1992 presidential election | |
  Nominees Bush and Quayle | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | August 17–20, 1992 |
| City | Houston,Texas |
| Venue | Astrodome |
| Keynote speaker | Phil Gramm |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | George H. W. Bush ofTexas |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Dan Quayle ofIndiana |
| Voting | |
| Total delegates | 2,185 |
| Votes needed for nomination | 1,093 |
| Results (president) | Bush (TX): 2,166 (99.13%) Buchanan (VA): 18 (0.82%) Keyes (MD): 1 (0.05%) |
| Results (vice president) | Quayle (IN): 100% (Acclamation) |
| Ballots | 1 |
| ‹ 1988 · 1996 › | |
| ||
|---|---|---|
Personal 43rd Vice President of the United States Vice presidential campaigns 41st President of the United States Tenure Policies Presidential campaigns   | ||
The1992 Republican National Convention was held in theAstrodome inHouston, Texas, from August 17 to August 20, 1992. Theconvention nominatedPresidentGeorge H. W. Bush andVice PresidentDan Quayle for reelection. It was Bush's fourth consecutive appearance as a candidate on a major party ticket; only Bush andFranklin D. Roosevelt have been nominated on four consecutive presidential tickets.Richard Nixon and Roosevelt were nominated five times, but not consecutively.
The two finalist cities that Houston had defeated to land the convention wereNew Orleans andSan Diego.[1] While Houston was the adopted hometown of the incumbent Republican president George H. W. Bush, when the location was announced, the party insisted that Bush had not used his influence to land the city the convention, and had only instructed the party to choose "the best site" for the convention.[1] Unsuccessful finalist city New Orleans had been the location of the previous Republican National Convention in 1988.[2]
| City | Previous major party conventions hosted by city |
|---|---|
| Houston, Texas | Democratic:1928 |
| New Orleans, Louisiana | Republican:1988 |
| San Diego, California | — |
TheAstrodome had been renovated recently before its selection as the convention's location.[1] For the convention, the stadium was arranged to seat 36,000 people.[3]
To accommodate the convention and its set-up, theHouston Astros, theMajor League Baseball team which played at the Astrodome, played 26 consecutive away games over 28 days, the longest Major League Baseball "road trip" since thePhiladelphia Phillies played 27 away games in 28 days in 1944.[4] Additionally, theNational Football League'sHouston Oilers would also be forced to play all their preseason games on the road.[5] TheMajor League Baseball Players Association had filed an unsuccessful grievance in October 1991 in an attempt to block the planned 26-game road trip by the Astros. The Major League Baseball Players Association took issue with the Houston Sports Association (owners of the Astrodome) renting the stadium to the Republican National Convention organizers from July 27 through August 23, 1992, without first seeking permission from theNational League, and their grievance sought to shorten the length of the road trip, arguing that the 26-game road trip went against the National League's constitution.[6][7]
The convention is notable in that it featured the last major address of the long political career of former PresidentRonald Reagan, Bush's predecessor. In his speech, Reagan told Americans that:
Whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty's lamp guiding your steps and opportunity's arm steadying your way. My fondest hope for each one of you—and especially for the young people here—is that you will love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism. May each of you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and the hand to execute works that will make the world a little better for your having been here.
As the economy was ina recession and domestic affairs in general had dramatically decayed, the GOP lagged in the polls by double digits behind theBill Clinton–Al GoreDemocratic ticket after a successfulDemocratic Convention, and withRoss Perot temporarily out of the race, theRepublican Party worked hard to rally its base ofsocial conservatives.Pat Buchanan's opening night "culture war" speech argued that a great battle of values was taking place in the United States.Republican National Committee chairmanRich Bond (referring to Democrats) claimed that "we are America, they are not America."Marilyn Quayle dismissed Bill Clinton's claim to a new generation of leadership by saying, "Not everyone demonstrated, dropped out, took drugs, joined in the sexual revolution or dodged the draft."[8] Regarding Buchanan's speech, liberal humoristMolly Ivins quipped that it "probably sounded better in theoriginal German."[9] Twenty years after the convention, theNew York Times wrote, "Supporters of Mr. Bush pointed to the tone of the convention as one of the reasons he lost re-election that November to Bill Clinton,"[10] as it centered more on Reagan-era values and Bush's international credentials at a time that the main issue was the domestic crisis. Despite the fact that the now-infamous "No new taxes" pledge had haunted the President for the last three years, the economy was barely mentioned.
AIDS activistMary Fisher, who has HIV, addressed the convention, making an eloquent plea for her cause.[11] (She also addressed the1996 RNC).[12]
During his acceptance speech, President Bush thanked former PresidentRichard Nixon (during whose tenure Bush had served as aU.S. Representative,Ambassador to the United Nations andChairman of the Republican National Committee) for his advice and contributions to the administration's foreign policy. This would be the last RNC to take place during Nixon's lifetime, as he would dieless than two years later.
RestaurateurNinfa Laurenzo delivered thePledge of Allegiance at the opening session on August 17, 1992.[13]
Secretary of LaborLynn Martin delivered the nomination speech of President Bush for re-election. The nomination was seconded byJ. C. Watts.[14]
The stadium banned outside food from the convention, but set up a food court in the nearbyAstroarena. The food court operations included Atchafalaya River Cafe,Bambolino's,Frenchy's, Luther's Bar-B-Q,Ninfa's, PeaColes, and Tommy's Burgers. Some restaurant owners had connections with the Houston Host Committee, the group in charge of the vendor market of the Astroarena, and Republican Party officials. The hot dogs and soft drinks sold by the Astrodome's official caterer, Harry M. Stevens, were not present during the convention. Vendors at the convention paid Stevens a fee so they could sell food at the convention, as specified in Stevens' contract with the Astrodome.[15]
The convention energized the Republican base, giving the Bush-Quayle ticket abounce in the polls.[16] As the bounce faded, the race returned to a lopsided double-digit Clinton–Gore lead.[17] The race narrowed considerably, however, whenRoss Perot rebooted his insurgent campaign.[18]
The major parties have avoided hosting their conventions at baseball stadiums since then, now holding them in non sports venues (such as convention centers) and venues for teams whose seasons are not currently in play at the time of the convention.
| Preceded by 1988 New Orleans, Louisiana | Republican National Conventions | Succeeded by 1996 San Diego, California |
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