PRESIDENT FORD COMMITTEE RECORDS
Political Office Files
The Political Office Files document strategic
and organizational issues during the primary and general presidential
campaigns. The files are particularly
valuable for documentation on PFC organizing and campaign activities at the
state and local levels. They are less
reflective of campaign planning at the national level.
The deputy chairman for political
organization (the political director) was responsible for developing and
implementing campaign strategy and
directing a large and geographically dispersed staff. Bo Callaway appointed Lee Nunn as director of
political organization in July 1975.
Nunn resigned just three months later citing insurmountable differences
with the chairman.
Stuart Spencer, a well-known
In addition to developing political
strategy and developing a nationwide political organization, Spencer and his
staff assimilated "intelligence" on competitors' campaigns and
delegates, maintained liaison with key Republican leaders throughout the
country, monitored state budgets, and oversaw the implementation of national
and state campaign plans. An important
aspect of the Political Office's early role was assisting in the selection of
state PFC executive directors and finance chairmen.
A large portion of the Political
Office Files reflect the activities of several key staff who reported directly
to Spencer. Norman E. ("Skip")
Cognizant of fiscal constraints, the
Political Office staff grew quickly in the early months of the primary campaign
but rapidly downsized state-by-state in the period following each state's
primary election or convention, eliminating paid staff positions and closing
campaign headquarters. Soon after Ford's
nomination, state headquarters reopened and the staff of the Political Office
at national headquarters expanded.
While the staff of the Political
Office changed somewhat from the primary to general campaign period, the system
of reporting information from the field remained virtually unchanged. State PFC personnel regularly reported to
regional coordinators at national headquarters.
Spencer and his immediate assistants reviewed synopses prepared by the
regional coordinators and reported to the national chairman on state-level
activities and progress. Any
recommendations by Spencer,
The extant files of the Political
Office are not complete. For example,
the files do not include evidence of Spencer's critical role in the development
of a campaign plan for the general election.
Neither do they document Spencer's role as acting PFC chairman in March
1976. The small portion of the Political
Office Files readily identified as Spencer's primarily reflect only his
responsibility for developing a national organization.
While Spencer, and possibly
Related Material
(As of January 1991)
The White House Central Files
Subject File includes material on PFC state organizations and delegate
monitoring in various sections of PL-Political Affairs. The files of Chief of Staff Richard Cheney
include material on PFC organizational efforts, Political Office personnel, and
suggested contacts with delegates.
Material reflecting Political Office contact with the White House staff
appears in the files of Cheney's assistant, James Field, and Staff Secretary
Jerry Jones. Researchers should consult
the personal papers of Michael Raoul-Duval and Robert
Teeter for discussions of campaign strategy and drafts of Ford's general
election campaign plan.
C1-C5 Political
Office:
Memoranda, correspondence, polling data,
reports by PFC state executive directors and field coordinators, and clippings
accumulated by Political Office directors Lee Nunn and Stuart Spencer. The materials concern such topics as: state
and local issues, state Republican party organizations, state campaign plans,
selection and approval of PFC state executive and finance chairmen, media
strategy, scheduling of presidential and advocate appearances, rules governing
delegate selection, and reports concerning the local activities of the Reagan and
Carter campaign organizations. Although
some later material appears, the pre-nomination period is best documented
here. Many of the state files include
"memos for the record" drafted by Chairman Bo Callaway early in the
campaign. Spencer created few of the documents in the file; most were prepared
for his information by Political Office staff.
Arranged alphabetically by state.
C6-C11 Political
Office: Primary Campaign Coordinators' Reference File,
1975-76. (2.4 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, and reports by PFC
state executive directors and field coordinators accumulated by Skip Watts,
primary states coordinator, and Edward Terrill, convention states
coordinator. The focus of this file is
somewhat less issue-oriented than the Spencer file described above but copies
of some documents appear in both files.
Most of the material in this series relate directly to PFC organizing
efforts and campaign activities at the state level including such topics as the
rules governing delegate selection, delegate tallies and tracking, the
appointment of state PFC officials, Reagan's campaign activities, phone bank
operation, local media campaigns (including occasional transcripts of
commercials and radio actualities), state campaign plans and budgets, and the results
of state primary elections, caucuses, and conventions. A short sequence of regional reports precedes
the state file. The Ford Library did not
receive a file for
Arranged
alphabetically by state.
C12-C20 Political
Office:
Memoranda, correspondence, reports, clippings,
budget information, demographic data, and personnel forms compiled by field
coordinators Skip Watts and William Russo and special assistant to the
political director Edward Terrill during the post-nomination campaign. Materials concern such topics as the
evaluation of PFC state primary campaign personnel, state campaign plans and
budgets, statistical studies from previous elections, Republican National
Committee phone bank organization, debate reaction, recommended presidential
letters and appearances, local congressional contests, and Carter's state
campaign organizations. For some states,
the lengthy RNC publication, "Political Profiles of the States," and
extensive clippings are included in the file.
The amount of material varies greatly from state to state.
Arranged alphabetically by state.
C21Political Office: Norman Watts Chronological
File, 1975-76. (.4
linear feet)
Carbons of memoranda and correspondence
drafted by Skip Watts, coordinator for primary states during the pre-nomination
campaign and one of two field coordinators during the general election. Documents include communications
Arranged
chronologically.
C22-C24 Political
Office: Norman Watts Subject File, 1975-76.
(1.2 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, reports, administrative
forms, clippings, and printed material compiled by
Arranged
alphabetically by subject.
C25-C27 Political
Office: William Russo Subject File, 1976.
(1.2 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, reports,
itineraries, scheduling proposals, state campaign budgets, and press releases
compiled by William Russo, a field coordinator during the general election
campaign, and his assistant Glenda Leggitt. The materials concern such topics as the
advocates program, debates, vice presidential campaign, the September 1976
Mississippi river boat campaign trip, fiscal procedures and state budgets,
People for Ford volunteer program, and PFC administrative matters. A small but significant file on abortion
reflects Marjory Mecklenburg's liaison role with anti-abortion groups.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
C28-C34 Political
Office: Republican National Committee Campaign File, 1974-76. (2.8 linear feet)
Reports, computer printouts, and printed
material produced by the Republican National Committee and used by the Political
Office as a reference file during the general campaign. Materials include a lengthy Jimmy Carter quotebook and information concerning the RNC nationwide
phone bank program, especially the state-level organizations and tabulation of
responses for the period immediately preceding the November election. Several publications compiled by the RNC's Presidential Campaign Task Force concerning state
Republican and PFC organizations, local events providing campaign
opportunities, media, balloting procedures, demographic and statistical data,
and state issues comprise the bulk of the series.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
C35-C38 Political
Office:
Lists and
occasional reports of the PFC's local leadership
arranged by state. The file may have
originally been compiled by Jack Stiles, working as delegate monitor and
special consultant to the PFC chairman out of the Political Office prior to his
death in April 1976. Included are
updates from throughout the primary and general campaign.
Arranged alphabetically by state.
C1 Political Office:
C2 Political Office:
C3 Political Office:
C4 Political Office:
C5 Political Office:
C6 Political Office: Primary Campaign
Coordinators' File
Regional Reports
‑
Regional Reports
‑
Regional Reports
‑ Pacific (Nola Haerle)
Regional Reports
‑ Southwest (Al Zapanta)
Regional Reports
‑ Western (Bob Flanigan)
C7 Political Office: Primary Campaign
Coordinators' File
C8 Political Office: Primary Campaign
Coordinators' File
C9 Political Office: Primary Campaign
Coordinators' File
C10 Political Office: Primary Campaign
Coordinators' File
C11 Political Office: Primary Campaign
Coordinators' File
C12 Political Office:
C13 Political Office:
C14 Political Office:
C15 Political Office:
C16 Political Office:
C17 Political Office:
C18 Political Office:
C19 Political Office:
C20 Political Office:
C21 Political Office: Norman Watts Chronological
File
October 1975 -
Oct. 1976
C22 Political Office: Norman Watts Subject File
Advocates
Program
Budget
Authorizations
Campaign
Management Reporting System
Campaign
Materials
Campaign Manual ‑
Pacific Region (1)-(2)
Carter, Jimmy ‑
Clippings
Celebrities for
Ford
Debates
Delegate Tallies
Delegate Tallies
‑ Convention States (1)-(2)
Delegate Tallies
‑ Primary States (1)-(2)
Direct Mail
Campaign Literature
Fiscal Guidance
C23 Political Office: Norman Watts Subject File
Forms ‑
Administrative
General Election
Workbook (1)-(2)
Legal Guidance
Media ‑
Newspaper Lists
Media ‑
Radio
Media ‑
Television
National
Federation of Republican Women
Primary Campaign
‑ Organization Manual
President Ford
Committee ‑ People for Ford
President Ford
Committee ‑ Staff
President Ford
Committee ‑ Staff ‑ State Organizations
C24 Political Office: Norman Watts Subject File
President Ford
Committee ‑ '76 Factbook (1)-(2)
Recommended
Presidential Contacts
Regional
Coordinators ‑ Memoranda and Correspondence ‑ Barbour, Haley
(Southern States)
Regional
Coordinators ‑ Memoranda and Correspondence ‑ Inesco,
Jack (
Research ‑
Platform
Research ‑
Public Opinion Polls
Resumes
Schedule Proposals
Special Voter
Groups
Telephone Bank
Program
Vice
Presidential Campaign
C25 Political Office: William Russo Subject File
Abortion (1)-(2)
Advocate Program
(1)-(3)
Butz Resignation
Campaign
Management Reporting System
Campaign
Materials
Carter, Jimmy ‑
Clippings and Quotes
Correspondence
Debates
Democrats for
Ford
Dole, Robert ‑
Schedules (1)-(3)
C26 Political Office: William Russo Subject File
Expense Reports
Farmers for Ford
Fiscal
Procedures ‑ General Campaign (1)-(2)
Media
Media Contacts
Memoranda
Office
Administration
People for Ford ‑
Newsletters and Press Releases
C27 Political Office: William Russo Subject File
People for Ford ‑
Peterson (Elly) Memoranda
Phone Bank
Program
Polling Data
President Ford
Committee ‑ Guide for
President Ford
Committee ‑ Press Releases
President Ford
Committee ‑ Staff Lists
President Ford
Committee ‑ State Organization Chairmen Lists
Press Releases ‑
Miscellaneous Groups
Republican
National Committee ‑ Presidential Campaign Task Force
State Budgets
(1)-(4)
State
Organizations ‑ President Ford Committee
White House
Requests
C28 Political Office: Republican National
Committee Campaign File
Carter Quotebook (1)-(5)
Phonebank Program ‑
General
Phonebank Program ‑
States (1)-(3)
C29 Political Office: Republican National
Committee Campaign File
Phonebank Program ‑
Tabulations by Center
C30 Political Office: Republican National
Committee Campaign File
Phonebank Program ‑
Tabulations by Center
Phonebank Program ‑
Tabulations by State, 10/5‑12/76
Phonebank Program ‑
Tabulations by State, 10/13‑15/76
Phonebank Program ‑
Tabulations by State, 10/18‑23/76
Phonebank Program ‑
Tabulations by State, 10/24‑30/76
C31 Political Office: Republican National
Committee Campaign File
Presidential
Campaign Task Force ‑ Elected Officials and Candidates (1)-(5)
Presidential
Campaign Task Force ‑ General Election Information (1)-(4)
C32 Political Office: Republican National Committee
Campaign File
Presidential
Campaign Task Force ‑ General Election Information (5)-(6)
Presidential
Campaign Task Force ‑ General Reference
Presidential
Campaign Task Force ‑ Media (1)-(6)
C33 Political Office: Republican National
Committee Campaign File
Presidential
Campaign Task Force ‑ Media (7)-(9)
Presidential
Campaign Task Force ‑ Phone Bank Program (1)‑(4)
Presidential
Campaign Task Force ‑ Scheduling (1)-(2)
C34 Political Office: Republican National
Committee Campaign File
Presidential Campaign
Task Force ‑ Special Voter Groups (1)-(5)
C35 Political Office:
Spencer Memo,
February 1976
C36 Political Office:
C37 Political Office:
State and Local
Officials Name File:
C38 Political Office:
State and Local
Officials Name File: