Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Fall 1987
Department 1
History
Abstract
For George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, the debate in Nashua, New Hampshire marked a crossroads in their respective bids for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination. A month earlier, Bush had emerged from a seven-man field by upsetting Reagan in the Iowa caucuses. Reagan had run a relaxed and aloof campaign in Iowa. At the behest of Campaign Manager John Sears and most senor staff, Reagan had refused even to participate in a candidates' debate on grounds that debates were bad for party unity. Iowa voters responded by giving Bush a small plurality in their caucuses on January 21. Reagan's failure in Iowa had knocked conventional wisdom on the Republican race into a cocked hat. Before Iowa, his own polls showed him with a 19-point lead among New Hampshire Republicans. Five days after the caucuses Reagan was six points behind him an falling. [excerpt]
Copyright Note
This is the publisher's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright for personal use, not for redistribution
Recommended Citation
"That Defining Moment: The 1980 Nashua Debate," Historical New Hampshire 42 (Fall 1987): 283-296.