 On July 1 , Nixon received the endorsement of Senator John G. Tower of Texas , handing him at least 40 delegates . With his nomination all but assured , Nixon 's ad team began preparing for the general election . A series of advertisements featuring question and answer sessions with Nixon and friends of campaign staffers were filmed in New York . The tapes were sent to the swing states of Illinois , Michigan , and Ohio , giving Nixon the advantage of advertising long before the Democratic Party settled on a candidate . At this time , Nixon decided with a group of legislators that " crime and disorder " would be presented as the number one issue in the nation . This continued to be a major theme of the Nixon campaign , and would continue to be used extensively during the general election . Nixon publicly announced his opposition to the military draft , proposing to replace the current system with a volunteer army encouraged with higher pay . President Eisenhower endorsed Nixon in mid @-@ July , breaking his tradition of waiting until after the primary , due to the election 's importance . By July 's end , reports circulated that Nixon had 691 probable delegates for the convention , placing him over the 667 delegate threshold , Rockefeller , however , disputed these numbers . Sources within Washington reported that Reagan caused greater concern for the Nixon campaign than Rockefeller . A possible scenario surfaced where Nixon 's southern delegates would drop their support to back the more conservative Reagan . Nonetheless , Nixon staffers believed that if such a scenario occurred , liberal Rockefeller delegates in the Northeast would support Nixon to prevent a Reagan nomination . 
