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1992 Republican National Convention

The 1992 Republican National Convention was held in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, from August 17 to August 20, 1992. The convention nominated President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for reelection. It was Bush's fourth consecutive appearance as a candidate on a major party ticket; only Bush and Franklin D. Roosevelt have been nominated on four consecutive presidential tickets. Richard Nixon and Roosevelt were nominated five times, but not consecutively.

Convention

August 17–20, 1992

Houston, Texas

2,185

1,093

Bush (TX): 2,166 (99.13%)
Buchanan (VA): 18 (0.82%)
Keyes (MD): 1 (0.05%)

Quayle (IN): 100% (Acclamation)

1

Venue logistics[edit]

The Astrodome 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, the Houston Astros, the Major League Baseball team which played at the Astrodome, played 26 consecutive away games over 28 days, the longest Major League Baseball "road trip" since the Philadelphia Phillies played 27 away games in 28 days in 1944.[4] Additionally, the National Football League's Houston Oilers would also be forced to play all their preseason games on the road.[5] The Major 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 the National 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]

2,166

George H. W. Bush

18

Patrick J. Buchanan

1

Alan Keyes

was renominated by voice vote.

Dan Quayle

Aftermath[edit]

The convention energized the Republican base, giving the Bush-Quayle ticket a bounce in the polls.[18] As the bounce faded, the race returned to a lopsided double-digit Clinton–Gore lead.[19] The race narrowed considerably, however, when Ross Perot rebooted his insurgent campaign.[20]


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.

1992 Republican Party presidential primaries

George H. W. Bush 1992 presidential campaign

History of the United States Republican Party

List of Republican National Conventions

U.S. presidential nomination convention

1991 Libertarian National Convention

1992 Democratic National Convention

1992 United States presidential election

(video) at C-SPAN

George Bush's nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC

(text) at The American Presidency Project

George Bush's nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC

(audio)

George Bush's nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC

Video of Quayle nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC (via YouTube)

Audio of Quayle nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC

Transcript of Quayle nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC

at The American Presidency Project

Republican Party platform of 1992

(text)

Ronald Reagan's Address to the 1992 Republican National Convention (video)

the "Culture War" speech. Text, audio and video.

Patrick Buchanan's Address to the 1992 RNC

Text, audio and video.

Mary Fisher's A Whisper of AIDS Speech to the 1992 Republican National Convention

Video (with audio) of Phil Gramm's Keynote Address at Republican National Convention

Text of Phil Gramm's Keynote Address at Republican National Convention