 Goldwater mathematically secured the nomination after winning an additional 56 delegates at the Texas Republican Convention in Dallas on June 16. His address to the convention drew 11,000 people to the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, where he proclaimed that it was essential for Republicans to win in the south, after years of "writing off" the region. Although Goldwater had surpassed the number of delegates needed for the Republican nomination, only 361 were bound by state law, slightly leaving the door open for a battle at the convention if his remaining 316 delegates chose to waver. Scranton hoped to change their minds and took control of a semi-revived Stop Goldwater movement, campaigning nationwide and labeling Goldwater as unqualified. While Scranton gained the support of Henry Cabot Lodge, who resigned his post in Vietnam to assist the campaign, Goldwater requested that Lodge give an update on the progress in Vietnam, but the former ambassador refused, saying that the war should not be a political issue. Goldwater took a further hit after voting against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, questioning its constitutionality. His vote was denounced by the NAACP, who publicly voiced their opposition to Goldwater, breaking their tradition of neutrality during presidential elections. But the vote helped Goldwater among southern Democrats. After returning from Washington, Goldwater briefly returned to Phoenix to attend his daughter's wedding, which received a great deal of media coverage. He then traveled to the midwest and the eastern seaboard to continue to build support for his candidacy. Polls from late June, showed that in a head to head match up, Republicans favored Scranton over Goldwater as Scranton escalated his attacks, labeling Goldwater's policy positions as "ignorant" with the convention just twelve days away.
