Ronald Reagan , who had narrowly lost the 1976 Republican nomination to President Gerald Ford , was the early odds-on favorite to win the nomination in 1980 . He was so far ahead in the polls that campaign director John Sears decided on an " above the fray " strategy . He did not attend many of the multi-candidate forums and straw polls in the summer and fall of 1979
1976 Republican nomination
1976 Republican National Convention
1980 Republican Party presidential primaries