At the 1956 Republican National Convention, there was a movement, led by Harold Stassen, to dump Richard Nixon from President Eisenhower's reelection ticket. There was considerable anxiety that Ike, known to have a heart condition, might not live to finish a second term, and some believed Nixon to be unfit for the high office. Massachusetts governor Chris Herter, a respected scholar of international affairs, was proposed as Nixon's replacement. Ike, however, stood by his vice president, and the effort to oust Nixon fizzled. A handful of items promoting the alternate ticket circulated ahead of the convention.