1980 was my first thought. When did Reagan become palatable to the general public, anyway?
It’s pretty much a myth , Reagan was the odds on favorite to be the GOP nominee all through 1979 and much of the gop establishment backed him .
Even in 1979 Reagan led Carter in the polls :
https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/01/archives/carter-is-edged-in-poll-by-reagan-and-ford-kennedy-leads-both-just.htmlReally only the rally around the flag effect early on gave Carter that huge lead which by May completely collapsed and Reagan never trailed in the average of polls from then onwards .