Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: I'm a 63 yr-old and I'm tired of old establishment Dems whining about our great Young Democrats [View all]Progressive2020
(713 posts)Losses are often multi-factoral, but a pile of dense text like that above does not contradict the possibility that if the Dems had nominated someone more clearly anti-war that they might have won. There is no way to scientifically prove such an assertion, so I will just say that it is my opinion. Your opinion might differ.
Humphrey was permanently associated with Johnson and the war. Johnson declined to run because he was so unpopular due to the war. Humphrey was his VP and was therefore closely associated with Johnson and the war.
In my opinion, if the Dems fielded a clear anti-war candidate instead of Humphrey, they might have won. Your own post above says that many disgruntled Kennedy, McCarthy, or McGovern voters went over to Nixon. Those voters might well have stayed with the Democratic Party if Kennedy, McCarthy, or McGovern had been the nominee. I doubt many Yippie types would even think about voting for Nixon, but I am sure that most of them stayed home and did not vote for Humphrey. They would have mobilized and voted for an anti-war candidate, though.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided