Tuesday, January 4, 1966: Ronald Reagan runs for governor

Ronald Reagan's decision to run for the Republican nomination for governor provided California with a new style of politics today and touched off more bitterness in a heated Republican primary campaign.

     A half-hour film,  shown on 16 television stations, introduced Reagan to the voters Tuesday night -- a sharp contrast to the rallies, dinners and news conferences candidates have traditionally used to tell the people they will run.

     The viewers saw him standing in a relaxed manner in a comfortably furnished den -- it was a studio set -- talking calmly of state affairs. Gone were the placards and bands of years past.

     He conceded he was a political novice, aspiring to be chief executive of the nation's most populous state.

     "I am not a politician in the traditional sense of ever having held a public office, but I think I can lay claim to being a citizen politician," he said.

     -- Story from Associated Press: @

     -- Photo of Reagan filing nomination papers (March 9, 1966; Los Angeles Times photo from UCLA Library Digital Collections): @

     

* "Ronald Reagan and a Need for Action!" (announcement film): @

* Reagan's appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" (January 9, 1966): @

* "The Real Ronald Reagan Stands Up" (Life magazine, January 21, 1966): @ 
* Earlier post on Republicans' "11th Commandment" (September 25, 1965): @

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