Governorship of Ronald Reagan Governorship of Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan was the Governor of California for two terms, the first beginning in 1967 and the second in 1971. He left office in 1975, declining to run for a third term. Robert Finch, Edwin Reinecke, and John L. Harmer served as lieutenant governors over the course of his governorship. California Republicans were impressed with Reagan's political views and charisma after his "A Time for Choosing" speech, and nominated him as the Republican party candidate for Governor in 1966. Reagan's campaign emphasized two main themes: "to send the welfare bums back to work", and regarding burgeoning
Ronald Reagan He also strongly advocated the Republican ideal of less government regulation of the economy, including that of undue federal taxation. Reagan did not seek re-election to a third term as governor in 1974; he was succeeded by the Secretary of State, Democrat Jerry Brown, who took office on January 6, 1975. In 1976, Reagan challenged incumbent President Gerald Ford in a bid to become the Republican Party's candidate for president. Reagan soon established himself as the conservative candidate with the support of like-minded organizations such as the American Conservative Union, which became key components of his political base, while Ford