Prior to winning the 1976 Republican presidential primary in North Carolina, Ronald Reagan had lost five primaries in other states to incumbent Gerald Ford. North Carolina senator and friend Jesse Helms is often credited with reviving Reagan's failing campaign for the presidency. Helms's political supporters played a significant role in refashioning the national Republican Party platform at the 1976 and 1980 conventions, making it more conservative and paving the way for the "Reagan Revolution." Reagan lost the 1976 nomination, but won in 1980.