His politics may seem baffling in the modern era of partisanship and division, like a survivor of a near-extinct species. He gave the keynote speech at the 1968 Republican convention that nominated Richard Nixon, although Evans had endorsed liberal Republican Nelson Rockefeller for president. Evans was a fresh face in the party and continued to be seen that way. He was on Gerald Ford’s shortlist for vice president in 1976.
Evans did not support Donald Trump’s election or re-election as president, yet he refused to give up his GOP identity. I once asked him why he did not quit a party that had strayed so far from his core values.
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