The loss of presidential candidate George Stanley McGovern to incumbent President Richard Milhous Nixon during the 1972 United States presidential election remains one of the most embarrassing defeats of any presidential candidate to this date, and the margin of victory for President Nixon was only overcome in 1984, with President Ronald Wilson Reagan earning reelection 525 to 13, earning 5 more Electoral College votes than Nixon had. Though it was not an instant career ending loss, and McGovern was reelected as the Senator of South Dakota in 1974, he would lose 1980 to Republican Ellis James Abdnor, being amongst the last three Democratic federal officeholders from South Dakota, the other two being Tim Johnson and Tom Daschle.
Not to mention, the embarrassment would follow McGovern for some time, even during his retirement from federal office. That is not to say he was not involved politically, and he would go on to found his own group, the Americans for Common Sense, as well as attempting to run for President for a third time in 1984. He did not seek to win, instead running to spread his views amongst the voters of the Democratic Party, and he dropped out after the Massachusetts primary, where he came third next to Gary Warren Hart and former Vice President Walter Frederick Mondale. His name was once more put into contention at the convention, McGovern delivering a scathing condemnation of President Reagan, and later gaining the votes of four delegates. He would campaign for Mondale during the election, though the former Vice President lost in a landslide to Reagan as mentioned previously.
Now, looking beyond what happened historically, what if McGovern had become President of the United States? How does he do it? Is he able to win outright by some miraculous grace, or does he become President through a contingent election? As well, when does he become President? When does he have the best chance and how could we improve those chances? Is it possible at all for him to be President? I am sure the idea has been done before here on the forum, though I seek to explore it with my own unique touch to it, and to explore the idea with a focused timeline.
Not to mention, the embarrassment would follow McGovern for some time, even during his retirement from federal office. That is not to say he was not involved politically, and he would go on to found his own group, the Americans for Common Sense, as well as attempting to run for President for a third time in 1984. He did not seek to win, instead running to spread his views amongst the voters of the Democratic Party, and he dropped out after the Massachusetts primary, where he came third next to Gary Warren Hart and former Vice President Walter Frederick Mondale. His name was once more put into contention at the convention, McGovern delivering a scathing condemnation of President Reagan, and later gaining the votes of four delegates. He would campaign for Mondale during the election, though the former Vice President lost in a landslide to Reagan as mentioned previously.
Now, looking beyond what happened historically, what if McGovern had become President of the United States? How does he do it? Is he able to win outright by some miraculous grace, or does he become President through a contingent election? As well, when does he become President? When does he have the best chance and how could we improve those chances? Is it possible at all for him to be President? I am sure the idea has been done before here on the forum, though I seek to explore it with my own unique touch to it, and to explore the idea with a focused timeline.
