If James Garfield lives and wins reelection in 1884, is the 1888 GOP presidential nomination James Blaine's for the taking? Blaine would have a prominent career as Garfield's Secretary of State, likely for eight years, and I don't see anyone within the Republican Party who would be willing to be an effective challenger to Blaine in 1888 in this TL. And could Grover Cleveland not run in 1884 in this TL due to Garfield looking too strong and instead wait until 1888, when he might think that he has a better chance? If so, how would a Cleveland-Blaine race for an open US Presidency in 1888 rather than in 1884 look like? Would Blaine have greater odds of winning or would it still be 50-50 odds just like it was in real life? And what does the 1892 race look like in this TL? Blaine obviously won't run again in 1892 if he wins in 1888 due to his poor health. He was already near death by Election Day in November 1892. (He died in January 1893.)
As a side question, what does Garfield do after retiring from the US Presidency? Return to the US Congress? Become president of Williams College, his alma mater? Or do something else entirely?
As a side question, what does Garfield do after retiring from the US Presidency? Return to the US Congress? Become president of Williams College, his alma mater? Or do something else entirely?