Reagan already picked Schweiker who was from the liberal wing of the party.
Most likely, Reagan couldn't have won. The Nixon thing was too recent and voters needed to get really sick of Carter to take a chance on Reagan.
But say Reagan had won. Wouldn't he have gotten bogged down in the whole Seventies malaise? Inflation, gas shortages, Iran.
The 1976 election was a booby prize.
Whoever won would have been dealing with inflation, post-Watergate malaise, and the collapse of Iran. Those three things were simply not controllable.
I don’t think there is anything any president could have done with Iran in the big picture. Maybe there is not a hostage crisis, but the outcome of the revolution would have been the same.
The one big event of Carter’s reign (and I’m not trying to downplay the hostage crisis) is Afghanistan. Who knows if that happens with Reagan in office. But maybe Reagan is a crippled politician like Carter and the Soviets think they will be dealing with Ted Kennedy or John Glenn in 1981.