Which was the purpose of the Watergate break-in?

The purpose of the watergate break-in was to gather information about his opponent. President Nixon wanted to win the next election. In order to do so he hired people to put wire-tape in one of his opponents/caniadates office. He also pre - recorded him talking to his "henchmen". When the people he hired got caught it wasn't long until it got traced back to President Nixon. President Nixon refuesed to hand over the tapes and said they were important tapes so he technically had the right to keep them personal.