Ronald Reagan challenged incumbent President Gerald Ford for the 1976 Republican nomination after Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. Although Ford had more establishment support, Reagan campaigned hard in New Hampshire and portrayed himself as a fresh start from the Watergate scandal. Reagan lost the nomination to Ford but gained national attention. In 1980, Reagan won the Republican nomination against George H.W. Bush and others. He defeated incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter in the general election by portraying Carter as unable to improve the struggling economy and asking "Are you better off than you were four years ago?". Reagan was re-elected by a landslide in 1984 against Democrat Walter Mondale.

2. Political Background
0 Reagan came into the forefront of politics when he formally
endorsed Barry Goldwater’s campaign.
0 He became well-known after that for his Republican views
despite having been a Democrat for awhile. The specifics of
these events are highlighted in a previous presentation on
Reagan.
0 Reagan formally decided to run for office in 1976, however,
Ford posed a threat to his ability to obtain the Republican
nomination.

3. Ford and Reagan
0 http://cdn.spectator.org/styles/article_page/s3/1306
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4. The Candidates
0 Ronald Reagan challenged Gerald Ford for the
Republican nomination in 1976 after Ford pardoned
Richard Nixon.
0 After ascending into presidency with the resignation
of Nixon, Ford had the majority of the endorsement as
he ran for the Republican nominee.
0 Paul Laxalt who was a longtime friend of Reagan was
the only senator to back up Reagan against Ford.

5. A Fresh Start
0 To a majority of conservatives, Reagan was perceived as a hero,
with no past political baggage.
0 This image was very crucial considering the Watergate Scandal
and the Vietnam War that had just occurred.
0 Reagan represented a fresh start. However, he still encountered
difficulties in making it to the Republican Primaries.
0 He had trouble winning New Hampshire because Ford and his
team were quick to point out that Reagan wanted to reduce the
national debt by reallocating the debt to states. New Hampshire,
an anti-tax state at the time was not very welcoming of this idea.
0 As a result of that and lack of endorsement, Reagan was unable
to obtain the Republican Nomination. He would have to wait 4
years in order to try again.

6. The1980 Campaign
0 In 1980, Reagan along with six other Republicans
sought the Republican nomination. Among these
Republicans were Howard Baker, John Connally,
Robert Dole, Phillip Crane, George H.W. Bush and John
Anderson.
0 George H.W. Bush was the only Republican that posed
a threat to Reagan because of his broader experience.
0 While some individuals viewed Reagan as too
conservative, he still remained the favorite of the
potential nominees.

7. Bush’s Criticisms
0 Bush continued to pose a
threat to his campaign by
winning Iowa.
0 Bush criticized Reagans
fiscal plans by casting
doubt on whether Reagan
could lower taxes,
increase military
spending, and balance the
federal budget. Bush
called his plans “voodoo
economics.”

8. Old Age
0 Throughout his campaign Reagan’s age was often a
topic of discussion because some individuals believed
that he was too old to be running for office.
0 As a result, backed by his wife and his Californian
supporters, Reagan campaigned for 21 days straight
in New Hampshire in order to demonstrate that he
was still full of stamina despite his old age.

9. “I Paid for that Microphone”
0 During his second debate for the Republican
nomination, the moderator ordered Reagan’s
microphone to be turned off while the format of the
debate was discussed.
0 Reagan in response told the moderator that he paid
for that microphone.
0 This incident led to him soaring in the polls and
winning the Republican nomination.
0 Reagan won 29 of the 33 primaries in which he and
Bush completed.

10. 1980 Presidential Campaign
Candidates
0 There 3 candidates running for office were Ronald
Reagan, Jimmy Carter, and John Anderson
(independent) who viewed Reagan as too
conservative.

11. Political Mishaps
0 Reagan claimed that the Vietnam War was “a noble
cause.”
0 He thought that both creationism and Darwinism
should be taught in schools.
0 He accidently linked President Carter to the Ku Klux
Klan.
0 With the help of his wife Nancy and his new political
consultant, Staurt K. Spencer, Reagan was able to
bounce back from these mishaps.

12. Reagan-Carter Debate
0 This debate occurred on October 28, a week before
the election.
0 In this debate, even though Carter was the favorite of
the two, Reagan was more poised.
0 This is the debate in which Reagan asked his famous
question, “Are you better off now than you were
four years ago?” This ended up being his slogan for
this campaign and is still remember to this day.

13. Election Day
0 On election day, Reagan won 51% of the votes as oppose to
Carter’s 41%. Anderson had less than 7% of the votes.
0 Reagan won 489 electoral votes to Carter’s 49.
0 “Carter’s showing was the worst for any incumbent
President who sought reelection since Herbert Hoover in
1932.” (Millercenter)
0 Reagan obtained the votes of Catholic families, working-
class Democrats, union families, and he did well in the
South, which was Carter’s base.
0 Aided by the Iran hostage crisis, Reagan’s win sparked “the
Reagan Revolution” signifying change.

14. Electoral Map

15. The 1984 Presidential
Election
0 Reagan and Bush were re-nominated in 1984 as the
Republican nominees.
0 At this time Reagan’s popularity had soared because
of the economic boom that began in 1983. Inflation
was lowered, tax was reduced, unemployment
decreased, and the gross national product increased.
His spending in the defense department led
Americans to believe that he was defending their
interests.
0 Chants of “USA, USA” were often heard at his rallies.

16. The Democratic Nomination
0 Walter Mondale of Minnesota was the frontrunner for
the Democratic nomination. He had previously served
as the vice president under Jimmy Carter.
0 Mondale declared that he would raise taxes and
claimed that Reagan would do the same as well if
reelected.
0 Mondale chose a woman, New York congresswoman
Geraldine Ferraro, as his running mate.

17. Difference in Political
Opinions
0 The polls were indicating that Americans were answering
Reagan’s famous question affirmatively. This was a great sign!
0 However, Mondale claimed that Reagan’s tax cuts benefited the
rich and that he had a conservative agenda because he opposed
abortion and favored prayer in schools.
0 During the first debate, Reagan was ill prepared and stumbled of
his words making his age a primary concern.
0 In a second debate with Mondale, he stated “I will not make age
an issue of this campaign…I am not going to exploit, for political
purposes, my opponent’s youth an inexperience.”
0 This statement increased Reagan’s popularity because he was
able to actively challenge the age issue with one bold statement
that also attacked Mondale.

18. Reagan and Mondale

19. Election Day
0 On election day, the Reagan-Bush ticket won an
overwhelming victory.
0 They carried every state but Mondale’s Minnesota and
the District of Columbia, defeating Mondale in the
Electoral College by 525 to 13.
0 The popular votes showed Reagan had 54 million
votes to Mondale’s 37 million.
0 He won more than a fifth of the Democratic vote and
he also won the majority of independents.

20. Electoral Map

21. Campaign Propaganda

22. Campaign Propaganda Cont.

23. SOURCES
0 "Miller Center." <i>Ronald Reagan: Campaigns and
Elections-</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2015.
0 "1984 Presidential Election." <i>Presidential Election
of 1984</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Sept. 2015.