor Rockefeller is very good in the cities tonight, but…”

Sh*t. This is a close one. Barry was afraid. Very afraid. His base of rural and suburban voters had come out very strong for him tonight. However, Rocky was really running up the margin in LA and Frisco, areas that didn’t like Barry much at all. There were a ton of votes left in those highly populated cities, while most of the rural areas had already reported a majority of their votes.

Barry’s speechwriter approached him and gave him two speeches. One was a victory speech; it was happy and optimistic about the win and the upcoming convention fight. The other, obviously, was a concession speech vowing to continue the fight at the Cow Palace, where the RNC was being held this year.

Goldwater read them both over as his lead got smaller and smaller. He had a sinking feeling that he wouldn’t be reading the former.

[Cold War Liberal]

June 2, 1964
Nelson

“...with 89% of precincts reporting, Governor Rockefeller continues to maintain the steady lead he gained one half-hour ago…”

Rocky was overjoyed. He absolutely needed the California primary to have a serious shot at the nomination. And all the signs now pointed to him being on track to beat Goldwater, narrowly. There was practically no more rural vote left, and the cities overwhelmingly favored Nelson.

Nelson supposed it would be a little bit of a disappointing margin. Before his son’s premature birth had lead to a renewed focus on the morally dubious circumstances surrounding his marriage to Happy, he’d lead in California by something like 13 points. Now, he was barely scraping by. But it didn’t make a difference whether he won by 99 votes or 99 percentage points; he’d get all 86 of the delegates. So he’d take what he could get.

Nelson’s speechwriter held the concession in his left hand and the victory speech in his right. Rocky took the one in the man’s right, and waited for the state to officially be called.

[Cold War Liberal]

June 2, 1964
Jack

“...and goodnight to you, the great people of California!”

Jack didn’t really need to campaign in California. He’d obliterated Wallace, winning over 98% of the vote as even his base realized the Alabama racist had no chance at winning the nomination, and mostly stayed home.

No, it wasn’t really necessary, his speech tonight. It was more symbolic than anything. The final primary before the conventions. The vanquishing of a primary challenger. The kickoff of the general election (well, not quite).

Jack stepped off stage, into the crowd, and shook some hands before retreating back to his hotel room. He turned on CBS and saw that Nelson Rockefeller had just won the Republican primary. Rocky was about to give his victory speech, and next to his controversial wife, no less. Nelson’s got balls, the President thought.

“...thank you California! Thank you, than- really, thank you all! Tonight, the people of this great state sent a message, and that message is that extremists don’t represent the party of Lincoln! These people must be repudiated at the Cow Palace next…”

Republican California Primary, 1964
Nelson A. Rockefeller: 51.28%
Barry M. Goldwater: 47.83%
Other: 0.88%
(Italics = write-in)

It would be interesting to go against Rocky, the President thought. He was friends with the man, and respected him. Same with Senator Goldwater. Nelson would be better for my preserving my legacy, and for liberalism. Barry? Not so much. Nothing was certain. Most of every Republican candidates’ delegates were not actually pledged to them, so either Barry or Rocky could be nominated on the first ballot. Or neither of them could, and it could be contested. A contested convention would be great for Jack; party division was easy to point to and easy to exploit, especially if it was loud - and televised - like at a convention.

Settling into bed, he ran through his Vice Presidential shortlist in his mind. He’d narrowed it down a bit; Sanford, Symington, and Humphrey were all that were left. That ridiculous TIME article from a few months ago had suggested that he’d considered Bobby; they were wrong. Reynolds, Jr. and Brewster were too inexperienced. Pat Brown wanted to stay as Governor of California. McCarthy wanted the job, badly, but he wasn’t terribly experienced, and didn’t add all that much geographic diversity to the ticket. Smathers had been hard to drop; not only was he a close friend, he was an experienced Senator from a Southern state… but his positions on civil rights were a tad too conservative, especially when the second Kennedy term was going to have that very issue as a central focus.

Terry was Governor (a plus; he wasn’t a Washington insider) of North Carolina (a Southern state) who was nonetheless a progressive on civil rights. He didn’t have much experience, but he’d do well enough as VP.

Stuart was a veteran of the Senate, on the older side (a counterbalance to the young President), was from a border state, and was solidly in favor of civil rights. He had also been the person Kennedy would have picked had Lyndon not held Jack’s nomination hostage in 1960. Damn Lyndon (Jack hadn’t pardoned him, though Lyndon had begged him to; LBJ’s trial was in September).

Hubert was experienced and had civil rights as his main focus, it seemed. He’d gained fame for that speech he gave at the ‘48 DNC about civil rights, the one that got all those southerners to walk out, and that got the Democrats to adopt a civil rights plank. Hubert had mellowed his rhetoric a little bit since then, but was still staunchly pro-civil rights. His hailing from Minnesota wouldn’t help Kennedy in the South, however…

Jack closed his eyes and relaxed. He didn’t need to make this decision tonight.

[frostyfreeze]

Terry Sanford  has been J.F.K. running mate in several tls .i suggest a surprise  running mate.With Rockefeller as  the  nominee  .can Reagan still become governor? This is very well written.

[Cold War Liberal]

Terry Sanford  has been J.F.K. running mate in several tls .i suggest a surprise  running mate.With Rockefeller as  the  nominee  .can Reagan still become governor? This is very well written.

You'll see who his running mate it's going to be in due time. I need to decide on the lower half of the Republican ticket too, though I think I know who it'll be. If I stick with who I currently think I'll pick, it'll be a historic first.

Rocky doesn't have a majority of the delegates and is not the nominee yet. I'll get into that in the next post (due tomorrow, I think).

I have plans for Reagan.

Thank you for reading!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Without spoiling anything, how far have you planned this out? It’s really well written and has a good flow.

[Cold War Liberal]

July 10, 1964
Richard

Richard Nixon was being cautious.

He’d lost an absurdly close - one might say rigged - election in 1960. He’d lost another close race for Governor of California in 1962. He’d refrained from running in any primaries in 1964, though he’d considered trying to orchestrate a shadow write-in campaign. He'd decided against it.

The California primary left the GOP split down the middle, with Rocky and the liberals maintaining a very small delegate lead over Goldwater and the conservatives. Nelson isn’t even within 100 delegates of a majority, Dick thought, which leaves a lot of room for… someone else to get nominated over the course of several ballots. Richard intended to be that man. He was more conservative than Rockefeller, but more liberal than Goldwater. He’d be the perfect uniting candidate. It’d be a tough general, but his chances were better than either of the frontrunners’.

Richard liked Nelson. Richard also liked the idea of President Nixon. He would do anything for his dream to become a reality. It was nothing personal against Rockefeller.

Over the past five weeks, he’d been going around to Republican delegates and planting the seed for a Nixon coup if Nelson wasn’t nominated on the first ballot. Of course, Barry and Rocky had both been making the rounds too (the other candidates had so few delegates that they had basically given up and were merely hoping to be kingmakers), but Nixon had the element of surprise. He’d merely suggested that if divisions in the GOP were so deep that neither candidate got a majority on the first ballot, then a certain moderate former Vice President would be open to consideration for the nomination on the second ballot. Some delegates were open to the idea, some fought against it; regardless, Nixon had a chance.

In less than a week’s time, Richard would have to execute it flawlessly, or face potential political suicide.

[Cold War Liberal]

I have finalized JFK's VP pick. Expect 1st RNC post later tonight or possibly tomorrow.

[MAINEiac4434]

This is so good!

[America Needs R'hllor]

This is so good!