Shortly after the beginning of his term as California governor , Reagan tested the presidential waters in 1968 as part of a " Stop Nixon " movement , hoping to cut into Nixon 's Southern support and be a compromise candidate if neither Nixon nor second-place Nelson Rockefeller received enough delegates to win on the first ballot at the Republican convention . However , by the time of the convention Nixon had 692 delegate votes , 25 more than he needed to secure the nomination , followed by Rockefeller with Reagan in third place
Republican convention
1968 Republican National Convention
Electoral history of Ronald Reagan