During the 1976 Republican National Convention , then-Senator Jesse Helms encouraged a " Draft Buckley " movement in an effort to stop the nomination of Ronald Reagan for President . ( Reagan had announced that Pennsylvania Senator Richard Schweiker would be his running mate ; Helms objected to this decision , believing Schweiker to be too liberal . ) The " Draft Buckley " movement was rendered moot when President Gerald Ford narrowly won the party 's nomination on the first ballot
1976 Republican National Convention
1976 Republican National Convention
James L. Buckley