August 7, 1968
Romney, Reagan nominated at RNC convention
At last night’s Republican National Convention in Miami, Florida, Michigan Governor George Romney was nominated to be the Republican Party’s Presidential candidate in the 1968 election. California Governor Ronald Reagan was named as the party’s choice for Vice President. Romney and Reagan’s strategy against former Vice President Richard M. Nixon successfully denied him the Presidential nomination. At the convention, Romney worked to gain the support of delegates from the West and Midwest, while Reagan picked up considerable support from Southern delegations. [1]
On the first ballot, Romney received 492 votes, Nixon received 477 votes, and Reagan received 182 votes, with the remaining 182 votes going to fringe candidates and favorite sons. Despite winning primaries in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, Romney fell short of the number of delegates needed to win the nomination on the first ballot. However, he managed to pick up more delegates than his two rivals, Nixon and Reagan, who split the conservative wing of the party. Reagan, who was the sole candidate on the ballot in his native California, denied Nixon from winning enough delegate votes to get an outright majority. [2][3]
In a bid for conservative support, Romney announced that if nominated, he would choose California governor Ronald Reagan to be his running mate. On the second ballot, many of Reagan’s delegates switched their support to Romney, who picked up enough votes to narrowly exceed the 667 votes needed to get the nomination. Reagan received near-unanimous support as the Vice Presidential candidate.