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It's November 4, 1980.

Pacific Palisades, California.

In Ronald Reagan's Spanish style mansion, the presidential candidate and his family and

close campaign team are watching the election returns on TV.

Most are too excited to sit.

They pace and crowd around the TV, feeding themselves popcorn and refilling glasses of wine.

Stewart Spencer, Reagan's campaign manager, leans over and turns up the volume on the

TV.

Spencer is especially nervous.

He tried out a new campaign strategy and tonight, he finds out if it worked.

Here we go, they're about to call the first state.

On the screen, a map of the United States comes up.

John Chancellore, the co-anchor, leans forward.

The room goes wild.

Florida went for Carter last election.

In fact, for all of Spencer's political life, the entire South has been a stronghold for

Democrats.

But Spencer's predicting a change all along the South from east to west, not just predicting

it.

He's banking on it.

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