1976 Republican primaries: Ronald Reagan vs Nelson Rockefeller

[JabeShepherd]

Let's say Gerald Ford declines to run for his own term and Nelson Rockefeller decides to run for the moderate faction of the party against the conservative faction's Ronald Reagan. Who would win in this hypothetical primary between these two Republican titans?

[Agonized-Statism]

Assuming Rockefeller stays in till the bitter end, it goes pretty badly for him. Not only was the Eastern Establishment very dead by that point, but the incumbent president declining to run right on the heels of Watergate would be taken by the Republican electorate as a sign they needed to change. Not even sure he wins Iowa here.

[ClassicElectionEnthusiast]

Also have to think that his being the incumbent Vice-President would be the only thing sparing Nelson Rockefeller from comparisons to the king of perennial candidates, Harold Stassen, given that Rockefeller would have run in 4 of the 5 elections between 1960 and 1976 in this scenario and lost the nomination each time.