主题：【原创】【美国大选手记四十二】初选大幕徐徐落下，大选硝烟扑鼻而来 -- 尼伯龙根·蜗藤

Defying expectations, however, Ford narrowly defeated Reagan in the New Hampshire primary, and then proceeded to beat Reagan in the Florida and Illinois primaries by comfortable margins. At this point Reagan's campaign ran low on money, and many pundits believed that another loss would force him to quit the race. However, Reagan upset Ford in North Carolina, and then proceeded to win a string of impressive victories, including Texas. From there the two men engaged in an increasingly bitter, nip-and-tuck battle for delegates. By the time the Republican Convention opened in August 1976, the race for the nomination was still too close to call.

The 1976 Republican National Convention was held in Kansas City. As the convention began Ford was seen as having a slight lead in delegate votes, but still shy of the 1130 delegates he needed to win. In a bid to woo moderate Northern Republicans, Reagan shocked the convention by announcing that if he won the nomination, Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania, a liberal, would be his running mate. The move backfired, however, as few moderates switched to Reagan, while many conservative delegates were outraged. Ford defeated Reagan by a narrow margin on the first ballot.