Stu Spencer, a Republican strategist who took a washed-up movie actor named Ronald Reagan and helped elect him California governor and, later, president, has died

Spencer once dreamed of coaching big-time college football and his blunt, salty style could have served him well barking orders from the sideline or delivering a tongue-lashing locker-room speech.

In a Republican Party that turned sharply rightward and increasingly valued combat over compromise, Spencer was a throwback, a self-described moderate who respected and even befriended members of the partisan opposition.

Spencer was no fan of Donald Trump, taking particular umbrage at those who tried wrapping him in the Reagan mantle.

Spencer never voted for the real estate developer and reality TV star, casting his ballot for a third-party candidate in 2016 and voting for Joe Biden in 2020.

Read at Los Angeles Times