and Spanish, emphasizing that private enterprise can do a better job than government and calling for a balanced federal budget. His campaign focused heavily on the first primary in the nation in Puerto Rico, believing that the Hispanic vote would go to a fellow Hispanic. Fernandez's campaign manager, David Miller, later admitted that the Puerto Rico strategy was a failure, as the early voting states of New Hampshire and Iowa completely overshadowed the Puerto Rico primary. After a lackluster showing in Puerto Rico, Fernandez admitted that he was unable to fire up his Hispanic base as much as he thought he could, and the lack of TV coverage of his campaign made it difficult to raise money and garner name recognition. After Fernandez ended his primary bid, he spoke at the 1980 Republican Convention in Detroit in support of Ronald Reagan. President-elect Reagan appointed Fernandez to his transition team as his senior small business adviser. Fernandez also welcomed Reagan to Texas during his general election campaign, helping him make the pitch for the sought-after Mexican-American vote. In 1984, Fernandez attempted a second, largely ceremonial run for the Presidency. Despite being a former Reagan adviser, Fernandez ran to highlight his disagreement with the high unemployment rate, deficit spending, and "heavy-handed" military approach of the Reagan Administration. He kept to the New Hampshire primary, along with perennial candidate Harold Stassen. Each received around one percent of the vote. Fernandez ran one last campaign on a similar scale in 1988. Personal life and later years Fernandez had three daughters with his first wife. He remarried later in life to Jacqueline Coon and they lived in Calabasas, California. Fernandez then resided in Las Vegas, Nevada, until his death. He continued his work professionally and politically even after his retirement, often traveling throughout the country as a consulting economist. In 2000, he served on the McCain Presidential Finance Committee, his last political involvement before his death. Legacy Fernandez's status as the first Hispanic presidential candidate was largely forgotten in subsequent decades; when New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, running in 2008, declared himself to be the first ever Hispanic candidate, his statement went mostly uncorrected. References External links Republican National Hispanic Assembly web site 1925 births 2000 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American politicians of Mexican descent California Republicans Hispanic and Latino American candidates for President of the United States Politicians from