Retro Campaigns

George Romney Runs for President in 1968

George Romney, father of current Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, was a candidate for the Republican nomination himself in 1968.

Romney Sr. was chairman and president of American Motors Corporation (AMC) in Michigan before turning to politics, serving a long stretch as governor, from 1962 until 1968, when he threw his hat in the ring for the presidency.

Romney Sr. represented the more liberal wing of the Republican party and looked like a viable candidate, but his chances were dramatically diminished after an off-hand remark gained traction in the media. He told a reporter that he had “the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get” into supporting the Vietnam War by American generals after a tour of Southeast Asia. He was trying to explain how he supported the war initially, but that he now opposed what he called a “tragic” conflict, but the damage was done. Richard Nixon would eventually win the nomination and then the presidency.

His campaigns played on his automotive background, with slogans like “Roll with Romney” and “Ride with Romney,” though in 1968 they went with the somewhat bland “Romney: Great for ‘68” and “Romney in ‘68: For a Better America.”