After narrowly defeating Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination in 1976, President Gerald Ford decided to shore up conservative support by nominating Senator Bob Dole, approved by Reagan, as his running mate, replacing incumbent Vice President (and notable liberal Republican) Nelson Rockefeller.
The Ford/Dole ticket narrowly lost to Democratic challengers Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale in November, and many states (such as Wisconsin, Mississippi, Texas, and perpetual swing state Ohio) were very close and could easily have flipped to Ford under the right circumstances.
Now, what if Ford decided, rather than take the stiff, uncharismatic, and somewhat gaffe-prone Dole as his running mate, to choose Reagan himself? Reagan is much more well-spoken and charismatic than Ford, and could have boosted support in the West (the coast only narrowly went for Ford) and the conservative parts of the South (outside of Carter strongholds Georgia and Arkansas). Reagan would really not be hurt at all if the ticket lost (after all, FDR was the running mate on the Democratic ticket that lost by the biggest popular vote margin in history, and Dole himself would win the nomination later IOTL). If Ford was reelected, Reagan would also have much more experience and a better platform to launch his own campaign in 1980.
Discuss
The Ford/Dole ticket narrowly lost to Democratic challengers Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale in November, and many states (such as Wisconsin, Mississippi, Texas, and perpetual swing state Ohio) were very close and could easily have flipped to Ford under the right circumstances.
Now, what if Ford decided, rather than take the stiff, uncharismatic, and somewhat gaffe-prone Dole as his running mate, to choose Reagan himself? Reagan is much more well-spoken and charismatic than Ford, and could have boosted support in the West (the coast only narrowly went for Ford) and the conservative parts of the South (outside of Carter strongholds Georgia and Arkansas). Reagan would really not be hurt at all if the ticket lost (after all, FDR was the running mate on the Democratic ticket that lost by the biggest popular vote margin in history, and Dole himself would win the nomination later IOTL). If Ford was reelected, Reagan would also have much more experience and a better platform to launch his own campaign in 1980.
Discuss