WI: Rockefeller/Reagan in 1968

Amadeus

At the 1968 Republican Convention, Nelson Rockefeller and Ronald Reagan tried to build an alliance that would've stopped Nixon and created either a Rockefeller/Reagan or Reagan/Rockefeller ticket. However, neither man's campaign could agree to supporting the other in the top spot. Ultimately Nixon won the nomination and then the election.

Here is the POD: instead of withdrawing and then entering the race at the last minute, Rockefeller declares his candidacy in the spring of 1968 and wages a full-fledged effort to win the nomination. He scores early primary victories in the Northeast before winning in Oregon as he did in 1964. Nixon takes most of the Midwest while Reagan wins California, and ultimately no candidate has sufficient delegates to win on the first convention ballot. However, Rockefeller's candidacy is strong enough that he clearly leads Reagan and is able to convince the CA Governor to support him at the convention in exchange for the VP slot. The deal is made, and the Rockefeller/Reagan ticket is formed. Would they have won the general election against Humphrey, and if so what would a Rockefeller presidency look like from 1969 on?
 

David T

Conservatives were simply not going to back Rocky for president, no matter who his running mate. To quote a post of mine:

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There was indeed a de facto Rocky-Reagan alliance at the 1968 convention, for the purpose (almost achieved!) of denying Nixon the nomination on the first ballot. But as Geoffrey Kabaservice noted, "The Reagan-Rockefeller marriage at the convention would be strictly one of convenience. Rusher admitted that if Rockefeller actually received the GOP nomination, he would bolt to form a new party. Rockefeller was still anathema to conservatives, while Reagan was almost as unacceptable to GOP progressives as Goldwater had been in 1964. The implausibility of this left-right coalition left Richard Nixon in the center, exactly where he wanted to be." https://books.google.com/books?id=ZlRpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA241
https://books.google.com/books?id=b1jPSXnnRHwC&pg=PA242
 

Amadeus

American Warrior said:
Is Rockefeller still going to run on an anti-war and law-and-order platform like Nixon did in our TL?
Click to expand...

In OTL he presented a five-point plan to end the war, and there's no reason the GOP wouldn't make an issue out of violent crime and disorder in the general campaign. That said, Rockefeller's rhetoric wouldn't be as aggressive on the issue as Nixon. Based on what I've read from his primary campaign, he would've focused more on healing the country and bridging social divides. By 1972 however (if he wins four years earlier), Rockefeller would be clamping down on the law & order issue both in policy and in rhetoric in order to mobilize conservatives and gain the edge over the Democrats.

Nixon I'm sure would campaign aggressively for Rockefeller/Reagan, specifically focusing on law & order. Of course, it wouldn't be a bad idea for Rocky to offer Nixon the job of Secretary of State in exchange for his support...
 
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