Reagan came into the 1976 North Carolina primary having lost the first five consecutive primaries to Ford. The national party establishment was against Reagan, the media started to write him off, and his campaign was broke and in debt. Needless to say, the pressure to drop out of the race was nearly overwhelming. (From powerblog)
He went on to fight for the nomination on the Convention floor. He eventually lost to Gerald Ford who lost to Jimmah Carter-Chavez
1) You don’t quit this early, some things are worth fighting for, principle is worth fighting for.
2) Conventional wisdom gave us Ford as a candidate, gave us Dole as a candidate, conventional wisdom sucks sometimes.
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