Ronald Reagan 1980 presidential campaign clinch the nomination for the Republican Party. His opponent in the general election, incumbent President Jimmy Carter, passed the delegate threshold to become the presumptive nominee of his party on June 3. On May 26, George H. W. Bush, Reagan's remaining opponent for the Republican nomination, conceded defeat and urged his supporters to back Reagan. Ronald Reagan's choice for vice presidential running mate had been a subject of speculation since the end of the primaries. When former President Gerald Ford revealed in a CBS interview with Walter Cronkite that he was seriously considering the vice presidency, Ford garnered a great
America's Party (political party) supporters that he was "prayerfully considering" continuing his candidacy as an independent, and refused to endorse Baldwin. Following the failure to come together with the Constitution Party, Keyes' supporters formed America's Independent Party, which held its convention in Fenton, Michigan on August 21, 2008, making Keyes their Presidential nominee. A press release from the party said: "John McCain has abandoned the principles of Ronald Reagan – particularly the Reagan pro-life platform plank," and the party also opposed John McCain on other points, such as his opposition to a federal amendment outlawing marriage for same-sex couples, sponsoring McCain/Feingold legislation, which they