It’s hard to imagine Donald Trump choosing a liberal No. 2, but that’s what Ronald Reagan did ahead of the 1976 Republican National Convention.
Ronald Reagan, trailing President Gerald Ford in delegates leading up to the 1976 Republican National Convention, decided to make a high-risk move in his quest for the presidential nomination: He picked a liberal running mate.
“My reaction is surprise, shock, disappointment and disgust,” James A. Stein, an uncommitted Republican Pennsylvania delegate, said after Reagan announced his pick. “When Ronald Reagan met with the Pennsylvania delegation on July 15, he told me he would not consider a political running mate who was not of his political philosophy. I took him at his word.”
The Washington Post reported at the time that Schweiker, who had previously backed Ford for president, had one of the most liberal voting records of any senator. “His selection was counted on by Reagan strategists to shore up the former California governor’s lagging campaign in the Northeast,” wrote White House correspondent Lou Cannon, who went on to write biographies of Reagan.
Schweiker also recalled being “stunned and shocked” when campaign strategists said they had recommended him to Reagan as his running mate.Carter called Schweiker “a good man, but I’m surprised Governor Reagan this early is choosing a running mate, and I’m a little surprised that Senator Schweiker would be it.”Ford had the advantage of being the sitting president, but he hadn’t been elected to the presidency or even the vice presidency, the first time that had happened in U.S. history.
One of the Reagan campaign’s aims in picking Schweiker was to knock down the idea that Ford would choose Reagan himself as a running mate. Sears, the Reagan campaign strategist, said the Schweiker pick “creates a few problems for the president. He's been saying he would probably be running with Ronald Reagan no matter how many times our man said he would not accept the job.
Reagan turned instead to George H.W. Bush. Bush was not a liberal but rather represented the establishment wing of the party.Ford’s prediction for the 1980 election proved to be way off: Reagan beat Carter in a landslide. And to lead his Department of Health and Human Services, Reagan appointed Schweiker.
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