Blagojevich says the country faced an economic mess and a dangerous Cold War when Reagan ran for president in 1980. He says Reagan was the best person to deal with those problems, although he disagreed with Reagan on many domestic issues.

Blagojevich says he voted for Reagan again in 1980.

Blagojevich would have been 23 when he first voted for Reagan and 27 the second time.

Reagan, who died last week at 93, succeeded at courting votes across party lines. The term "Reagan Democrats" was coined to describe conservative Democrats who supported Reagan.