A Goddamned Electable Person’
The 1966 California Gubernatorial Campaign of Ronald Reagan
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9877557 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gerard J De Groot (University of St Andrews, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1997 |
| Volume | 82 |
| Issue | 267 |
| Pages | 429-448 |
| Publication date | 1997-07-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-2648 • E-ISSN: 1468-229X |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1468-229x.00044 |
| OpenAlex | W1999678288 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
This article demonstrates how Ronald Reagan's 1966 campaign for governor broke the mould of California politics in a way which continues to have resonance for present‐day American politics. The team behind Reagan used sophisticated and very modern campaign techniques which concentrated upon establishing the best possible image for Reagan. Behavioural scientists were hired to study public opinion and to coach Reagan on the issues which would inspire the most positive reaction from the public. In other words, in 1966 Reagan fought a campaign which would be entirely familiar to campaign managers today, especially in the extent to which he spoke in cleverly constructed soundbites. The article also studies the largely negative media reaction to this strange and new campaign and concludes that few reporters remotely understood the Reagan phenomenon. It relies heavily upon oral testimony from behind‐the‐scenes players in the Reagan campaign and press reports from newspapers of varying political persuasions. The article is revisionist in the sense that it presents Reagan as, in modern terms, a highly skilled politician and campaigner who was perfectly suited to a media‐driven campaign
Governor · Media coverage · Media studies · Newspaper · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Reagan administration · Sociology · American Political and Social Dynamics · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Public Administration · Rhetoric and Communication Studies
| Citations per year | 0.23 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2013 - 2025 (13) |
| Highly cited | No |