 The 1968 Republican National Convention was held from August 5 to 9 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach , Florida . At the convention , Richard Nixon won the nomination for President on the first ballot with 692 delegates . Behind him finished Governor Rockefeller , second with 277 delegates , followed by Governor Ronald Reagan , in third place , having just entered the race , <unk> 182 delegates . Nixon 's early nomination occurred partly because he held on to delegates in the South largely influenced by Senator <unk> <unk> of South Carolina , and delegate Charlton Lyons of Louisiana . 
