r/HistoryWhatIf•
dumbd00r

What if James Garfield had survived the assassination, and had run in 1884?

Garfield came very close to surviving his assassination, say he picks another doctor to be his primary physician, and he had survived healthily to 1884, would Cleveland have been his Democratic opponent?

I believe his term would've gone relatively successfully, popular enough to not go through much hardship to retain the Republican nomination. But Cleveland is a different story, his ascent to high office was incredibly quick and reliant on many factors, would he have risen to Governor of New York? And if not, who would be the standard bearer for Democrats without Grover the Good?

Other questions, would Garfield have even run for a 2nd term, given he was a compromise candidate? Grant was in too ill health but others may have taken the chance to run again. Also, would Garfield have potentially dropped Chester Arthur from the ticket? If Conkling was powerless and not in control so deeply of New York politics, maybe Arthur is seen as being unnecessary, and unhealthy given his Brights Disease, who may have replaced Arthur on the ticket?

Posted Jul 10, 2026, 5:55 PM UTC

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