He tried three times to gain his party's nomination for the United States presidency but lost to the slightly more conservative Vice President and future President Richard Nixon in 1960 and 1968 and conservative Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona in 1964. He refused to support Goldwater in the general election after losing to him, which Nixon condemned him for and used to argue that Rockefeller was not a loyal Republican. He was Vice-President from 1974-1977 under Gerald Ford. He waged a campaign against future President George Bush to be appointed to that office. He won. He was a member of the Republican Party. He was in Knights of Pythias.