Kemp Likens His Position to Reagan’s During 1980 Race

Jack Kemp, his formal campaign for President only a few days old, bristled at the suggestion that conservatives are still looking for a declared candidate other than himself.

“There are a number of conservatives who are for me; there are some who are not,” he said.

Then the Republican congressman from New York launched into his favorite analogy: Ronald Reagan, at this stage of the game in the 1980 GOP slugfest, was fighting for far-right favor with former Texas Gov. John B. Connally and Illinois Rep. Philip M. Crane.

“The conservatives had not united around Ronald Reagan until he’d won New Hampshire,” Kemp said. “If I can’t unite the conservatives after I win New Hampshire, I’ll be in trouble. But I’m willing to take the risk.”