Ronald Reagan served as the President of the United States from 1981-1989. He wasn’t always on the Republican side of things. Reagan was originally a Democrat when he was an actor in Hollywood. During the 50s, he began to sway more and more to the Republican side of things. In 1962, he officially became a Republican and said, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.” By 1965, he was running on the Republican ticket for governor of California. Reagan then became the 40th president of the United States.