All the effort that Reagan was putting into the campaign was all for nothing. After losing the Iowa caucuses, and boycotting the Puerto Rico primary to focus on New Hampshire, Reagan suddenly found himself 21 points behind Bush in New Hampshire ahead of the primary. Reagan finally put his foot down. He wanted to get into the fray. Bush offered him just that: A one-on-one debate three days before the New Hampshire Primary. Reagan accepted. In fact, on hearing that the
Nashua Telegraph was going to sponsor it, Reagan offered to pay for it himself.
Reagan's campaign manager, John Sears, was against the idea and started to make plans to turn this to Reagan's advantage. Then, on February 19th, 1980, four days before the debate Sears was fired. No one really knows why, though there is some speculation that Reagan's wife Nancy had something to do with it. In the end though, Reagan lost the debate. Turns out, he just wasn't as strong a debater as he thought he was.
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Stopping the Revolution: The Rise and Fall of Ronald Reagan by Craig Shirley, Wilmington, Delaware: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2009.
We can call it now: Ronald Reagan has lost the New Hampshire Primary. In a statement, Governor Reagan has said that he will withdraw from the race. In that same statement he said that he would support whomever the eventual nominee will be. George Bush beat Governor Reagan 51%-20%.
-CBS
Evening News, Walter Cronkite, February 26th, 1980.
We all went through an ordeal when Reagan withdrew. But it was all for the best really. After New Hampshire, I won Massachusetts. Still lost in Vermont and South Carolina though. As Barbara is fond of reminding me, everything worked in the end.
-Former President George Bush, 1998.