1960 United States presidential election in Virginia

none June 2025 September 2023 1960 United States presidential election in Virginia Virginia presidential no 1956 United States presidential election in Virginia 1956 1964 United States presidential election in Virginia 1964 November 8, 1960 x200px Richard Nixon official portrait as Vice President (cropped).tiff Richard Nixon Republican Party (United States) California Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. 12 404,521 52.44% Jfk2 (3x4).jpg John F. Kennedy Democratic Party (United States) Massachusetts Lyndon B. Johnson 0 362,327 46.97% 435px County and independent city results 435px Precinct results Nixon #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% #AA0000 80–90% #800000 90–100% Kennedy #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% #0645B4 80–90% #002B84 90–100% Other #D4C4DC Tie President Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican Party (United States) John F. Kennedy Democratic Party (United States) 1960 United States presidential election The 1960 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 8, 1960. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. The Republican ticket of then-Vice President Richard Nixon of California and running mate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. comfortably carried Virginia over the Democratic ticket of U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Lyndon B. Johnson, even while Kennedy narrowly prevailed nationally. In the process, Kennedy became the first Democrat to ever win the presidency without carrying the state, and one of only three Democrats to do so.Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton are the only three Democrats to have won the presidency without carrying Virginia. For six decades Virginia had almost completely disenfranchised its black and poor white populations through the use of a cumulative poll tax and literacy tests.Kousser J. Morgan The Shaping of Southern Politics: Suffrage Restriction and the Establishment of the One-Party South, 1880-1910 1974 Yale University Press 178–181 0-300-01696-4 So restricted was suffrage in this period that it has been calculated that a third of Virginia's electorate during the first half of the twentieth century comprised state employees and officeholders. This limited electorate allowed Virginian politics to be controlled for four decades by the Byrd Organization, as progressive “antiorganization” factions were rendered impotent by the inability of almost all their potential electorate to vote.Key Valdimer Orlando Southern Politics in State and Nation 1949 20–25 Historical fusion with the “Readjuster” Democrats,Heersink Boris Jenkins Jeffrey A. Republican Party Politics and the American South, 1865-1968 217–221 1107158435 defection of substantial proportions of the Northeast-aligned white electorate of the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia over free silver,Moger Allen The Rift in Virginia Democracy in 1896 The Journal of Southern History 1938 4 3 295–317 10.2307/2191291 2191291 and an early move towards a “lily white” Jim Crow party meant Republicans retained a small but permanent number of legislative seats and local offices in the western part of the state.Phillips Kevin P. The Emerging Republican Majority 193, 219 1969 0870000586 In 1928, the GOP did carry the state's presidential electoral votes due to anti-Catholicism against Al Smith in the Chesapeake Bay region and increased middle-class Republicanism in the cities,Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 195 but it was 1952 before any real changes occurred, as in-migration from the traditionally Republican NortheastOld Dominion, New Commonwealth: A History of Virginia, 1607-2007 Heinemann Ronald L. 357 2008 Charlottesville University of Virginia Press 978-0813927695 meant that growing Washington, D.C., and Richmond suburbs would turn Republican not just in presidential elections but also in Congressional ones,Atkinson Frank B. The Dynamic Dominion: Realignment and the Rise of Two-party Competition in Virginia, 1945-1980 2006 9780742552098 Rowman & Littlefield although the Republicans would not make significant gains in the state legislature. Opposition to the black civil rights legislation of Harry S. Truman meant that the Byrd Organization did not support Adlai Stevenson II,Ely James W. The Crisis of Conservative Virginia: the Byrd Organization and the Politics of Massive Resistance 16 0870491881 1976 University of Tennessee Press Knoxville, Tennessee with the result that Dwight D. Eisenhower carried the state aided by defections of the Southside Thurmond vote from 1948.Strong Donald S. The Presidential Election in the South, 1952 The Journal of Politics 17 3 August 1955 343–389 The University of Chicago Press 10.1017/S0022381600091064 In 1956, Eisenhower repeated his win despite losing his Southside support due to the President's opposition to Byrd's “Massive Resistance” policy following Brown v. Board of Education,See Wilhoit Francis M. The politics of massive resistance 147 0807607002 1973 as continuing Northern in-migration and a rapid swing to him of the modest but growing number of black voters allowed him to maintain his margin.Atkinson. The Dynamic Dominion, p. 100 In the following years, continuing “Massive Resistance” weakened the GOP in Virginia, as they could not develop a consistent or coherent response: Ted Dalton, who had received 45 percent of the vote in 1953 running against the Byrd Organization, won only 36 percent as his policy of “token integration” was drowned out by the state Democrats.Atkinson. The Dynamic Dominion, pp. 103-108 Although Byrd again refused to endorse Democratic nominee, Senator John F. Kennedy, his former ally before the end of “Massive Resistance”, Governor J. Lindsay Almond, strongly endorsed the Massachusetts Senator against the Republican nominee, incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon.Atkinson. The Dynamic Dominion, pp. 125-126 Predictions This section cites newspapers that cannot be independently verified and uses terminology such as "tilt" and "lean" that appears anachronistic for 1960 journalism. No reliable secondary sources confirm the predictions as written. July 2025 SourceRankingAs ofThe Philadelphia InquirerHoffman Fred S. How Election Looks Today The Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia October 3, 1960 1, 3Tilt ROctober 3, 1960Knoxville News SentinelPopulous States Are Key: Both Parties Claim Enough Votes To Win A-4 October 23, 1960 Knoxville News Sentinel Knoxville, TennesseeLikely ROctober 23, 1960Daily NewsLewis Ted Campaign Circus Daily News Jersey City, New Jersey October 28, 1960 4CLikely ROctober 28, 1960The Daily ItemNovember 4, 1960 Poll of Editors Predicts Victory for Nixon-Lodge: Republican Ticket Seen Winning in 28 States and Democrats in 19 3 The Daily ItemLikely RNovember 4, 1960Hattiesburg AmericanGould Geoffrey November 7, 1960 Final Survey Shows Race a Tossup to the Finish 16 Hattiesburg American Hattiesburg, MississippiLikely RNovember 7, 1960 Results 1960 United States presidential election in Virginiahttps://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1960election.pdf Statistics April 15, 1961 clerk.house.gov 2019-07-30PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican Richard Nixon 404,521 52.44% 12 Democratic John F. Kennedy 362,327 46.97% 0 Virginia Conservative C. Benton Coiner 4,204 0.54% 0 Socialist Labor Eric Hass 397 0.05% 0 Totals 771,449 100.00% 12 Results by county or independent city County orcityOur Campaigns https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=2603 VA US President 1960 Richard NixonRepublican John F. KennedyDemocratic C. Benton CoinerVirginia Conservative Eric HassSocialist Labor Margin Total votescast # % # % # % # % # % Accomack 2,676 47.95% 2,884 51.68% 20 0.36% 1 0.02% -208 -3.73% 5,581 Albemarle 3,135 59.47% 2,102 39.87% 34 0.64% 1 0.02% 1,033 19.60% 5,272 Alexandria 8,826 47.58% 9,662 52.08% 63 0.34% 57 0.31% 836 4.50% 18,608 Alleghany 1,214 48.79% 1,265 50.84% 8 0.32% 1 0.04% -51 -2.05% 2,488 Amelia 784 51.44% 708 46.46% 31 2.03% 1 0.07% 76 4.98% 1,524 Amherst 1,455 38.83% 2,280 60.85% 10 0.27% 2 0.05% -825 -22.02% 3,747 Appomattox 951 43.07% 1,240 56.16% 14 0.63% 3 0.14% -289 -13.09% 2,208 Arlington 23,632 51.40% 22,095 48.06% 225 0.49% 25 0.05% 1,537 3.34% 45,977 Augusta 4,034 67.36% 1,914 31.96% 40 0.67% 1 0.02% 2,120 35.40% 5,989 Bath 646 50.59% 629 49.26% 1 0.08% 1 0.08% 17 1.33% 1,277 Bedford 2,911 47.87% 3,150 51.80% 17 0.28% 3 0.05% -239 -3.93% 6,081 Bland 848 50.75% 822 49.19% 1 0.06% 0 0.00% 26 1.56% 1,671 Botetourt 2,159 56.79% 1,621 42.64% 22 0.58% 0 0.00% 538 14.15% 3,802 Bristol 1,728 52.38% 1,561 47.32% 9 0.27% 1 0.03% 167 5.06% 3,299 Brunswick 926 31.58% 1,942 66.23% 63 2.15% 1 0.03% -1,016 -34.65% 2,932 Buchanan 2,370 38.86% 3,706 60.76% 18 0.30% 5 0.08% -1,336 -21.90% 6,099 Buckingham 765 44.37% 947 54.93% 11 0.64% 1 0.06% -182 -10.56% 1,724 Buena Vista 487 53.05% 427 46.51% 4 0.44% 0 0.00% 60 6.54% 918 Campbell 2,903 48.63% 3,030 50.75% 37 0.62% 0 0.00% -127 -2.12% 5,970 Caroline 864 36.50% 1,483 62.65% 19 0.80% 1 0.04% -619 -26.15% 2,367 Carroll 3,705 66.29% 1,873 33.51% 9 0.16% 2 0.04% 1,832 32.78% 5,589 Charles City 337 34.96% 623 64.63% 3 0.31% 1 0.10% -286 -29.67% 964 Charlotte 867 32.90% 1,735 65.84% 26 0.99% 7 0.27% -868 -32.94% 2,635 Charlottesville 3,651 55.08% 2,894 43.66% 72 1.09% 11 0.17% 757 11.42% 6,628 Chesterfield 9,787 61.71% 5,982 37.72% 87 0.55% 3 0.02% 3,805 23.99% 15,859 Clarke 804 46.31% 923 53.17% 9 0.52% 0 0.00% -119 -6.86% 1,736 Clifton Forge 885 53.22% 771 46.36% 4 0.24% 3 0.18% 114 6.86% 1,663 Colonial Heights 1,372 53.16% 1,198 46.42% 10 0.39% 1 0.04% 174 6.74% 2,581 Covington 1,436 47.85% 1,558 51.92% 6 0.20% 1 0.03% -122 -4.07% 3,001 Craig 433 44.78% 534 55.22% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -101 -10.44% 967 Culpeper 1,630 54.86% 1,332 44.83% 8 0.27% 1 0.03% 298 10.03% 2,971 Cumberland 691 54.75% 559 44.29% 12 0.95% 0 0.00% 132 10.46% 1,262 Danville 4,966 63.72% 2,611 33.50% 188 2.41% 29 0.37% 2,355 30.22% 7,794 Dickenson 2,203 44.42% 2,756 55.56% 1 0.02% 0 0.00% -553 -11.14% 4,960 Dinwiddie 935 34.81% 1,714 63.81% 36 1.34% 1 0.04% -779 -29.00% 2,686 Essex 606 54.25% 509 45.57% 1 0.09% 1 0.09% 97 8.68% 1,117 Fairfax 28,006 51.65% 26,064 48.07% 124 0.23% 25 0.05% 1,942 3.58% 54,219 Falls Church 1,525 48.18% 1,629 51.47% 7 0.22% 4 0.13% -104 -3.29% 3,165 Fauquier 2,123 51.86% 1,958 47.83% 13 0.32% 0 0.00% 165 4.03% 4,094 Floyd 1,933 70.06% 817 29.61% 4 0.14% 5 0.18% 1,116 40.45% 2,759 Fluvanna 763 54.89% 614 44.17% 13 0.94% 0 0.00% 149 10.72% 1,390 Franklin 2,080 41.47% 2,924 58.29% 9 0.18% 3 0.06% -844 -16.82% 5,016 Frederick 2,061 53.74% 1,757 45.81% 14 0.37% 3 0.08% 304 7.93% 3,835 Fredericksburg 1,566 53.72% 1,326 45.49% 22 0.75% 1 0.03% 240 8.23% 2,915 Galax 867 62.96% 508 36.89% 1 0.07% 1 0.07% 359 26.07% 1,377 Giles 2,030 46.91% 2,214 51.17% 78 1.80% 5 0.12% -184 -4.26% 4,327 Gloucester 1,310 50.00% 1,297 49.50% 10 0.38% 3 0.11% 13 0.50% 2,620 Goochland 851 48.66% 862 49.29% 33 1.89% 3 0.17% -11 -0.63% 1,749 Grayson 3,893 58.65% 2,738 41.25% 4 0.06% 3 0.05% 1,155 17.40% 6,638 Greene 573 64.24% 314 35.20% 5 0.56% 0 0.00% 259 29.04% 892 Greensville 1,057 38.21% 1,676 60.59% 31 1.12% 2 0.07% -619 -22.38% 2,766 Halifax 1,784 39.57% 2,676 59.36% 44 0.98% 4 0.09% -892 -19.79% 4,508 Hampton 7,623 51.48% 7,133 48.17% 43 0.29% 9 0.06% 490 3.31% 14,808 Hanover 3,020 59.39% 2,023 39.78% 39 0.77% 3 0.06% 997 19.61% 5,085 Harrisonburg 2,172 72.04% 836 27.73% 7 0.23% 0 0.00% 1,336 44.31% 3,015 Henrico 19,446 66.52% 9,626 32.93% 152 0.52% 11 0.04% 9,820 33.59% 29,235 Henry 2,323 41.17% 3,306 58.59% 12 0.21% 2 0.04% -983 -17.42% 5,643 Highland 527 56.55% 401 43.03% 3 0.32% 1 0.11% 126 13.52% 932 Hopewell 2,169 54.24% 1,805 45.14% 21 0.53% 4 0.10% 364 9.10% 3,999 Isle of Wight 1,141 35.91% 2,020 63.58% 13 0.41% 3 0.09% -879 -27.67% 3,177 James City 873 50.49% 845 48.87% 9 0.52% 2 0.12% 28 1.62% 1,729 King and Queen 432 43.95% 536 54.53% 14 1.42% 1 0.10% -104 -10.58% 983 King George 685 48.58% 717 50.85% 8 0.57% 0 0.00% -32 -2.27% 1,410 King William 793 51.19% 745 48.10% 10 0.65% 1 0.06% 48 3.09% 1,549 Lancaster 1,340 59.56% 895 39.78% 14 0.62% 1 0.04% 445 19.78% 2,250 Lee 3,363 46.29% 3,867 53.23% 24 0.33% 11 0.15% -504 -6.94% 7,265 Loudoun 2,526 50.99% 2,399 48.43% 28 0.57% 1 0.02% 127 2.56% 4,954 Louisa 1,170 47.60% 1,244 50.61% 39 1.59% 5 0.20% -74 -3.01% 2,458 Lunenburg 838 35.22% 1,451 60.99% 90 3.78% 0 0.00% -613 -25.77% 2,379 Lynchburg 7,271 59.33% 4,961 40.48% 23 0.19% 1 0.01% 2,310 18.85% 12,256 Madison 998 60.38% 636 38.48% 19 1.15% 0 0.00% 362 21.90% 1,653 Martinsville 1,729 49.16% 1,699 48.31% 84 2.39% 5 0.14% 30 0.85% 3,517 Mathews 1,069 60.95% 682 38.88% 3 0.17% 0 0.00% 387 22.07% 1,754 Mecklenburg 1,936 42.70% 2,533 55.87% 64 1.41% 1 0.02% -597 -13.17% 4,534 Middlesex 823 58.70% 574 40.94% 5 0.36% 0 0.00% 249 17.76% 1,402 Montgomery 4,270 66.25% 2,157 33.47% 17 0.26% 1 0.02% 2,113 32.78% 6,445 Nansemond 1,346 25.29% 3,944 74.09% 24 0.45% 9 0.17% -2,598 -48.80% 5,323 Nelson 775 34.17% 1,480 65.26% 13 0.57% 0 0.00% -705 -31.09% 2,268 New Kent 526 51.67% 481 47.25% 10 0.98% 1 0.10% 45 4.42% 1,018 Newport News 10,098 53.56% 8,678 46.02% 75 0.40% 4 0.02% 1,420 7.54% 18,855 Norfolk 3,769 42.18% 5,101 57.08% 65 0.73% 1 0.01% -1,332 -14.90% 8,936 Norfolk City 17,174 43.51% 22,037 55.83% 248 0.63% 14 0.04% -4,863 -12.32% 39,473 Northampton 995 41.60% 1,387 57.98% 9 0.38% 1 0.04% -392 -16.38% 2,392 Northumberland 1,340 60.61% 858 38.81% 11 0.50% 2 0.09% 482 21.80% 2,211 Norton 549 51.02% 526 48.88% 1 0.09% 0 0.00% 23 2.14% 1,076 Nottoway 1,319 40.14% 1,882 57.27% 84 2.56% 1 0.03% -563 -17.13% 3,286 Orange 1,413 54.28% 1,108 42.57% 78 3.00% 4 0.15% 305 11.71% 2,603 Page 2,708 62.53% 1,608 37.13% 10 0.23% 5 0.12% 1,100 25.40% 4,331 Patrick 1,362 44.98% 1,655 54.66% 9 0.30% 2 0.07% -293 -9.68% 3,028 Petersburg 2,820 48.60% 2,950 50.84% 32 0.55% 1 0.02% -130 -2.24% 5,803 Pittsylvania 3,788 47.62% 4,089 51.41% 67 0.84% 10 0.13% -301 -3.79% 7,954 Portsmouth 6,900 40.64% 9,902 58.32% 165 0.97% 13 0.08% -3,002 -17.68% 16,980 Powhatan 779 58.66% 528 39.76% 19 1.43% 2 0.15% 251 18.90% 1,328 Prince Edward 1,721 53.55% 1,459 45.40% 31 0.96% 3 0.09% 262 8.15% 3,214 Prince George 727 42.14% 983 56.99% 13 0.75% 2 0.12% -256 -14.85% 1,725 Princess Anne 4,844 44.67% 5,954 54.91% 23 0.41% 5 0.09% -1,110 -10.24% 10,843 Prince William 2,624 46.53% 2,987 52.97% 39 0.36% 6 0.06% -363 -6.44% 5,639 Pulaski 3,059 58.75% 2,104 40.41% 44 0.85% 0 0.00% 955 18.34% 5,207 Radford 1,663 57.11% 1,240 42.58% 9 0.31% 0 0.00% 423 14.53% 2,912 Rappahannock 426 43.69% 544 55.79% 3 0.31% 2 0.21% -118 -12.10% 975 Richmond 801 64.96% 425 34.47% 6 0.49% 1 0.08% 376 30.49% 1,233 Richmond City 27,307 60.41% 17,642 39.03% 245 0.54% 11 0.02% 9,665 21.38% 45,205 Roanoke 9,109 67.31% 4,384 32.40% 36 0.27% 3 0.02% 4,725 34.91% 13,532 Roanoke City 15,229 62.28% 9,175 37.52% 36 0.27% 3 0.02% 6,054 24.76% 24,453 Rockbridge 2,170 60.53% 1,405 39.19% 10 0.28% 0 0.00% 765 21.34% 3,585 Rockingham 4,829 70.27% 2,026 29.48% 16 0.23% 1 0.01% 2,803 40.79% 6,872 Russell 3,044 46.44% 3,496 53.34% 12 0.18% 2 0.03% -452 -6.90% 6,554 Scott 4,936 56.45% 3,789 43.33% 15 0.17% 4 0.05% 1,147 13.12% 8,744 Shenandoah 4,144 66.85% 2,053 33.12% 2 0.03% 0 0.00% 2,091 33.73% 6,199 Smyth 4,256 59.62% 2,864 40.12% 16 0.22% 2 0.03% 1,392 19.50% 7,138 South Boston 807 62.70% 477 37.06% 2 0.16% 1 0.08% 330 25.64% 1,287 South Norfolk 1,341 38.09% 2,155 61.20% 24 0.68% 1 0.03% -814 -23.11% 3,521 Southampton 1,263 30.62% 2,804 67.98% 57 1.38% 1 0.02% -1,541 -37.36% 4,125 Spotsylvania 1,288 46.02% 1,482 52.95% 23 0.82% 6 0.21% -194 -6.93% 2,799 Stafford 1,447 48.80% 1,494 50.39% 22 0.74% 2 0.07% -47 -1.59% 2,965 Staunton 2,789 69.17% 1,233 30.58% 9 0.22% 1 0.02% 1,556 38.59% 4,032 Suffolk 1,406 49.61% 1,419 50.07% 9 0.32% 0 0.00% -13 -0.46% 2,834 Surry 397 27.51% 1,003 69.51% 40 2.77% 3 0.21% -606 -42.00% 1,443 Sussex 713 35.78% 1,253 62.87% 25 1.25% 2 0.10% -540 -27.09% 1,993 Tazewell 3,139 41.44% 4,416 58.30% 19 0.25% 0 0.00% -1,277 -16.86% 7,574 Virginia Beach 986 42.48% 1,301 56.05% 33 1.42% 1 0.04% -315 -13.57% 2,321 Warren 1,842 49.52% 1,850 49.73% 25 0.67% 3 0.08% -8 -0.21% 3,720 Washington 4,473 53.59% 3,833 45.92% 33 0.40% 8 0.10% 640 7.67% 8,347 Waynesboro 2,444 69.57% 1,047 29.80% 22 0.63% 0 0.00% 1,397 39.77% 3,513 Westmoreland 1,176 53.00% 1,034 46.60% 8 0.36% 1 0.05% 142 6.40% 2,219 Williamsburg 721 59.10% 486 39.84% 12 0.98% 1 0.08% 235 19.26% 1,220 Winchester 2,326 65.61% 1,203 33.94% 16 0.45% 0 0.00% 1,123 31.67% 3,545 Wise 3,876 39.89% 5,822 59.92% 17 0.17% 1 0.01% -1,946 -20.03% 9,716 Wythe 2,871 57.50% 2,075 41.56% 39 0.78% 8 0.16% 796 15.94% 4,993 York 2,085 54.94% 1,691 44.56% 19 0.50% 0 0.00% 394 10.38% 3,795Totals404,52152.44%362,32746.97%4,2040.54%3970.05%42,1945.47%771,449 Counties and independent cities that flipped from Republican to Democratic 20em Accomack Alexandria City Alleghany Bedford Caroline Buckingham Charles City Campbell Clarke Covington Falls Church City Giles Goochland King and Queen King George Lee Louisa Northampton Norfolk Petersburg City Prince George Princess Anne Prince William Spotsylvania Stafford Suffolk City Tazewell Virginia Beach City Warren Counties and independent cities that flipped from Unpledged to Republican Prince Edward thumb|left|Senator John F. Kennedy (left) and Vice-president Richard Nixon (right), prior to their first presidential debate. Analysis Unlike such states as Oklahoma, TennesseeOur Campaigns https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=2599 TN US President, November 08, 1960 or Kentucky, Nixon's victory in Virginia despite losing nationally did not reflect anti-Catholicism: only two counties or independent cities gave Nixon a better percentage than Eisenhower had won in 1956. Nixon's win reflected his continuing dominance of the Byrd Organization stronghold in the Shenandoah Valley, and maintaining Republican control of newly developing suburbs. Kennedy's general gain was greatest amongst the small but slowly growing black electorate, where he reversed Eisenhower's large gains at the preceding election. 2024 11 As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last occasion when Appomattox County, Campbell County, Lunenburg County, Mecklenburg County and Pittsylvania County have voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.Menendez Albert J. The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004 326–331 0786422173 2005 Virginia, as the polls hinted, voted for Nixon over Kennedy by a clear though not overwhelming 5.47 percentage point margin, still a double-digit decline from Eisenhower's two victories in the state. This was the first time a Democrat was elected president without carrying the state of Virginia, and the only time between 1924 and 1976 that Virginia backed the losing candidate. Notes References expanded Virgin 1960 Category:1960 Virginia elections