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Like his father, the younger Bush drew the support of the Republican "establishment," with Reese in the role of the "populist" dissenter, akin to Ronald Reagan's challenge of Gerald Ford two years earlier for the party's presidential nomination. Reese had supported Reagan in that exchange in which the Californian ultimately secured all one hundred Texas delegates at the party's national convention held in the Kemper Arena in Kansas City.<ref>Reese, p. 137.</ref>

Like his father, the younger Bush drew the support of the Republican "establishment," with Reese in the role of the "populist" dissenter, akin to Ronald Reagan's challenge of Gerald Ford two years earlier for the party's presidential nomination. Reese had supported Reagan in that exchange in which the Californian ultimately secured all one hundred Texas delegates at the party's national convention held in the Kemper Arena in Kansas City.<ref>Reese, p. 137.</ref>

Reese said that Bush's campaign literature which proclaimed him as having been "born July 6, 1946, and raised in Midland, Texas" was misleading because of Bush's birth in [[New Haven]], Connecticut, and the Bush generational family's ties to East Coast Republicans.  Reese also questioned the membership of the senior George Bush in the [[Trilateral Commission]],<ref>Reese, p. 137.</ref> a group founded in 1973 with the goal of "a new international economic order."<ref>Trilateral Commission membership – 2008, Website: augustreview.com, accessed November 11, 2010.</ref> He scolded "Junior Bush," as he called him despite the variation of middle names, of being a "[[Nelson Rockefeller|Rockefeller]]-type Republican" who had supported Gerald Ford in the 1976 nomination fight against Ronald Reagan.<ref>Reese, p. 137.</ref> The senior Bush, out of the country at the time of the Reagan-Ford rivalry, later expressed dismay at Reagan's involvement in the congressional primary: "I am not interesting in getting into an argument with Reagan. But I am surprised about what he is doing here, in my state. ... They are making a real effort to defeat George."<ref>Lois Romano and George Lardner, Jr., "Young Bush, a Political Natural Revs Up," ''[[The Washington Post]]'', July 29, 1999, A1.</ref>

Reese said that Bush's campaign literature which proclaimed him as having been "born July 6, 1946, and raised in Midland, Texas" was misleading because of Bush's birth in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Bush generational family's ties to East Coast Republicans.  Reese also questioned the membership of the senior George Bush in the [[Trilateral Commission]],<ref>Reese, p. 137.</ref> a group founded in 1973 with the goal of "a new international economic order."<ref>Trilateral Commission membership – 2008, Website: Augustreview.com, accessed November 11, 2010.</ref> He scolded "Junior Bush," as he called him despite the variation of middle names, of being a "[[Nelson Rockefeller|Rockefeller]]-type Republican" who had supported Gerald Ford in the 1976 nomination fight against Ronald Reagan.<ref>Reese, p. 137.</ref> The senior Bush, out of the country at the time of the Reagan-Ford rivalry, later expressed dismay at Reagan's involvement in the congressional primary: "I am not interesting in getting into an argument with Reagan. But I am surprised about what he is doing here, in my state. ... They are making a real effort to defeat George."<ref>Lois Romano and George Lardner, Jr., "Young Bush, a Political Natural Revs Up," ''[[The Washington Post]]'', July 29, 1999, A1.</ref>

When George W. Bush was asked about the close ties of all the 19th District Republican candidates to the petroleum industry, he replied, "There's no such thing as being too closely aligned with the oil industry in West Texas."<ref>''Washington Post'', July 29, 1999.</ref> The presence of a third candidate, Joe Hickox, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel from Lubbock, prevented an outright winner from being nominated in the May 6 primary.<ref>Reese, p. 138.</ref><ref>''Washington Post'', July 29, 1999.</ref> Bush led 6,296 (47.5 percent) to Reese's 5,498 (41.5 percent) and Hickox's 1,455 (11 percent). Therefore, under Texas law, a runoff election was held on June 3 to nominate a majority winner. Bush then prevailed in the low turnout contest, 6,787 (55.9 percent) to Reese's 5,350 (44.1 percent).<ref>Texas Secretary of State, Congressional primary election returns, May 6 and June 3, 1978.</ref>

When George W. Bush was asked about the close ties of all the 19th District Republican candidates to the petroleum industry, he replied, "There's no such thing as being too closely aligned with the oil industry in West Texas."<ref>''Washington Post'', July 29, 1999.</ref> The presence of a third candidate, Joe Hickox, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel from Lubbock, prevented an outright winner from being nominated in the May 6 primary.<ref>Reese, p. 138.</ref><ref>''Washington Post'', July 29, 1999.</ref> Bush led 6,296 (47.5 percent) to Reese's 5,498 (41.5 percent) and Hickox's 1,455 (11 percent). Therefore, under Texas law, a runoff election was held on June 3 to nominate a majority winner. Bush then prevailed in the low turnout contest, 6,787 (55.9 percent) to Reese's 5,350 (44.1 percent).<ref>Texas Secretary of State, Congressional primary election returns, May 6 and June 3, 1978.</ref>