RON BRANDON PAPERS, 1975-1977

On November 19, 1975, President Gerald Ford learned that Ronald Reagan would challenge him for the Republican nomination for President in the 1976 election. This meant that the approaching primary season would be much more grueling than had been anticipated and the contest for delegates had now commenced.

Prior to Reagan’s announcement, Ron Brandon, a psychologist active in the Republican Party, sought information from the Election of President Ford campaign director on how he could help. As a member of the Bell County Republican Party, a delegate to the Republican State Convention in 1970 and 1972, a chairman for the Granberry for Governor campaign, and publicity chairman for the George H. W. Bush for Senate campaign, Brandon was eager to participate. Noticing this enthusiasm, the President Ford Committee (PFC) named Brandon county chairman for President Ford for Bell County in Temple, Texas, and Brandon was subsequently nominated as a Ford delegate from Texas’ 11th Congressional District.

Temple is located in eastern-central Texas, between Austin and Waco, just east of Fort Hood—a populous area to garner votes. Bell County was one of 210 counties (out of 254 in Texas) equipped for Republican polling on May 1, 1976. Ford outspent Reagan nearly 2:1 in the primary, but Reagan won in a landslide. Although Ford received the Republican nomination in August, he failed to win the state in November, losing to Jimmy Carter.

The Ron Brandon Papers document his participation in the Texas state primary chiefly through correspondence and campaign literature from the PFC. While Brandon was not selected to go to the Republican National Convention in Kansas City, his support for Ford never wavered, as evidenced by his substantial collection of local newspapers that covered both the primary and the November election.

Related Materials (May 2004)
Related open materials on the 1976 Presidential Campaign and its ties to Texas can be found in: the files of Frances K. Pullen (First Lady’s Staff); files of Richard B. Cheney (White House Chief of Staff); papers of Robert M. Teeter (Political Consultant); President Ford Committee Campaign Records; files of Gwen Anderson (Assistant to White House Counsellor); Presidential Speeches: Reading Copies; files of Paul Theis and Robert Orben (White House Editorial Staff); files/papers of Ron Nessen (White House Press Secretary’s Office); files of Wanda M. Phelan (White House Press Secretary’s Office); files of Eric Rosenberger and Douglass Blaser (White House Press Secretary’s Office); and papers of Robert T. Hartmann (Reporter; Aide to Congressman Gerald R. Ford; Chief of Staff to the Vice President; Counsellor to the President).