This article is part of a series about Ronald Reagan
Personal life Filmography Bibliography Death Residences Birthplace of Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home Rancho del Cielo 668 St. Cloud Road Speeches A Time for Choosing States' rights Evil Empire Tear down this wall! 33rd Governor of California Elections 1966 1970 Governorship 1969 People's Park protest 40th President of the United States Presidency timeline Transition Inaugurations Polls Scandals Tenure Assassination attempt Invasion of Grenada Bombing of Libya Iran–Contra affair AIDS Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Policies Domestic Reaganomics Foreign Reagan Doctrine international trips Judicial appointments Supreme Court candidates O'Connor Rehnquist Scalia Bork Ginsburg Kennedy Presidential campaigns 1968 primaries convention 1976 primaries convention 1980 election primaries convention debates 1984 election primaries convention debates Legacy Library Accolades Eponyms Depictions music
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This is the electoral history of Ronald Reagan. Reagan, a Republican, served as the 40th president of the United States (1981–1989) and earlier as the 33rd governor of California (1967–1975). At 69 years, 349 days of age at the time of his first inauguration, Reagan was the oldest person to assume the presidency in the nation's history, until Donald Trump was inaugurated in 2017 at the age of 70 years, 220 days. In 1984, Reagan won re-election at the age of 73 years, 274 days, and was the oldest person to win a US presidential election until Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election at the age of 77 years, 349 days.

Having been elected twice to the presidency,^[1] Reagan reshaped the Republican Party, led the modern conservative movement, and altered the political dynamic of the United States.^[2] His 1980 presidential campaign stressed some of his fundamental principles: lower taxes to stimulate the economy,^[3] less government interference in people's lives,^[4] states' rights,^[5] and a strong national defense.^[6]

During his presidency, Reagan pursued policies that reflected his personal belief in individual freedom, brought changes domestically, both to the U.S. economy and expanded military, and contributed to the end of the Cold War.^[7] Termed the Reagan Revolution, his presidency would reinvigorate American morale,^[8][9] reinvigorate the American economy and reduce American reliance upon government.^[7]

1966 California gubernatorial election

California Republicans were impressed with Reagan's political views and charisma after his "Time for choosing" speech,^[10] he announced in late 1965, his campaign for Governor of California in 1966.^[11][12] He won the Republican primary with nearly 65% of the vote, not including write-in votes, defeating four other candidates, including former San Francisco mayor George Christopher.^[13] Although he did not run in the Democratic primary, Reagan received 27,422 votes as a write-in candidate.^[13]: 2 Not including write-in candidates, 2,570,396 total votes were cast in the Democratic primary,^[13]: 6 so Reagan's votes would have comprised about 1% of the total Democratic primary votes. In Reagan's campaign, he emphasized two main themes: "to send the welfare bums back to work", and, in reference to burgeoning anti-war and anti-establishment student protests at the University of California at Berkeley, "to clean up the mess at Berkeley".^[14] Ronald Reagan accomplished in 1966 what US Senator William F. Knowland in 1958 and former vice president Richard M. Nixon in 1962 had tried: he was elected, defeating two-term governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, and was sworn in as the 33rd governor of California on January 2, 1967.^[10][15]

Republican primary

General election

1968 presidential election

Shortly after the beginning of his term as California governor, Reagan tested the presidential waters in 1968 as part of a "Stop Nixon" movement, hoping to cut into Nixon's Southern support^[18] and be a compromise candidate^[19] if neither Nixon nor second-place Nelson Rockefeller received enough delegates to win on the first ballot at the Republican convention. However, by the time of the convention Nixon had 692 delegate votes, 25 more than he needed to secure the nomination, followed by Rockefeller with Reagan in third place.^[18]

Republican presidential primaries

1968 Republican National Convention

1970 California gubernatorial election

Despite an unsuccessful attempt to recall him in 1968,^[24] Reagan was unopposed in the Republican primary^[25] and was re-elected in 1970, defeating "Big Daddy" Jesse Unruh.^[15] He did not seek a third term in the following election cycle.

Republican primary

General election

1976 presidential election

In 1976, Reagan challenged incumbent President Gerald Ford 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 American Conservative Union which became key components of his political base, while President Ford was considered a more moderate Republican.^[28] Though Reagan lost the Republican nomination, he received 307 write-in votes in New Hampshire, 388 votes as an Independent on Wyoming's ballot, and a single electoral vote from a faithless elector in the November election from the state of Washington,^[29] which Ford had won over Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter. Ford ultimately lost the general election to Carter.

Republican primaries

Republican National Convention