In the 1964 general election campaign, Butler played only a small part, showing his lack of stomach for the fight by agreeing with the journalist George Gale of the "Daily Express" that the very close campaign "might yet slip away" in the "last few days". Randolph Churchill wrote that he had "uttered his own death-wish and death warrant". He would not have retained the Foreign Office if the Conservatives had won; the job had already been promised to Christopher Soames. Many, including Wilson, said that Butler would have won the 1964 general election had he been Prime Minister.