Capital Review

Forty-four years ago this month, Ronald Reagan won the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, vaulting him on a path to the 1980 nomination and a landslide victory over President Jimmy Carter.

The last presidential candidate to largely unite the country, Reagan defeated Carter 489-49 in the Electoral College and 51-41 percent in the popular vote. Four years later, he won 49 states and 59 percent of the popular vote.

Reagan “rose from the ashes” of Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential campaign thanks to his “A Time for Choosing” speech, writes Peggy Noonan in her Reagan biography, When C...