a continuing decline in the Democratic Party's influence in Georgia, despite Nixon's landslide victory over McGovern there in the same year. Watergate further reduced the party's popularity in the state in 1974, and in that year's gubernatorial election, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ronnie Thompson lost with only 30% of the vote. When Newt Gingrich first ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1974, he tried to model his campaign on Nunn's successful one in 1972. References 1972 Georgia United States Senate