to use his direct-mail expertise to raise a big budget for the national campaign and to turn over his mailing lists to the party. For several months Rusher had promised American Independent Party members a nationally known Conservative, promises he continued to make up until two weeks before the convention. When Rusher, Viguerie, and Phillips failed to produce a well-known Conservative, party veterans led by its founder William K. Shearer rebuffed their vision to reform and modernize the party into what Rusher styled as the New Majority Party. The front-runner going into the convention was former Georgia governor and staunch segregationist Lester Maddox (previously a Democrat) with his colorful personality being viewed as a positive that could draw media attention and help the party reach the threshold of five percent of the national vote that would secure it federal funding. In protest of the proceedings that seemed to be handing the nomination to Maddox, Rusher and Viguerie were among those who did not attend the Saturday session where the voting took place. On the first ballot the party chose Maddox as its presidential nominee - beating challengers Morris and former Louisiana representative John Rarick (previously a Democrat). Shearer had hoped to get his wife Eileen nominated as the vice presidential candidate, but the idea was opposed by Maddox, who expressed his dislike of the idea of running with a woman. Shortly before the vote Maddox endorsed former mayor of Madison, Wisconsin William Dyke (previously a Republican who had been that party's nominee for Wisconsin governor in 1974) for vice president candidate, which caused Eileen to withdraw. Dyke, who beat Viguerie for the vice presidential slot, had gained fame in Conservative circles for a hard-line stand against student unrest at the University of Wisconsin (which included the Sterling Hall bombing) during the Vietnam War. Late in the afternoon Dyke addressed the convention before the vote by telephone, telling them that "America is the last hope for the preservation of freedom in the world." Before that year Dyke had no prior affiliation with the party and was woken up at 3 am by delegates who informed him in person of the nomination which he was happy to accept. Dyke admitted to reporters that he did not have a full understanding of the party's platform, and when asked if his racial policies were segregationist like Maddox's replied "Certainly not. I'm not a segregationist,"