The wide margin of victory in Romney's November 1966 gubernatorial re-election in Michigan cast him to the forefront of national Republicans. Republican governors were determined not to let the 1964
Barry Goldwater disaster recur, and neither fellow governors
Nelson Rockefeller nor
Bill Scranton wanted to run again; the governors quickly settled on Romney as their favorite for the
Republican presidential nomination in the 1968 U.S. presidential election. Former Congressman and
Republican National Committee chair
Leonard W. Hall became Romney's informal campaign manager. Romney announced an exploratory phase in February 1967, beginning with a visit to Alaska and the Rocky Mountain states. Romney's greatest weakness was his lack of foreign policy expertise and his need for a clear position on the
Vietnam War.) The previous year, there had been some speculation of Romney eventually picking U.S. Senator
Jacob K. Javits of New York as his running mate, which might add foreign policy expertise and other
ticket balance, but such talk did not persist. The qualities that helped give Romney success as an automotive industry executive worked against him as a presidential candidate; he had difficulty being articulate on any issue, often speaking at length and too forthrightly on a topic and then later correcting himself while maintaining he was not. Reporter
Jack Germond joked that he was going to add a single key on his typewriter that would print, "Romney later explained...." The perception grew that Romney was gaffe-prone and a plodder. Nevertheless, Romney had a clear top-tier status and by March 1967 found himself only nine points behind Nixon. Romney's national poll ratings continued to erode, and by May he had lost his edge over Johnson. What indirect discussion there was helped bring to national attention the
church's policy regarding blacks, in that blacks were not permitted into the lay clergy. However, Romney's pro-civil rights stance deflected any criticism of him, and indirectly benefited the image of the church by contrasting Romney's view against the policy. Some historians and Latter-day Saints suspected then and later that had Romney's campaign lasted longer and been more successful, his religion might have become a more prominent issue, as it was during his son Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. Romney's campaign did often focus on his core beliefs; a Romney billboard in New Hampshire read "The Way To Stop Crime Is To Stop Moral Decay". A spate of books were published about Romney, more than for any other candidate, and included a friendly campaign biography, an attack from a former staffer, and a collection of Romney's speeches. However, before his campaign had officially begun, Governor Romney made a statement that practically ruined his chances of getting the nomination. In a taped interview with
Lou Gordon of
WKBD-TV in
Detroit on August 31, 1967, Romney stated, "When I came back from Viet Nam [in November 1965], I'd just had the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get." He then shifted to opposing the war: "I no longer believe that it was necessary for us to get involved in South Vietnam to stop Communist aggression in Southeast Asia," he declared. Decrying the "tragic" conflict, he urged "a sound peace in South Vietnam at an early time." Thus Romney disavowed the war and reversed himself from his earlier stated belief that the war was "morally right and necessary." The "brainwashing" reference had been an offhand, unplanned remark that came at the end of a long, behind-schedule day of campaigning. By September 7 it had found its way into prominence at
The New York Times. Republican Congressman
Robert T. Stafford of
Vermont sounded a common concern: "If you're running for the presidency, you are supposed to have too much on the ball to be brainwashed." After the remark was aired, Romney's poll ratings quickly nosedived, going from 11 percent behind Nixon to 26 percent behind. During an eight-day tour that began in the Dakotas, Romney claimed the biggest threats to America were decline in moral character, personal responsibility, family life and religion, but also got criticized by North Dakota farmers and North Dakota senator
Milton Young for criticizing collective bargaining for farmers and for his belief that they should sell their commodities abroad by the law of supply and demand, for low prices. Romney formally announced his candidacy on November 18, 1967, at Detroit's
Veterans Memorial Building, that he had "decided to fight for and win the Republican nomination and election to the Presidency of the United States." He spent the following months campaigning tirelessly, focusing on the
New Hampshire primary, the first of the season, and doing all the on-the-ground activities known to that state: greeting workers at factory gates before dawn, having neighborhood meetings in private homes, stopping at bowling alleys. However, he still suffered from generally negative press coverage. Believing that his candidacy was hopeless, Romney announced his withdrawal as a presidential candidate on February 28, 1968, surprising political observers, who thought that Romney would at least stay in through the New Hampshire and Wisconsin primaries. While many assumed that Romney would endorse Rockefeller for the nomination, he did not support anyone; Romney later claimed that it was Rockefeller's entry, and not the "brainwashing" remark, that ended his candidacy. He wrote to his son
Mitt, in France on missionary work: "Your mother and I are not personally distressed. As a matter of fact, we are relieved. We went into this not because we aspired to the office, but simply because we felt that under the circumstances we would not feel right if we did not offer our service. As I have said on many occasions, I aspired, and though I achieved not, I am satisfied." Nixon went on to gain the nomination. At the
1968 Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Romney refused to release his delegates to Nixon. Romney finished a weak fifth, with only 50 votes on the roll call (44 of Michigan's 48, plus six from Utah). When party moderates and others expressed dismay at Nixon's choice of
Spiro Agnew as his vice-presidential running mate, Romney's name was placed into nomination and pushed by several delegations. Romney said he did not initiate the move, Romney worked for Nixon's eventually successful campaign in the fall, which did earn him Nixon's gratitude. Presidential historian
Theodore H. White wrote that during his campaign Romney gave "the impression of an honest and decent man simply not cut out to be President of the United States."
Senators •
Edward Brooke (R-MA)
Representatives •
Charles Mathias (R-MD) •
Don Riegle (R-MI)
Governors •
David Cargo, (R-NM) •
William Scranton, (R-PA)
Lieutenant Governors •
William Milliken, (R-MI) ==Polling==