I’m foggy about 1972. Who challenged Nixon in the GOP primaries??
A liberal republican named McCloskey, I forget where he was from - and a conservative who did not like the opening to China. Neither of them got anywhere because most republicans, and democrats, saw Nixon as a real conservative and were too afraid of McGovern to risk dumping Nixon.
John Ashbrook challenged Nixon in ‘72 and gained only ten percent of the California Primary vote but...he was one of the Best Jouneyman Conservative Activist Congressman ever.