Curiously, then-Gov. Reagan was expected to run against radical ultra-leftist freshman Sen. Alan Cranston at the end of his second term in 1974... but opted out of it because the Watergate fiasco tarred so many promising Republican candidates that year.
Are you sure? Reagan followed his 1968 presidential campaign with a 1976 campaign that almost stole the nomination from vice-president Ford.
The voting went into the night and Reagan narrowly missed.