3. The Candidate of Choice was Ronald Reagan
Surprisingly, the candidate that Falwell and others in the Moral Majority chose to support was Ronald Reagan, a conservative Republican from California. What made their support so surprising is that as governor of California, Reagan had signed into law a bill that made the process of obtaining abortions easier! However, he used religious language in his speeches, especially when speaking at rallies hosted by Falwell, and claimed that he believed that life begins at conception. On the campaign trail, he spoke at one gathering of the Moral Majority in Dallas that had over 10,000 people present.
Reagan won the presidential election in a landslide against his Democratic rival, Michael Dukakis. Many have suggested that he would not have succeeded without the support of the Moral Majority; without its members voting for him, he would have lost by 1%. When Reagan entered the White House, Jerry Falwell became a close friend and confidante. However, Reagan only paid lip service to Falwell to ensure the ongoing support of the Moral Majority. He did not support any legislation aimed at ending abortion and frequently nominated people to government positions, such as Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court, knowing that Falwell would oppose them but still asking him for support.
