In 1964, Henry Cabot Lodge won the New Hampshire primary with a write-in vote. He received 35% of the vote. The runners up were Barry Goldwater with 23% and Nelson Rockefeller with 21%. Lodge was not an official candidate and did not campaign for the nomination. He was the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam at the time. The write-in campaign was run by a group of dedicated amateurs who were able to pull off the upset. This shows a write-in campaign can be successful, but it takes a special set of circumstances. Many Republicans were not happy with the choice between Goldwater and Rockefeller, who represented the conservative and liberal extremes of the party. Goldwater ultimately won the nomination as the low key Lodge campaign faded and Rockefeller proved to be too liberal for most of the party.
