Republican Party (United States)

==== From Goldwater to Reagan ====
{{multiple image
| align         = left
| total_width   = 222
| caption_align = center
| image1        = Richard Nixon presidential portrait (1).jpg
| caption1      = [[Richard Nixon]], the 37th president (1969–1974)
| image2        = Gerald Ford presidential portrait (cropped 3).jpg
| caption2      = [[Gerald Ford]], the 38th president (1974–1977)
}}
Historians cite [[1964 United States presidential election|the 1964 presidential election]] and [[1964 Republican National Convention|its respective National Convention]] as a significant shift, which saw the conservative wing, helmed by [[Arizona]] senator [[Barry Goldwater]], battle liberal New York governor [[Nelson Rockefeller]] and his eponymous [[Rockefeller Republican]] faction for the nomination. With Goldwater poised to win, Rockefeller, urged to mobilize his liberal faction, retorted, "You're looking at it, buddy. I'm all that's left."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1964-republican-convention-revolution-from-the-right-915921/|title=How the 1964 Republican Convention Sparked a Revolution From the Right|first=Rick|last=Perlstein|work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian Magazine]]|date=August 2008|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-date=February 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220142328/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1964-republican-convention-revolution-from-the-right-915921/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-recalling-rockefeller/2014/11/21/1a615a04-711a-11e4-8808-afaa1e3a33ef_story.html|title=George F. Will: Recalling Rockefeller|first=George|last=F. Will|author-link=George Will|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 21, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-date=October 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027101235/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-recalling-rockefeller/2014/11/21/1a615a04-711a-11e4-8808-afaa1e3a33ef_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], the southern states became more reliably Republican in presidential politics, while northeastern states became more reliably Democratic.

Though Goldwater lost the election in a landslide, [[Ronald Reagan]] would make himself known as a prominent supporter of his throughout the campaign, delivering his famous "[[A Time for Choosing]]" speech for Goldwater. Reagan would go on to [[1966 California gubernatorial election|win the California governorship two years later]].

The GOP would go on to control the White House from 1969 to 1977 under 37th president [[Richard Nixon]], and when he resigned in 1974 due to the [[Watergate scandal]], [[Gerald Ford]] became the 38th president, serving until 1977.  Ronald Reagan would later go on to defeat incumbent Democratic President [[Jimmy Carter]] in the [[1980 United States presidential election]], becoming the 40th president on January 20, 1981.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-ronald-reagans-a-time-for-choosing-endures-after-all-this-time/2014/10/23/d833c49e-587a-11e4-bd61-346aee66ba29_story.html|title=Why Ronald Reagan's 'A Time for Choosing' endures after all this time|first=Steven F.|last=Hayward|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 23, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-date=December 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220023515/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-ronald-reagans-a-time-for-choosing-endures-after-all-this-time/2014/10/23/d833c49e-587a-11e4-bd61-346aee66ba29_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>