1980 American Union National Convention

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1980 would be a fascinating election to observe for a couple of reasons. While turmoil and the ultimate upset over at the WP caught international attention (more on that later), the AU also faced difficulties of its own. President Taft, unpopular in his own party, faced primary challenges on all sides. While he was able to win a plurality of delegates from the contests, his lead was far from a majority, which meant the nomination would be settled at the convention. On July 1, about two weeks away from the convention's start, Taft suffered a major heart attack while attending a meeting with business leaders. Taft would not die at the same age as his father had, but the health scare forced him to withdraw from the race and retire at the end of his term. This left the nomination essentially for anybody's grabbing, and soon the convention would resemble more of a free-for-all. Vice President Chuck Percy jumped in, hoping to consolidate Taft's supporters and continue on his legacy. Other candidates that announced their last-minute bids include Senators Bob Dole and Howard Baker. Finally, a significant draft movement emerged for nominating former President Barry Goldwater, an intensely divisive figure but adored by conservatives. Reports have surfaced that the Reagan camp is actively whipping delegates to unite behind Goldwater should Reagan fail to become the frontrunner.

Who will become the nominee? That is left up to you, AU delegates. Two days.

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For people from the, er, opposite camp who might strategically vote a certain way, that has its own repercussions.

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One is upset that Reagan has not won more votes.

Reagan got 4 votes in the primaries thread. Methinks they have migrated over to Goldwater since I added him here.