Wow, what a rewriting of history. That same Washington Post that described the “big tent” Reagan neglected to point out that the Democrats had a firm grasp on the House. The ones he worked with, the Boll Weevil Democrats of the South, were eschewed by the Post and the New York Times. They sought out Gypsy Moth Republicans in the northeast as a counterbalance. Over time, those Boll Weevil seats turned Republican and those Gypsy Moth seats turned Democrat as a slow realignment occurred. Reagan, for his part didn’t really have to change course.
Anyway, Reagan was a candidate, and the tea party was a movement. Jimmy Carter barely won against a man (Ford) who was the only president ever elected without having been on a national ticket. Indeed, he won nothing more than a House district in Grand Rapids, MI in his political career. Reagan the upstart challenging the incumbent Ford had gotten more votes in the primaries, and if NY and PA didn’t have a rigged system, would have won the nomination. That very weak candidate was the man that Jimmy Carter could not muster 51% against. The man who would have lost had 40,000 votes changed sides in Ohio and Hawaii (yes, Hawaii). He was not exactly the seconf coming of Andrew Jackson.
There fixed that.