leading contender for appointment to the vacant US Senate seat. Michigan Governor George Romney set guidelines for determining a consensus candidate, including a minimum of 65% support. When it became clear that neither man would meet that threshold, Vander Jagt withdrew and threw his support behind Griffin, who was appointed to the Senate in May. In turn, Vander Jagt entered the race to succeed Griffin in Michigan's 9th congressional district, which stretched from his home in Cadillac along the Lake Michigan shoreline to Muskegon and the suburbs of Grand Rapids. Vander Jagt ran in two elections on November 8, 1966–a special election for the balance of Griffin's fifth term, and a regular election for a full two-year term. He won both handily and was reelected 12 times, never facing serious opposition in a district widely considered to be the most Republican district in Michigan. Congressional career Committees One of his earliest appointments was to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics during the development of the U.S. space program and leading to the moon landing. On the Conservation and National Resources Subcommittee, he worked to establish Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near his home, although he later had cause to note that park mismanagement illustrated "one of the most reprehensible aspects of the land acquisition process." As a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, President Richard Nixon sent him on trade missions to Africa and Asia. Vander Jagt was appointed to the Ways and Means Committee in 1974 where he served on the Trade and Select Revenue Measures Subcommittees. He continued to serve on this committee throughout his House career. He also served on the Joint Tax Committee of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. National leadership In 1980, Vander Jagt was chosen by presidential nominee Ronald Reagan to deliver the keynote address at the Republican National Convention in Detroit. He delivered the address on Wednesday July 16 without notes, relying entirely on memory. He was being considered as a potential Vice Presidential candidate. Using momentum from the convention speech, Vander Jagt ran for House Minority Leader after John J. Rhodes of Arizona decided not to run for the post again, but lost to Bob Michel of Illinois. Vander Jagt served as Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1975 until he left the House. Vander Jagt made a young Newt Gingrich the chairman of a Republican long-range