Flashback: Republican National Convention in Houston
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Then-President George H.W. Bush after accepting the Republican nomination for president. Photo: Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Republicans held their national convention in Houston 31 years ago Thursday, selecting Houstonian George H.W. Bush as their pick to take on Bill Clinton that November.
- Clinton ultimately won the presidency.
Driving the news: As Houston vies to land the GOP convention in 2028, we wanted to look back at the convention in 1992 — when Pat Buchanan infamously initiated a "culture war" in a 30-minute speech to delegates inside the Astrodome.
- "There is a religious war going on in this country," Buchanan told delegates. "It is a cultural war, as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as was the Cold War itself, for this war is for the soul of America."
Meanwhile, outside the confines of the convention, protesters and counterprotesters squared off throughout the city.
- In downtown, conservative demonstrators prayed outside Houston's Planned Parenthood headquarters while counterprotesters promoted abortion rights.
The bottom line: For a deeper understanding of the 1992 GOP convention in Houston, check out Chron deputy managing editor Dan Carson's retelling of the convention.