- Southern segregationists
- Northern working-class whites
Nixon and his advisors saw an opportunity to rebuild the Republican Party by attracting Wallace’s white base in the South, and his working-class supporters in the North. Southern whites could take comfort in Nixon’s lack of interest in mandating racial integration. At least initially, Nixon discouraged the International Revenue Service (IRS) from denying tax breaks to the private academies that had been created to maintain segregation. Nixon eventually retreated from that stance, but throughout his presidency he criticized “forced busing” and even supported a constitutional amendment that would end the practice. School desegregation was, in fact, taking place in the South on Nixon’s watch, but rather than claiming credit for the achievement, the president underscored his sympathy for the anti-busing movement.