‘Clean Gene?’ Eugene McCarthy was not a real threat to LBJ in 1968 (though he did scare him in New Hampshire); hell, even Muskie toyed with the idea of challenging LBJ (though he never committed). But RFK was the real threat.
McCarthy did challenge LBJ in the primaries (well, I think the NH primary was the only one before LBH announced he wasn’t going to seek re-election), and though LBJ “won,” McCarthy was right on his heels.
Four days after the March 12, 1968 NH primary, RFK announced his candidacy. LBJ’s internal polls showed he would not win the next primary (Wisconsin). So on March 31, 1968 LBJ announced to the nation that he would not seek re-election. Immediately LBJ’s VP, Hubert Humphrey announced his candidacy, and George Wallace ran under a third-party ticket.
Just as Republican insiders went to Nixon in 1974 and told him he needed to step down or face impeachment, so Democrat insiders went to LBJ in 1968 and told him he needed to bow out. LBJ was EXTREMELY unpopular in 1968.
But there was no way LBJ would have beat RFK for the nomination.
Good points O-Six.
Gene McCarthy was simply ahead of his time politically, as his ideological bedfellow (George McGovern) would succeed 4 years later as the ‘Rat Party embraced the far left in every way.
Had LBJ not withdrawn from the primaries it would have been interesting to see what that Chicago convention would have looked like, Humphrey would not have entered the race, which would have left RFK and McCarthy to challenge Johnson.
McCarthy would (IMHO) have eventually withdrawn and thrown his support to RFK. While RFK was running as the ‘peace’ candidate, he was in fact an ardent anti-Communist having served on Senator JOE McCarthy’s staff in the 1950’s, in fact McCarthy was Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s godfather, I can only imagine how she’s had to live that down with her fellow liberals over the years, lol
But would LBJ have been denied the nomination if he had chosen to compete instead of withdraw? I say no, because Johnson was if nothing else, one helluva politician and just as JFK chose Johnson to balance the ticket in ‘60, I’d bet that he would have convinced Humphrey to withdraw for some screwball reason or another, and put RFK on the ticket with the understanding that LBJ would not run for another term in ‘72, but would pass the torch to Bobby. I can almost hear LBJ’s drawl now, “Bobby? I know we’ve had our differences, but for the good of the Party and the good of our Nation, we need to work together or else sure as hell we’re gonna see that sonuvabitch Nixon in the White House” ;)
Alternate history, if nothing else.
Have a nice rest o’ the week.