Carmichael was a delegate to the 1972 Republican National Convention , which met in Miami Beach , Florida , to re-nominate President Nixon and Vice President Agnew Carmichael was the Republican nominee in 1972 for the United States Senate against the veteran Democrat James O. Eastland . In the Republican primary , Carmichael easily defeated the African-American civil rights figure James H. Meredith . In the fall campaign , President Nixon directed that Carmichael not attend a Republican rally in the capital city of Jackson hosted by Agnew , who endorsed two successful Republican candidates for the United States House of Representatives , Thad Cochran and Trent Lott . Instead Carmichael was humiliated and had to remain at Republican headquarters two blocks away from the festivities . One of Eastland 's press spokesmen was Larry Speakes , later the White House acting press secretary in the Ronald W. Reagan administration
1972 Republican National Convention
1972 Republican National Convention
Gil Carmichael