Goldwater’s 1964 defeat masked a political realignment that was already underway among evangelicals

Evidence

Goldwater’s defeat, however, masked a political realignment already under way. Although Graham refrained from supporting Goldwater in 1964, he claimed to have received “over one million telegrams” urging him to do so. Four years later, the choice would be easier. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 103

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader literature on the Republican realignment and Sunbelt conservatism (e.g. Lisa McGirr’s ‘Suburban Warriors’). — connects to: Goldwater’s defeat shifted GOP dominance from moderates to free-market conservatism — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 506
• SEED: Angle: ‘the million telegrams’ as a precursor to the modern evangelical mobilization apparatus — a data point on how mass-mailing political signaling predated Reagan.