Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

announced his candidacy for President of the United States on November 20, 1975. He won primaries in several states, but eventually lost the nomination to incumbent president

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

at the 1976 Republican National Convention. If Reagan had won the Republican nomination, it would have been the first time since 1968 that an incumbent president was not nominated by his party.

Background

Ronald Reagan with cowboy hat 12-0071M edit

In 1976, Reagan challenged incumbent President

in a bid to become the Republican Party's candidate for president. Reagan soon established himself as the conservative candidate with the support of like-minded organizations such as the

Conservative Party of New York State The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U ...

and the

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...

, which became key components of his political base, while Ford was considered a more moderate Republican. Reagan had been viewed as a leading candidate for some time, and led a Gallup poll in October 1973 with 29% of the vote. In polling in June 1975, Ford led Reagan by 41%-20% in a large field, or 61%-33% in a head-to-head matchup. At the height of the campaign, Reagan aide

Edwin Meese Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan pres ...

conducted some research into the logistics of a presidential transition. Meese had conversations on the subject with people who had previously worked for

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and Gerald Ford.

Primaries

Reagan's campaign relied on a strategy crafted by campaign manager John Sears of winning a few primaries early to damage the inevitability of Ford's likely nomination. In the run-up to the New Hampshire primary, Ford attacked Reagan's plan to cut $90 billion from the federal budget, as well as Reagan's plans for Social Security. Reagan's stump speeches included attacks on

welfare queen A "welfare queen" is a derogatory term used in the United States to refer to women who allegedly misuse or collect excessive welfare payments through fraud, child endangerment, or manipulation. Reporting on welfare fraud began during the early 196 ...

s, as well as other attacks on government welfare programs. After a heated campaign, Reagan lost by 1317 votes, 54,824-53,507. Reagan would lose the next two competitive primaries, in Florida and Illinois. In Florida, Reagan lost 53%-47% and in Illinois by 59%-40%. Despite pressure to leave the race, Reagan pledged to stay in the race through the convention. The Texas campaign lent renewed hope to Reagan, when he swept all 96 delegates chosen in the May 1 primary, with four more awaiting at the state convention. Much of the credit for that victory came from the work of three co-chairmen, including Ernest Angelo, the mayor of Midland, and Ray Barnhart of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, whom Reagan as President would appoint in 1981 as director of the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

Endorsements

All individuals are members or supporters of the Republican Party, unless otherwise stated. ;U.S. Senators * Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) * Sen.

Richard Schweiker Richard Schultz Schweiker (June 1, 1926 – July 31, 2015) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 14th U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Ronald Reagan from 198 ...

(R-PA) * Sen.

Paul Laxalt Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

(R-NV) * Sen. James L. Buckley (C-NY) * Sen. James A. McClure (R-ID) * Sen.

Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ...

(R-NC) ;U.S. Reprensentatives * Rep. Thomas B. Curtis (R-SC) * Rep.

H. R. Gross Harold Royce Gross (June 30, 1899 – September 22, 1987) was a Republican United States Representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district for thirteen terms. The role he played on the House floor, objecting to spending measures and projects t ...

(R-IA) * Rep.

Phil Crane Philip Miller Crane (November 3, 1930 – November 8, 2014) was an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 2005, representing the 8th District of Illinois in the northwestern su ...

(R-IL) * Rep.

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

(R-TX) ;State Officials * Governor

Louie Nunn Louie Broady Nunn (March 8, 1924 – January 29, 2004) was an American politician who served as the 52nd governor of Kentucky. Elected in 1967, he was the only Republican to hold the office between the end of Simeon Willis's term in 1947 and t ...

(R-KY) * Governor Meldrim Thomson Jr. (R-NH) ;Actors *

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

;Other People *

Morton Blackwell Morton C. Blackwell (born November 16, 1939, La Jara, Colorado) is an American conservative activist. He is the founder and president of the Leadership Institute (established 1979), a 501(c)3 non-profit educational foundation that teaches polit ...

Convention

However, as the GOP convention neared, Ford appeared close to victory. Acknowledging his party's moderate wing, Reagan chose moderate Senator

of Pennsylvania as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...

if nominated. Nonetheless, Ford prevailed with 1,187 delegates to Reagan's 1,070. Reagan's concession speech emphasized the dangers of nuclear war and the threat posed by the Soviet Union.

Republican primary results

Republican National Convention

Aftermath

Reagan campaigned for Ford in twenty states against the Democratic nominee,

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, who would win the general election. However, in Washington state, a

faithless elector In the United States Electoral College, a faithless elector is an elector who does not vote for the candidates for U.S. President and U.S. Vice President for whom the elector had pledged to vote, and instead votes for another person for one or ...

gave Reagan one electoral vote instead of Ford. In 1977, Ford told

Lou Cannon Louis Cannon (born 1933) is an American journalist, non-fiction author, and biographer. He was state bureau chief for the '' San Jose Mercury News'' in the late 1960s, and later senior White House correspondent of ''The Washington Post'' during the ...

that Reagan's primary challenge played a role in his own narrow loss to Carter.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ronald Reagan presidential campaign, 1976 Ronald Reagan Republican Party (United States) presidential campaigns 1976 in the United States