Picking A President: Reagan Challenges Ford in 1976
Gerald Ford is the only person to serve as Vice-President and President of the United States without having been elected to either office. Following the Watergate scandal, Ford became President upon the resignation of President Richard Nixon, August 9, 1974. On September 8, Ford's first major act in office was to grant a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes Richard Nixon might have committed while President. Ford's pardon of Nixon caused a drastic drop in his approval ratings. Within a week, it fell from 69 percent to 49, the steepest decline in history.
Ford had other problems to contend with as President. The economy was in dire condition. The nation was experiencing the worst peacetime inflation in American history and the highest interest rates in a century. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 43 percent from October 1973 to September 1974. Ford proposed a tax increase, but when the Democratic Party called for a permanent tax cut, Ford said that he was in favor of a moderate decrease. He was publicly criticized for both proposals by the man who would challenge him for his party's nomination, California Governor Ronald Reagan. Two days after Nixon's resignation, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade, striking down state restrictions on abortion nationwide. The decision angered conservatives and a conservative movement began to galvanize around Reagan.
In the 1974 midterm elections, the Democratic Party dramatically expanded its majorities in both the House and Senate. The elections were seen as a referendum on the Republican Party and especially on Ford's unpopular pardoning of Nixon. In 1974 Reagan finished his second term in office as Governor of California. He was seen as popular in conservative circles, in large measure because of his efforts to dismantle the welfare state, his measures to combat urban crime and his criticism of left-wing dissent, especially at the University of California, Berkeley. He also tried to enforce the state's capital punishment laws but was blocked by the California Supreme Court in the People v. Anderson decision. When Reagan's term as California Governor ended in January 1975, he began hosting a national radio show and writing a national newspaper column.
Reagan took advantage of mounting conservative opposition to Ford within the Republican Party, which began to surface in December 1974. His appointment of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President further angered Republican conservatives. For more than a decade, Rockefeller had represented the party's liberal establishment. His appointment was criticized by right-wing Senators like Jesse Helms, Barry Goldwater and John Tower. At the second annual Conservative Political Action Conference in February of 1975, Reagan was urged to seek the presidency on a third-party ticket. He rejected this suggestion, stating: "Is it a third party that we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which could make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all the issues troubling the people?"
Other speakers at CPAC criticized Ford's administration policy, as well as Vice President Rockefeller and First Lady Betty Ford, for their public support of Roe v. Wade and the Equal Rights Amendment. This angered conservatives and added further support to the possibility of a presidential run by Reagan.
Ford drew more criticism from conservatives in 1975 in the area of foreign policy. Following the American evacuation of Saigon and the collapse of South Vietnam, Reagan compared the withdrawal from Saigon to the Munich Agreement. He said that it would "tempt the Soviet Union as it once tempted Hitler and the military rulers of Japan." Ford angered conservatives further when he refused to meet with Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on his visit to the United States on June 21. In response, Reagan publicly criticized Ford by name for the first time in his national newspaper column for this. The day after this column ran, Senator Paul Laxalt announced the formation of a committee named "Friends of Ronald Reagan," organized for the purpose of drafting Reagan to run for President.
Ford went on an overseas trip to Eastern Europe, where he signed the Helsinki Accords, a treaty establishing that the current boundaries of Eastern European nations were "inviolable by force." Conservatives criticized Ford for capitulating to Soviet demands and for formally recognizing the Eastern bloc. By late August, Ford's approval rating was polled at 34%.
On August 24 in Sacramento, Ford survived the first of two attempts on his life by lone assassins. A second attempt was made nineteen days later on September 21.
In September, Reagan began to actively campaign in key early states. He campaigned in New Hampshire for Louis Wyman in the special election for Senate and began to assemble a campaign staff led by campaign manager John Sears. He secured the endorsement of New Hampshire's conservative governor Meldrim Thomson Jr. as well as support from moderate former governor Hugh Gregg.
On November 4, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller announced he would not seek nomination as Ford's running mate in 1976. On the same day, Ford fired Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger, who was critical of the Helsinki summit. That week, Ford traveled to Massachusetts and pledged to campaign in every primary in the nation. On November 20, Ronald Reagan officially announced his campaign for President.
On February 24, 1976, Ford narrowly defeated Reagan in the New Hampshire primary by 1.4%. He proceeded to beat Reagan in the Massachusetts, Vermont, Florida and Illinois primaries by comfortable margins. By the time of the North Carolina primary on March 23, 1976, Reagan's campaign was in trouble. It was nearly out of money, and it was widely believed that a loss there would force Reagan to quit the race. But Reagan was able to rescue his campaign with the help of the powerful political organization led by Senator Jesse Helms. Reagan defeated Ford in North Carolina by almost 7 percentage points.
The win gave Reagan's campaign new life. He proceeded to win a string of impressive victories, in Texas (where he won all delegates at stake in the state's first binding primary), Georgia, Indiana, and Nebraska. Ford bounced back to win in his native Michigan as well as in Maryland and West Virginia. But Reagan went on to win primaries in Arkansas, Idaho, Nevada, South Dakota and later in his home state of convention. Ford won primaries in Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Ohio.
Throughout the primary season, the two candidates engaged in an increasingly bitter nip-and-tuck contest for delegates. By the time the Republican Convention opened in August 1976 the race for the nomination was still too close to call. The 1976 Republican National Convention was held in Kansas City. As the convention began, Ford had a slight lead in delegate votes, but was still shy of the 1,130 delegates he needed to win the nomination.
Reagan and Ford battled for the votes of individual delegates and state delegations. In a bid to woo moderate Northern Republicans, Reagan tried a risky move. He announced that if he won the nomination, Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania, from the northern liberal wing of the party, would be his running mate. The move backfired. A few moderates switched to Reagan, but many conservative delegates were outraged. The key state of Mississippi, which Reagan needed, narrowly voted to support Ford.
Ford went on to win the nomination on the first ballot. He chose Senator Robert Dole of Kansas as his running mate.
Ford had other problems to contend with as President. The economy was in dire condition. The nation was experiencing the worst peacetime inflation in American history and the highest interest rates in a century. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 43 percent from October 1973 to September 1974. Ford proposed a tax increase, but when the Democratic Party called for a permanent tax cut, Ford said that he was in favor of a moderate decrease. He was publicly criticized for both proposals by the man who would challenge him for his party's nomination, California Governor Ronald Reagan. Two days after Nixon's resignation, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade, striking down state restrictions on abortion nationwide. The decision angered conservatives and a conservative movement began to galvanize around Reagan.
In the 1974 midterm elections, the Democratic Party dramatically expanded its majorities in both the House and Senate. The elections were seen as a referendum on the Republican Party and especially on Ford's unpopular pardoning of Nixon. In 1974 Reagan finished his second term in office as Governor of California. He was seen as popular in conservative circles, in large measure because of his efforts to dismantle the welfare state, his measures to combat urban crime and his criticism of left-wing dissent, especially at the University of California, Berkeley. He also tried to enforce the state's capital punishment laws but was blocked by the California Supreme Court in the People v. Anderson decision. When Reagan's term as California Governor ended in January 1975, he began hosting a national radio show and writing a national newspaper column.
Reagan took advantage of mounting conservative opposition to Ford within the Republican Party, which began to surface in December 1974. His appointment of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President further angered Republican conservatives. For more than a decade, Rockefeller had represented the party's liberal establishment. His appointment was criticized by right-wing Senators like Jesse Helms, Barry Goldwater and John Tower. At the second annual Conservative Political Action Conference in February of 1975, Reagan was urged to seek the presidency on a third-party ticket. He rejected this suggestion, stating: "Is it a third party that we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which could make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all the issues troubling the people?"
Other speakers at CPAC criticized Ford's administration policy, as well as Vice President Rockefeller and First Lady Betty Ford, for their public support of Roe v. Wade and the Equal Rights Amendment. This angered conservatives and added further support to the possibility of a presidential run by Reagan.
Ford drew more criticism from conservatives in 1975 in the area of foreign policy. Following the American evacuation of Saigon and the collapse of South Vietnam, Reagan compared the withdrawal from Saigon to the Munich Agreement. He said that it would "tempt the Soviet Union as it once tempted Hitler and the military rulers of Japan." Ford angered conservatives further when he refused to meet with Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on his visit to the United States on June 21. In response, Reagan publicly criticized Ford by name for the first time in his national newspaper column for this. The day after this column ran, Senator Paul Laxalt announced the formation of a committee named "Friends of Ronald Reagan," organized for the purpose of drafting Reagan to run for President.
Ford went on an overseas trip to Eastern Europe, where he signed the Helsinki Accords, a treaty establishing that the current boundaries of Eastern European nations were "inviolable by force." Conservatives criticized Ford for capitulating to Soviet demands and for formally recognizing the Eastern bloc. By late August, Ford's approval rating was polled at 34%.
On August 24 in Sacramento, Ford survived the first of two attempts on his life by lone assassins. A second attempt was made nineteen days later on September 21.
In September, Reagan began to actively campaign in key early states. He campaigned in New Hampshire for Louis Wyman in the special election for Senate and began to assemble a campaign staff led by campaign manager John Sears. He secured the endorsement of New Hampshire's conservative governor Meldrim Thomson Jr. as well as support from moderate former governor Hugh Gregg.
On November 4, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller announced he would not seek nomination as Ford's running mate in 1976. On the same day, Ford fired Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger, who was critical of the Helsinki summit. That week, Ford traveled to Massachusetts and pledged to campaign in every primary in the nation. On November 20, Ronald Reagan officially announced his campaign for President.
On February 24, 1976, Ford narrowly defeated Reagan in the New Hampshire primary by 1.4%. He proceeded to beat Reagan in the Massachusetts, Vermont, Florida and Illinois primaries by comfortable margins. By the time of the North Carolina primary on March 23, 1976, Reagan's campaign was in trouble. It was nearly out of money, and it was widely believed that a loss there would force Reagan to quit the race. But Reagan was able to rescue his campaign with the help of the powerful political organization led by Senator Jesse Helms. Reagan defeated Ford in North Carolina by almost 7 percentage points.
The win gave Reagan's campaign new life. He proceeded to win a string of impressive victories, in Texas (where he won all delegates at stake in the state's first binding primary), Georgia, Indiana, and Nebraska. Ford bounced back to win in his native Michigan as well as in Maryland and West Virginia. But Reagan went on to win primaries in Arkansas, Idaho, Nevada, South Dakota and later in his home state of convention. Ford won primaries in Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Ohio.
Throughout the primary season, the two candidates engaged in an increasingly bitter nip-and-tuck contest for delegates. By the time the Republican Convention opened in August 1976 the race for the nomination was still too close to call. The 1976 Republican National Convention was held in Kansas City. As the convention began, Ford had a slight lead in delegate votes, but was still shy of the 1,130 delegates he needed to win the nomination.
Reagan and Ford battled for the votes of individual delegates and state delegations. In a bid to woo moderate Northern Republicans, Reagan tried a risky move. He announced that if he won the nomination, Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania, from the northern liberal wing of the party, would be his running mate. The move backfired. A few moderates switched to Reagan, but many conservative delegates were outraged. The key state of Mississippi, which Reagan needed, narrowly voted to support Ford.
Ford went on to win the nomination on the first ballot. He chose Senator Robert Dole of Kansas as his running mate.