1968 United States presidential election

Election of Richard Nixon related races 1968 United States elections January 2025 February 2017 1968 United States presidential election United States 1961 presidential Nationwide opinion polling for the 1968 United States presidential election 1964 United States presidential election 1964 November 5, 1968 1972 United States presidential election 1972 538 members of the Electoral College 270 electoral 62.5%http://www.electproject.org/national-1789-present National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present United States Election Project CQ Press February 21, 2023 July 25, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140725110444/http://www.electproject.org/national-1789-present live 0.3 pp x160px Nixon 30-0316a (cropped).jpg Richard Nixon Republican Party (United States) New York"California 1960" Nixon's official state of residence was New York because he moved there to practice law after his defeat in the 1962 California gubernatorial election. After becoming president, Nixon bought a home in California in mid-May 1969, sold his New York home in late May, and re-established his residency in California by early June.President Richard Nixon's Daily Diary https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40032104?objectPage=18 National Archives Catalog 19 January 2025 18, 21–22 4 June 1969Nixon's Wealth Tops Half Million https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=coe19690513-01.1.1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- 19 January 2025 Buffalo Courier-Express 13 May 1969 134 297 1 Consequently, most reliable reference books, including the January 6, 1969, edition of the Congressional Record, list his home state in this election as New York. Spiro Agnew 301pledged In state-by-state tallies, Nixon earned 302 pledged electors, Wallace 45. Nixon lost one vote in North Carolina to Lloyd W. Bailey, who voted for Wallace and LeMay, even though Nixon carried the state. 32 31,783,783 31,783,783 73,199,998 1 yes Hubert Humphrey vice presidential portrait color02 (Cropped).jpg Hubert Humphrey DemocraticIn Alabama, Humphrey was on the ballot as the candidate for the National Democratic Party of Alabama and the Alabama Independent Democratic Party instead. In New York, he was also on the ballot as the Liberal Party of New York candidate. Minnesota Edmund Muskie 191 13 + DC 31,271,839 31,271,839 73,199,998 1 yes George Wallace (D-AL) (3x4).jpg George Wallace American IndependentIn Alabama, he was also on the ballot as the Democratic Party candidate; in Mississippi, he was registered as an independent. In other states, although he won electoral votes from none of them, he appeared under various other labels such as "George Wallace Party", "Courage Party", and "American Party" and as an independent candidate. Alabama Curtis LeMayIn some states, including Georgia and Mississippi, former Georgia governor Marvin Griffin was George Wallace's running mate instead, although all electors pledged to Wallace also voted for LeMay. 46pledged In state-by-state tallies, Nixon earned 302 pledged electors, Wallace 45. Nixon lost one vote in North Carolina to Lloyd W. Bailey, who voted for Wallace and LeMay, even though Nixon carried the state. 5 9,901,118 9,901,118 73,199,998 1 yes FF7F00 350px Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Nixon/Agnew, blue denotes those won by Humphrey/Muskie, and orange denotes those won by Wallace/LeMay, including a North Carolina faithless elector. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia. President Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic Party (United States) Richard Nixon Republican Party (United States) File:Flag of the United States.svg yes yes Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 1968. The Republican ticket of former Vice President Richard Nixon and Maryland governor Spiro Agnew defeated the Democratic ticket of incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Senator Edmund Muskie, and the American Independent Party ticket of former Alabama governor George Wallace and general Curtis LeMay. The election cycle was tumultuous and chaotic, and is often characterized as one of the most violent in American history. Later scholarship by historians cite the election as being one of the most important in the 20th century.Pivotal Tuesdays: Four Elections That Shaped the Twentieth Century Department of History University of Washington https://history.washington.edu/research/books/pivotal-tuesdays-four-elections-shaped-twentieth-century 2026-08-24 history.washington.edu It was marked by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in early April, and the subsequent riots across the United States; the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in early June; and widespread opposition to the Vietnam War across university campuses as well as at the Democratic National Convention, which saw police crackdowns on protesters, reporters, and bystanders. Incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson was the early frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, but withdrew from the race after only narrowly winning the New Hampshire primary. Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, and Robert F. Kennedy emerged as the three major candidates in the Democratic primaries until Kennedy was assassinated. Humphrey, who supported the Vietnam War, defeated the anti-war McCarthy to win the Democratic nomination, sparking protests. Humphrey's promise to continue the Johnson administration's War on Poverty and support for the civil rights movement eroded his support in the South, prompting a third-party run by Wallace that campaigned for racial segregation on the basis of "states' rights". Wallace attracted socially conservative voters throughout the South (including Southern Democrats and former Barry Goldwater supporters), as well as White working-class voters in the North and Midwest through his economic populism and anti-establishment rhetoric. Nixon, who had narrowly lost in 1960 to John F. Kennedy, entered the Republican primaries as the frontrunner, defeating liberal New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, conservative California governor Ronald Reagan, and other candidates to win the nomination. Nixon took advantage of Democratic infighting and mounted a campaign that promised to restore "law and order" to US cities and provide new leadership in the Vietnam War. He aimed at attracting a "silent majority" who were alienated by Humphrey's liberal agenda and Wallace's ultraconservatism; he also pursued a Southern strategy and employed coded language in the Upper South, where the electorate was less extreme on segregation. Humphrey trailed Nixon by wide margins in polls for most of the campaign, but managed to narrow Nixon's lead in October, after Wallace's candidacy collapsed and Johnson suspended bombing in the Vietnam War to appease the anti-war movement; the election was considered a tossup by election day. Nixon managed to secure a close victory in the popular vote, with just over 500,000 votes (0.7%) separating him and Humphrey. In the Electoral College, Nixon's victory was larger; he carried the tipping-point state of Ohio by over 90,000 votes (2.3%), and his overall margin of victory in the Electoral College was 110 votes. No state shifted Democrat in this election, as the states either shifted towards Nixon or Wallace. Wallace remains the most recent third-party candidate (as of 2026) to carry any state in a presidential election. This was the first presidential election after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which began restoring voting rights to Black Americans in the South, who had been disenfranchised for decades under Jim Crow.https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/voting-rights-act Voting Rights Act of 1965 History.com November 9, 2009 1 February 2019 January 21, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210121011355/https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/voting-rights-act live The 1968 election is often considered a major realigning election, as it permanently disrupted the Democratic New Deal Coalition that had dominated presidential politics since 1932. Background thumb|197x197px|Lyndon B. Johnson, the incumbent president in 1968, whose second and only full term expired at noon on January 20, 1969 In the 1964 U.S. presidential election, incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson won the largest popular vote landslide in U.S. presidential election history over Republican Senator Barry Goldwater. During the presidential term that followed, Johnson was able to achieve many political successes, including passage of his Great Society domestic programs (including War on Poverty legislation), landmark civil rights legislation, and the continued exploration of space. Despite these significant achievements, Johnson's popular support would be short-lived. Even as Johnson scored legislative victories, the country endured large-scale race riots in the streets of its larger cities, along with a generational revolt of young people and violent debates over foreign policy. The emergence of the hippie counter-culture, the rise of New Left activism, and the emergence of the Black Power movement exacerbated social and cultural clashes between classes, generations, and races. Adding to the national crisis, on April 4, 1968, civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, igniting riots of grief and anger across the country. In Washington, D.C., rioting took place within a few blocks of the White House, and the government stationed soldiers with machine guns on the Capitol steps to protect it.Thomas Adams Upchurch, Race relations in the United States, 1960–1980 (2008), pp. 7–50.https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/timeline-seismic-180967503/ A Timeline of 1968: The Year That Shattered America Smithsonian 1 February 2019 January 24, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210124035343/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/timeline-seismic-180967503/ live The Vietnam War was the primary reason for the precipitous decline of President Johnson's popularity. He had escalated U.S. commitment to the point that by late 1967 over 500,000 American soldiers were fighting in Vietnam. Draftees made up 42 percent of the military in Vietnam, but suffered 58% of the casualties, as nearly 1000 Americans a month were killed, and many more were injured.James Westheider Fighting in Vietnam: The Experience of the US Soldier https://books.google.com/books?id=M9jS16CZh0YC&pg=PA136 2011 Stackpole Books 136–38 978-0-8117-0831-9 November 20, 2015 October 9, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231009095237/https://books.google.com/books?id=M9jS16CZh0YC&pg=PA136#v=onepage&q&f=false live Resistance to the war rose as success seemed ever out of reach. The national news media began to focus on the high costs and ambiguous results of escalation, despite Johnson's repeated efforts to downplay the seriousness of the situation. In early January 1968, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara said the war would be winding down, claiming that the North Vietnamese were losing their will to fight. Shortly thereafter, the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive, in which they and Communist forces of Vietcong undertook simultaneous attacks on all government strongholds across South Vietnam. Although the uprising ended in a U.S. military victory, the scale of the Tet offensive led many Americans to question whether the war could be won, or was worth the costs to the United States. In addition, voters began to mistrust the government's assessment and reporting of the war effort. The Pentagon called for sending several hundred thousand more soldiers to Vietnam, while Johnson's approval ratings fell below 35%. The Secret Service refused to let the president visit American colleges and universities, and prevented him from appearing at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, because it could not guarantee his safety.Wattenberg Ben J. Ben Wattenberg Fighting Words: A Tale of How Liberals Created Neo-Conservatism https://books.google.com/books?id=0rGoksJR_jcC&pg=PA40 live Macmillan 2008 40 November 20, 2015 978-1-4299-2463-4 https://web.archive.org/web/20231009095238/https://books.google.com/books?id=0rGoksJR_jcC&pg=PA40#v=onepage&q&f=false October 9, 2023 Republican Party nomination 1968 Republican Party presidential primaries 65px|center|link=Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party (United States) 1968 Republican Party ticket white Richard Nixon white Spiro Agnewfor Presidentfor Vice President center|220x220px center|220x220px36thVice President of the United States(1953–1961) 55thGovernor of Maryland(1967–1969) Campaign200x200px Other major candidates The following candidates were frequently interviewed by major broadcast networks, were listed in publicly published national polls, or ran a campaign that extended beyond their flying home delegation in the case of favorite sons. Nixon received 1,679,443 votes in the primaries. Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the nomination raceRonald ReaganNelson RockefellerHarold StassenGeorge W. Romneycenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxGovernor of California(1967–1975)Governor of New York(1959–1973)Former president of the University of Pennsylvania(1948–1953)Governor of Michigan(1963–1969)CampaignCampaignCampaignLost nomination: August 8, 19681,696,632 votesLost nomination: August 8, 1968164,340 votesLost nomination: August 8, 196831,665 votesWithdrew: February 28, 19684,447 votes Primaries thumb|250px|right|Richard Nixon campaign rally, July 1968 The front-runner for the Republican nomination was former Vice President Richard Nixon, who formally began campaigning in January 1968.Another Race To the Finish The News & Observer November 2, 2008 http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/1278451.html November 24, 2008 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090115040630/http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/1278451.html January 15, 2009 Nixon had worked behind the scenes and was instrumental in Republican gains in Congress and governorships in the 1966 midterm elections. Thus, the party machinery and many of the new congressmen and governors supported him. Still, there was caution in the Republican ranks over Nixon, who had lost the 1960 election to John F. Kennedy and then lost the 1962 California gubernatorial election. Some hoped a more "electable" candidate would emerge. The story of the 1968 Republican primary campaign and nomination may be seen as one Nixon opponent after another entering the race and then dropping out. Nixon was the front runner throughout the contest because of his superior organization, and he easily defeated the rest of the field. Nixon's first challenger was Michigan Governor George W. Romney. A Gallup poll in mid-1967 showed Nixon with 39%, followed by Romney with 25%. After a fact-finding trip to Vietnam, Romney told Detroit talk show host Lou Gordon that he had been "brainwashed" by the military and the diplomatic corps into supporting the Vietnam War; the remark led to weeks of ridicule in the national news media. Turning against American involvement in Vietnam, Romney planned to run as the anti-war Republican version of Eugene McCarthy.The New York Times, February 18, 1968 Following his "brainwashing" comment, Romney's support faded steadily; with polls showing him far behind Nixon, he withdrew from the race on February 28, 1968.The New York Times, February 29, 1968 Senator Charles Percy was considered another potential threat to Nixon, and had planned on waging an active campaign after securing a role as Illinois's favorite son. Later, however, Percy declined to have his name listed on the ballot for the Illinois presidential primary, as he no longer sought the presidential nomination.https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/26/archives/percy-shunning-active-68-role-wants-to-stay-off-ballot-in.html PERCY SHUNNING ACTIVE '68 ROLE – Wants to Stay Off Ballot in Presidential Primaries August 25, 2015 The New York Times 1967-09-26 July 22, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180722191003/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/26/archives/percy-shunning-active-68-role-wants-to-stay-off-ballot-in.html live Nixon won a resounding victory in the important New Hampshire primary on March 12, with 78% of the vote. Anti-war Republicans wrote in the name of New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, the de facto leader of the Republican Party's liberal wing, who received 11% of the vote and became Nixon's new challenger. Rockefeller had not originally intended to run, having discounted a campaign for the nomination in 1965, and planned to make U.S. Senator Jacob Javits, the favorite son, either in preparation of a presidential campaign or to secure him the second spot on the ticket. As Rockefeller warmed to the idea of entering the race, Javits shifted his effort to seeking a third term in the Senate.https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/29/archives/javits-says-favoriteson-choice-for-68-is-still-an-open-matter.html Javits Says Favorite-Son Choice For '68 Is Still an Open Matter The New York Times September 29, 1967 August 25, 2015 July 22, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180722185121/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/29/archives/javits-says-favoriteson-choice-for-68-is-still-an-open-matter.html live Nixon led Rockefeller in the polls throughout the primary campaign—though Rockefeller defeated Nixon and Governor John Volpe in the Massachusetts primary on April 30, he otherwise fared poorly in state primaries and conventions. He had declared too late to get his name placed on state primary ballots. By early spring, California Governor Ronald Reagan, a leader of the Republican Party's conservative wing, had become Nixon's chief rival. In the Nebraska primary on May 14, Nixon won with 70% of the vote to 21% for Reagan and 5% for Rockefeller. While this was a wide margin for Nixon, Reagan remained Nixon's leading challenger. Nixon won the next primary of importance, Oregon, on May 15 with 65% of the vote, and won all the following primaries except for California (June 4), where only Reagan appeared on the ballot. Reagan's victory in California gave him a plurality of the nationwide primary vote, but his poor showing in most other state primaries left him far behind Nixon in the delegate count. Total popular vote:July 2024 50% Ronald Reagan: 1,696,632 (37.93%) Richard Nixon: 1,679,443 (37.54%) James A. Rhodes: 614,492 (13.74%) Nelson Rockefeller: 164,340 (3.67%) Unpledged: 140,639 (3.14%) Eugene McCarthy (write-in): 44,520 (1.00%) Harold Stassen: 31,655 (0.71%) John Volpe: 31,465 (0.70%) Others: 21,456 (0.51%) George Wallace (write-in): 15,291 (0.34%) Robert F. Kennedy (write-in): 14,524 (0.33%) Hubert Humphrey (write-in): 5,698 (0.13) Lyndon B. Johnson (write-in): 4,824 (0.11%) George W. Romney: 4,447 (0.10%) Raymond P. Shafer: 1,223 (0.03%) William Scranton: 724 (0.02%) Charles H. Percy: 689 (0.02%) Barry Goldwater: 598 (0.01%) John Lindsay: 591 (0.01%) Republican Convention 1968 Republican National Convention 1968 Miami riot As the 1968 Republican National Convention opened on August 5 in Miami Beach, Florida, the Associated Press estimated that Nixon had 656 delegate votes – 11 short of the number he needed to win the nomination. Reagan and Rockefeller were his only remaining opponents and they planned to unite their forces in a "stop-Nixon" movement. Because Goldwater had done well in the Deep South, delegates to the 1968 Republican National Convention included more Southern conservatives than in past conventions. There seemed potential for the conservative Reagan to be nominated if no victor emerged on the first ballot. Nixon narrowly secured the nomination on the first ballot, with the aid of South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, who had switched parties in 1964.Perlstein 2008March 2013 He selected dark horse Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew as his running mate, a choice which Nixon believed would unite the party, appealing to both Northern moderates and Southerners disaffected with the Democrats.http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1968/1968-Presidential-Election/12303153093431-2/ 1968 Year In Review UPI June 17, 2010 July 26, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130726223101/http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1968/1968-Presidential-Election/12303153093431-2/ live Nixon's first choice for running mate was reportedly his longtime friend and ally Robert Finch, who was the Lieutenant Governor of California at the time. Finch declined that offer, but later accepted an appointment as the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in Nixon's administration. With Vietnam a key issue, Nixon had strongly considered tapping his 1960 running mate, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., a former U.S. senator, ambassador to the UN, and ambassador twice to South Vietnam. +The Republican Convention Tallyhttps://presidentialcampaignselectionsreference.wordpress.com/overviews/20th-century/1968-overview/ 1968 | Presidential Campaigns & Elections Reference Presidentialcampaignselectionsreference.wordpress.com 2011-07-05 November 27, 2014 October 12, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141012053106/http://presidentialcampaignselectionsreference.wordpress.com/overviews/20th-century/1968-overview/ live President (before switches) (after switches) Vice President Vice-presidential votesRichard Nixon 6921238 Spiro Agnew 1119Nelson Rockefeller 27793 George W. Romney 186Ronald Reagan1822John V. Lindsay 10Ohio governor James A. Rhodes55—Massachusetts senator Edward Brooke1Michigan governor George W. Romney50—James A. Rhodes1New Jersey senator Clifford Case22— not voting 16Kansas senator Frank Carlson 20——Arkansas governor Winthrop Rockefeller 18——Hawaii senator Hiram Fong 14——Harold Stassen2——New York City mayor John V. Lindsay1—— As of the 2020 presidential election, 1968 was the last time that two siblings (Nelson and Winthrop Rockefeller) ran against each other in a presidential primary. Democratic Party nomination 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries 65px|center|link=Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party (United States) 1968 Democratic Party ticket white Hubert Humphrey white Edmund Muskiefor Presidentfor Vice President center|220x220px center|220x220px 38thVice President of the United States(1965–1969) U.S. Senatorfrom Maine(1959–1980)Campaign200x200px Other major candidates The following candidates were frequently interviewed by major broadcast networks, were listed in publicly published national polls, or ran a campaign that extended beyond their home delegation in the case of favorite sons. Humphrey received 166,463 votes in the primaries. Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the nomination raceEugene McCarthyGeorge McGovernChanning E. PhillipsLester MaddoxRobert F. KennedyLyndon B. Johnsoncenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|120x120pxcenter|125x125pxcenter|150x150pxcenter|150x150pxU.S. senator from Minnesota(1959–1971)U.S. senator from South Dakota(1963–1981)Reverend at Lincoln Templefrom Washington, D.C.Governor of Georgia(1967–1971)U.S. senator from New York(1965–1968)36th President of the United States(1963–1969)CampaignCampaignCampaignCampaignCampaignLost nomination: August 29, 19682,914,933 votesLost nomination: August 29, 19680 votesLost nomination: August 29, 19680 votesWithdrew and endorsed George Wallace: August 28, 19680 votesAssassinated: June 5, 19682,305,148 votesWithdrew and endorsed Hubert Humphrey: March 31, 1968383,590 votes Enter Eugene McCarthy Because Lyndon B. Johnson had been elected to the presidency only once, in 1964, and had served less than two full years of the term before that, the Twenty-second Amendment did not disqualify him from running for another term.Johnson Can Seek Two Full Terms The Washington Post November 24, 1963 A2 As a result, it was widely assumed when 1968 began that President Johnson would run for another term, and that he would have little trouble winning the Democratic nomination. Despite growing opposition to Johnson's policies in Vietnam, it appeared that no prominent Democratic candidate would run against a sitting president of his own party. It was also accepted at the beginning of the year that Johnson's record of domestic accomplishments would overshadow public opposition to the Vietnam War and that he would easily boost his public image after he started campaigning.http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,712057,00.html https://web.archive.org/web/20090714101545/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,712057,00.html dead July 14, 2009 Man Of The Year: Lyndon B. Johnson, The Paradox of Power Time Magazine January 5, 1968 June 22, 2013 Even Senator Robert F. Kennedy from New York, an outspoken critic of Johnson's policies, with a large base of support, publicly declined to run against Johnson in the primaries. Poll numbers also suggested that a large share of Americans who opposed the Vietnam War felt the growth of the anti-war hippie movement among younger Americans and violent unrest on college campuses was not helping their cause. On January 30, however, claims by the Johnson administration that a recent troop surge would soon bring an end to the war were severely discredited when the Tet Offensive broke out. Although the American military was eventually able to fend off the attacks, and also inflict heavy losses among the communist opposition, the ability of the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong to launch large scale attacks during the Tet Offensive's long duration greatly weakened American support for the military draft and further combat operations in Vietnam.http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tet-offensive-shakes-cold-war-confidence Jan 30, 1968: Tet Offensive shakes Cold War confidence November 13, 2009 History.com:This Day In History June 22, 2013 July 21, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150721162224/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tet-offensive-shakes-cold-war-confidence live A recorded phone conversation which Johnson had with Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley on January 27 revealed that both men had become aware of Kennedy's private intention to enter the Democratic presidential primaries and that Johnson was willing to accept Daley's offer to run as Humphrey's vice presidential running mate if he were to end his re-election campaign. Daley, whose city would host the 1968 Democratic National Convention, also preferred either Johnson or Humphrey over any other candidate, and stated that Kennedy had met him the week before, and that he was unsuccessful in his attempt to win over Daley's support.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tc0wT9P7nc https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/0tc0wT9P7nc 2021-12-11 live LBJ and Richard Daley, 1/27/68, 10.58A. September 6, 2013 www.youtube.com In time, only Senator Eugene McCarthy from Minnesota proved willing to challenge Johnson openly. Running as an anti-war candidate in the New Hampshire primary, McCarthy hoped to pressure the Democrats into publicly opposing the Vietnam War. Since New Hampshire was the first presidential primary of 1968, McCarthy poured most of his limited resources into the state. He was boosted by thousands of young college students, led by youth coordinator Sam Brown,https://archive.today/20120714020341/http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/org.wgbh.mla:df96b4fbdd72ece621c2511b70c51217025f3845 Sam Brown discussing his involvement in the "Clean for Gene" campaign. WGBH Open Vault. Retrieved July 20, 2010. who shaved their beards and cut their hair to be "Clean for Gene". These students organized get-out-the-vote drives, rang doorbells, distributed McCarthy buttons and leaflets, and worked hard in New Hampshire for McCarthy. On March 12, McCarthy won 42 percent of the primary vote, to Johnson's 49 percent, a shockingly strong showing against an incumbent president, which was even more impressive because Johnson had more than 24 supporters running for the Democratic National Convention delegate slots to be filled in the election, while McCarthy's campaign organized more strategically. McCarthy won 20 of the 24 delegates. This gave McCarthy's campaign legitimacy and momentum. Sensing Johnson's vulnerability, Senator Robert F. Kennedy announced his candidacy four days after the New Hampshire primary on March 16. Thereafter, McCarthy and Kennedy engaged in a series of state primaries. Johnson withdraws Withdrawal of Lyndon B. Johnson from the 1968 United States presidential election On March 31, 1968, following the New Hampshire primary and Kennedy's entry into the election, the president made a televised speech to the nation and said that he was suspending all bombing of North Vietnam in favor of peace talks. After concluding his speech, Johnson announced, "With America's sons in the fields far away, with America's future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties, other than the awesome duties of this office — the presidency of your country. Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President." Not discussed publicly at the time was Johnson's concern that he might not survive another term – Johnson's health was poor, and he had already suffered a serious heart attack in 1955.https://www.npr.org/2018/03/25/596805375/president-johnson-made-a-bombshell-announcement-50-years-ago Remembering 1968: LBJ Surprises Nation With Announcement He Won't Seek Re-Election Ron Elving NPR.org March 25, 2018 April 15, 2023 April 15, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230415072431/https://www.npr.org/2018/03/25/596805375/president-johnson-made-a-bombshell-announcement-50-years-ago live He died on January 22, 1973, two days after the end of the new presidential term. Bleak political forecasts also contributed to Johnson's withdrawal; internal polling by Johnson's campaign in Wisconsin, the next state to hold a primary election, showed him trailing badly.https://time.com/5682760/incumbent-presidents-primary-challenges/ Could Trump Lose the Republican Nomination? Here's the History of Primary Challenges to Incumbent Presidents Time November 12, 2019 December 24, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201224122122/https://time.com/5682760/incumbent-presidents-primary-challenges/ live This was the second and until Joe Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 race most recent time an incumbent US president eligible to run withdrew from the presidential election.Kenning Samuelsohn Chris Darren 'It's unprecedented': Biden's exit is a history-making moment in the American presidency https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/22/biden-drops-out-presidential-history/74491426007/ July 22, 2024 1 August 2024 USA Today thumb|Johnson delivers a speech announcing his withdrawal on March 31 Historians have debated why Johnson quit a few days after his weak showing in New Hampshire. Jeff Shesol says Johnson wanted out of the White House, but also wanted vindication; when the indicators turned negative, he decided to leave.Jeff Shesol Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, and the Feud that Defined a Decade https://books.google.com/books?id=bVrRvYV7i78C&pg=PA545 1998 W W Norton 545–47 978-0-393-31855-5 November 20, 2015 October 9, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231009095239/https://books.google.com/books?id=bVrRvYV7i78C&pg=PA545#v=onepage&q&f=false live Lewis L. Gould says that Johnson had neglected the Democratic party, was hurting it by his Vietnam policies, and under-estimated McCarthy's strength until the last minute, when it was too late for Johnson to recover.Lewis L. Gould 1968: The Election That Changed America https://books.google.com/books?id=0yPdDZsjjJ4C&pg=PA16 2010 Government Institutes 16–18 978-1-56663-910-1 Randall Bennett Woods said Johnson realized he needed to leave, for the nation to heal.Randall Bennett Woods LBJ: architect of American ambition https://books.google.com/books?id=Sb8W_Ba3jkkC&pg=PA834 2007 Harvard University Press 834–35 978-0-674-02699-5 November 20, 2015 October 9, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231009095240/https://books.google.com/books?id=Sb8W_Ba3jkkC&pg=PA834#v=onepage&q&f=false live Robert Dallek writes that Johnson had no further domestic goals, and realized that his personality had eroded his popularity. His health was poor, and he was pre-occupied with the Kennedy campaign; his wife was pressing for his retirement, and his base of support continued to shrink. Leaving the race would allow him to pose as a peace-maker.Robert Dallek Robert Dallek Flawed Giant:Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961–1973 https://books.google.com/books?id=G_J3PEegwdYC&pg=PA524 1998 Oxford University Press 518–25 978-0-19-982670-4 Anthony J. Bennett, however, said Johnson "had been forced out of a re-election race in 1968 by outrage over his policy in Southeast Asia".Anthony J. Bennett The Race for the White House from Reagan to Clinton: Reforming Old Systems, Building New Coalitions https://books.google.com/books?id=XH4Os4Cjr-cC&pg=PT160 2013 Palgrave Macmillan 160 978-1-137-26860-0 In 2009, an AP reporter said that Johnson decided to end his re-election bid after CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, who was influential, turned against the president's policy in Vietnam. During a CBS News editorial which aired on February 27, Cronkite recommended the US pursue peace negotiations.Moore Frazier Frazier Moore Legendary CBS anchor Walter Cronkite dies at 92 Associated Press GMA News July 18, 2009 http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/167649/news/world/legendary-cbs-anchor-walter-cronkite-dies-at-92 June 22, 2013 April 25, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220425034355/https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/167649/news/world/legendary-cbs-anchor-walter-cronkite-dies-at-92/ deadBroadcast News https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/01/26/reviews/970126.26wickert.html The New York Times Tom Wicker Tom Wicker January 26, 1997 June 22, 2013 April 16, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090416232837/http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/01/26/reviews/970126.26wickert.html live After watching Cronkite's editorial, Johnson allegedly exclaimed: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America." This quote by Johnson has been disputed for accuracy.W. Joseph Campbell Chris Matthews invokes the 'if I've lost Cronkite' myth in NYT review July 9, 2012 http://mediamythalert.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/chris-matthews-invokes-if-ive-lost-cronkite-media-myth-in-nyt-review/ June 22, 2013 August 19, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120819192430/http://mediamythalert.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/chris-matthews-invokes-if-ive-lost-cronkite-media-myth-in-nyt-review/ live Johnson was attending Texas Governor John Connally's birthday gala in Austin, Texas, when Cronkite's editorial aired and did not see the original broadcast. But, Cronkite and CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer defended reports that the remark had been made. They said that members of Johnson's inner circle, who had watched the editorial with the president, including presidential aide George Christian and journalist Bill Moyers, later confirmed the accuracy of the quote to them.A Reporter's Life Walter Cronkite Walter Cronkite 256 Ballantine Books 1996 978-0-394-57879-8https://books.google.com/books?id=KH5iToNJhzcC&q=johnson+eventually+saw+cronkite+broadcast&pg=PT84 This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV Bob Schieffer Bob Schieffer January 6, 2004 Putnam Pub Group 978-0-399-14971-9 June 8, 2013 Schieffer, who was a reporter for the Star-Telegrams WBAP television station in Fort Worth, Texas, when Cronkite's editorial aired, acknowledged reports that the president saw the editorial's original broadcast were inaccurate, but claimed the president was able to watch a taping of it the morning after it aired and then made the remark. However, Johnson's January 27, 1968, phone conversation with Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley revealed that the two were trying to feed Robert Kennedy's ego so he would stay in the race, convincing him that the Democratic Party was undergoing a "revolution". They suggested he might earn a spot as vice president. After Johnson's withdrawal, the Democratic Party quickly split into four factions. The first faction consisted of labor unions and big-city party bosses (led by Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley). This group had traditionally controlled the Democratic Party since the days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and they feared loss of their control over the party. After Johnson's withdrawal, this group rallied to support Hubert Humphrey, Johnson's Vice President; it was also believed that Johnson himself was covertly supporting Humphrey, despite his public claims of neutrality. The second faction, which rallied behind Senator Eugene McCarthy, was composed of college students, intellectuals, and upper-middle-class urban Whites who had been the early activists against the war in Vietnam; they perceived themselves as the future of the Democratic Party. The third group was primarily composed of African Americans and Hispanic Americans, as well as some anti-war groups; these groups rallied behind Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The fourth group consisted of White Southern Democrats. Some older voters, remembering the New Deal's positive impact upon the rural South, supported Vice President Humphrey. Many would rally behind the third-party campaign of former Alabama Governor George Wallace as a "law and order" candidate. Since the Vietnam War had become the major issue that was dividing the Democratic Party, and Johnson had come to symbolize the war for many liberal Democrats, Johnson believed that he could not win the nomination without a major struggle, and that he would probably lose the election in November to the Republicans. However, by withdrawing from the race, he could avoid the stigma of defeat, and he could keep control of the party machinery by giving the nomination to Humphrey, who had been a loyal vice president.Dallek (1998); Woods (2006); Gould (1993). Milne (2011) argues that, in terms of foreign-policy in the Vietnam War, Johnson at the end wanted Nixon to be president rather than Humphrey, since Johnson agreed with Nixon, rather than Humphrey, on the need to defend South Vietnam from communism. David 1968 Paris peace negotiations: a two level game? Review of International Studies 37 2 577–599 However, Johnson's telephone calls show that Johnson believed the Nixon camp was deliberately sabotaging the Paris peace talks. He told Humphrey, who refused to use allegations based on illegal wiretaps of a presidential candidate. Nixon himself called Johnson and denied the allegations. Dallek concludes that Nixon's advice to Saigon made no difference, and that Humphrey was so closely identified with Johnson's unpopular policies that no last-minute deal with Hanoi could have affected the election.Robert Dallek, Nixon and Kissinger (2009) p 77 Contest thumb|400px|Statewide contest by winner: Red = Kennedy, Orange = Smathers, Yellow = Young, Green = Johnson, Blue = McCarthy, Grey = No primary Red Robert Kennedy 1px #AAAAAA solid Orange George Smathers 1px #AAAAAA solid Yellow Stephen Young 1px #AAAAAA solid Lime Lyndon Johnson 1px #AAAAAA solid Blue Eugene McCarthy 1px #AAAAAA solid Grey No primary 1px #AAAAAA solid After Johnson's withdrawal, Vice President Hubert Humphrey announced his candidacy. Kennedy was successful in four state primaries (Indiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and California), and McCarthy won six (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, and Illinois). However, in primaries where they campaigned directly against one another, Kennedy won four primaries (Indiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and California), and McCarthy won only one (Oregon). Cook Rhodes United States Presidential Primary Elections 1968–1996: A Handbook of Election Statistics CQ Press 2000 Washington, D. C. 12–13 978-1-56802-451-6 Humphrey did not compete in the primaries, leaving that job to favorite sons who were his surrogates, notably United States Senator George A. Smathers from Florida, United States Senator Stephen M. Young from Ohio, and Governor Roger D. Branigin of Indiana. Instead, Humphrey concentrated on winning the delegates in non-primary states, where party leaders such as Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley controlled the delegate votes in their states. Kennedy defeated Branigin and McCarthy in the Indiana primary on May 7, and then defeated McCarthy in the Nebraska primary on May 14. However, McCarthy upset Kennedy in the Oregon primary on May 28. After Kennedy's defeat in Oregon, the California primary was seen as crucial to both Kennedy and McCarthy. McCarthy stumped the state's many colleges and universities, where he was treated as a hero for being the first presidential candidate to oppose the war. Kennedy campaigned in the ghettos and barrios of the state's larger cities, where he was mobbed by enthusiastic supporters. Kennedy and McCarthy engaged in a television debate a few days before the primary; it was generally considered a draw. On June 4, Kennedy narrowly defeated McCarthy in California, 46%–42%. However, McCarthy refused to withdraw from the race, and made it clear that he would contest Kennedy in the upcoming New York primary on June 18, where McCarthy had much support from anti-war activists. In the early morning of June 5, after giving his victory speech in Los Angeles, Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian-Jordanian, and died 26 hours later at Good Samaritan Hospital. Sirhan admitted his guilt, was convicted of murder, and is still in prison.Abbe A. Debolt James S. Baugess Encyclopedia of the Sixties: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture https://books.google.com/books?id=r4WFjKG6vmUC&pg=PA607 2011 ABC-CLIO 607 978-1-4408-0102-0 November 20, 2015 October 9, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231009095240/https://books.google.com/books?id=r4WFjKG6vmUC&pg=PA607 live In recent years some have cast doubt on Sirhan's guilt, including Sirhan himself, who said he was "brainwashed" into killing Kennedy and was a patsy.November 27, 2011 Sirhan Sirhan Seeks Release Or New Trial – TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime http://www.talkleft.com/story/2011/11/27/0264/0835 live https://web.archive.org/web/20120130181500/http://www.talkleft.com/story/2011/11/27/0264/0835 January 30, 2012 August 25, 2015 TalkLeftAugust 2, 2015 Top stories from Canada and around the world |MSN Headlines http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/msnbc-article.aspx?cp-documentid=27840480 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140502033712/http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/msnbc-article.aspx?cp-documentid=27840480 May 2, 2014 August 25, 2015 News.ca.msn.comGreenhill Abby November 28, 2011 Sirhan Sirhan Says He Didn't Kill Bobby Kennedy in 1968 – Gather.com : Gather.com http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474980828676 August 25, 2015 News.gather.comSeptember 2024 InternetArchiveBot yes https://web.archive.org/web/20140502022206/http://www.phillyimc.org/en/sirhan-sirhan-his-own-words May 2, 2014 thumb|200px|Kennedy campaigning in Los Angeles (photo courtesy of John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, Boston) Political historians still debate whether Kennedy could have won the Democratic nomination, had he lived. Some historians, such as Theodore H. White and Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., have argued that Kennedy's broad appeal and famed charisma would have convinced the party bosses at the Democratic Convention to give him the nomination.Schlesinger Jr. Arthur M. Robert Kennedy and His Times 1978 xvi Jack Newfield, author of RFK: A Memoir, stated in a 1998 interview that on the night he was assassinated, "[Kennedy] had a phone conversation with Mayor Daley of Chicago, and Mayor Daley all but promised to throw the Illinois delegates to Bobby at the convention in August 1968. I think he said to me, and Pete Hamill: 'Daley is the ball game, and I think we have Daley.Jack Newfield, interview with Terry Gross, Fresh Air from WHYY, National Public Radio, WHYY, Philadelphia, June 4, 1998. Excerpt https://web.archive.org/web/20180808113612/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91151292 August 8, 2018 rebroadcast on June 4, 2008. However, other writers such as Tom Wicker, who covered the Kennedy campaign for The New York Times, believe that Humphrey's large lead in delegate votes from non-primary states, combined with Senator McCarthy's refusal to quit the race, would have prevented Kennedy from ever winning a majority at the Democratic Convention, and that Humphrey would have been the Democratic nominee, even if Kennedy had lived.Wicker Tom In The Nation; Go Slow, Mike Mansfield The New York Times June 16, 1968 The journalist Richard Reeves and historian Michael Beschloss have both written that Humphrey was the likely nominee,Beschloss Michael Opinion: Let's Have Conventions With Cliffhangers The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/11/opinion/let-s-have-conventions-with-cliffhangers.html The New York Times August 11, 1996 January 13, 2024 January 13, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240113211231/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/11/opinion/let-s-have-conventions-with-cliffhangers.html live and future Democratic National Committee chairman Larry O'Brien wrote in his memoirs that Kennedy's chances of winning the nomination had been slim, even after his win in California.O'Brien Lawrence F. No Final Victories: A Life in Politics - from John F. Kennedy to Watergate 1974 Doubleday At the moment of RFK's death, the delegate totals were: Hubert Humphrey – 561 Robert F. Kennedy – 393 Eugene McCarthy – 258 Total popular vote:Guide to U.S. Elections CQ Press 2010 978-1-60426-536-1 Kalb Deborah Washington, DC 411 50% Eugene McCarthy: 2,914,933 (38.7%) Robert F. Kennedy: 2,304,542 (30.6%) Stephen M. Young: 549,140 (7.3%) Lyndon B. Johnson: 383,048 (5.1%) Roger D. Branigin: 238,700 (3.2%) George Smathers: 236,242 (3.1%) Hubert Humphrey: 166,463 (2.2%) Unpledged: 670,328 (8.9%) George Wallace: 33,520 (0.4%) Richard Nixon (write-in): 13,035 (0.2%) Nelson A. Rockefeller: 5,116 (0.1%) Ronald Reagan (write-in): 4,987 (0.1%) Ted Kennedy: 4,052 (0.1%) Others: 10,963 (0.1%) Democratic Convention and antiwar protests Robert Kennedy's death altered the dynamics of the race. Although Humphrey appeared the presumptive favorite for the nomination, thanks to his support from the traditional power blocs of the party, he was an unpopular choice with many of the anti-war elements within the party, who identified him with Johnson's controversial position on the Vietnam War. However, Kennedy's delegates failed to unite behind a single candidate who could have prevented Humphrey from getting the nomination. Some of Kennedy's support went to McCarthy, but many of Kennedy's delegates, remembering their bitter primary battles with McCarthy, refused to vote for him. Instead, these delegates rallied around the late-starting candidacy of Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, a Kennedy supporter in the spring primaries who had presidential ambitions himself. This division of the anti-war votes at the Democratic Convention made it easier for Humphrey to gather the delegates he needed to win the nomination. thumb|Vice President Hubert Humphrey and U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie wave from the podium at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago When the 1968 Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago, thousands of young activists from around the nation gathered in the city to protest the Vietnam War. On the evening of August 28, in a clash which was covered on live television, Americans were shocked to see Chicago police brutally beating anti-war protesters in the streets of Chicago in front of the Conrad Hilton Hotel. While the protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching", the police used clubs and tear gas to beat back or arrest the protesters, leaving many of them bloody and dazed. The tear gas wafted into numerous hotel suites; in one of them Vice President Humphrey was watching the proceedings on television. The police said that their actions were justified because numerous police officers were being injured by bottles, rocks, and broken glass that were being thrown at them by the protestors. The protestors had also yelled insults at the police, calling them "pigs" and other epithets. The anti-war and police riot divided the Democratic Party's base: some supported the protestors and felt that the police were being heavy-handed, but others disapproved of the violence and supported the police. Meanwhile, the convention itself was marred by the strong-arm tactics of Chicago's mayor Richard J. Daley (who was seen on television angrily cursing Senator Abraham Ribicoff from Connecticut, who made a speech at the convention denouncing the excesses of the Chicago police). In the end, the nomination itself was anticlimactic, with Vice President Humphrey handily beating McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot. After the delegates nominated Humphrey, the convention then turned to selecting a vice-presidential nominee. The main candidates for this position were Senators Edward M. Kennedy from Massachusetts, Edmund Muskie from Maine, and Fred R. Harris from Oklahoma; Governors Richard Hughes of New Jersey and Terry Sanford of North Carolina; Mayor Joseph Alioto of San Francisco, California; former Deputy Secretary of Defense Cyrus Vance; and Ambassador Sargent Shriver from Maryland. Another idea floated was to tap Republican Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York, one of the most liberal Republicans. Ted Kennedy was Humphrey's first choice, but the senator turned him down. After narrowing it down to Senator Muskie and Senator Harris, Vice President Humphrey chose Muskie, a moderate and environmentalist from Maine, for the nomination. The convention complied with the request and nominated Senator Muskie as Humphrey's running mate. Notably, Humphrey won votes from actual voters in primaries for his attempt to win the Democrat nomination, unlike Harris who only received delegates. The publicity from the anti-war riots crippled Humphrey's campaign from the start, and it never fully recovered. Before 1968 the city of Chicago had been a frequent host for the political conventions of both parties; since 1968 only two national conventions have been held there: the Democratic convention of 1996, which nominated Bill Clinton for a second term, and the Democratic convention of 2024, which nominated Kamala Harris.Guide to U.S. Elections CQ Press 2010 978-1-60426-536-1 Kalb Deborah Washington, DC 622–624 +BallotingPresidential tallyVice Presidential tallyHubert Humphrey 1759.25 Edmund S. Muskie 1942.5Eugene McCarthy601 Not Voting 604.25George S. McGovern 146.5 Julian Bond 48.5Channing Phillips 67.5 David Hoeh 4Daniel K. Moore 17.5 Edward M. Kennedy 3.5Edward M. Kennedy 12.75 Eugene McCarthy 3.0Paul W. "Bear" Bryant 1.5 Others 16.25James H. Gray 0.5 George Wallace 0.5 Source: Keating Holland, "All the Votes... Really", CNNhttp://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/san.diego/facts/weird.facts/votes.shtml.orig AllPolitics – 1996 GOP NRC – All The Votes...Really Cnn.com November 3, 2008 December 19, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081219180754/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/san.diego/facts/weird.facts/votes.shtml.orig live EndorsementsHubert Humphrey President Lyndon B. Johnson Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago Former President Harry S. Truman Singer/actor Frank SinatraRobert F. Kennedy Senator Abraham Ribicoff from ConnecticutAugust 25, 1968 Ribicoff Urges Unity With McGovern Vote 14 The Miami Herald UPI https://www.newspapers.com/image/621730055/?terms=%22robert%20kennedy%22%20%22abraham%20ribicoff%22%20%22endorse%22%20%22endorsement%22&match=1 May 16, 2022 May 16, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220516220907/https://www.newspapers.com/image/621730055/?terms=%22robert%20kennedy%22%20%22abraham%20ribicoff%22%20%22endorse%22%20%22endorsement%22&match=1 live Senator George McGovern from South DakotaAugust 11, 1968 McGovern Wins RFK Backers 8 The Honolulu Advertiser UPI https://www.newspapers.com/image/261083410/?terms=%22robert%20kennedy%22%20%22george%20mcgovern%22%20%22endorse%22%20%22endorsement%22&match=1 May 16, 2022 May 16, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220516220906/https://www.newspapers.com/image/261083410/?terms=%22robert%20kennedy%22%20%22george%20mcgovern%22%20%22endorse%22%20%22endorsement%22&match=1 live Senator Vance Hartke from IndianaJewell Thomas April 16, 1968 Bobby Talks Polish, Sings at Dyngus Day 21 The South Bend Tribune https://www.newspapers.com/image/515784320 May 16, 2022 May 16, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220516231132/http://www.newspapers.com/image/515784320/ live Labor Leader Cesar Chavez Writer Truman Capote Writer Norman Mailer Actress Shirley MacLaineSchlesinger Arthur Jr. Robert Kennedy and His Times 1978 Actress Stefanie Powers Actor Robert Vaughn Actor Peter Lawford Singer Bobby Darinhttp://www.bobbydarin.net/kennedy.html BobbyDarin.net/BobbyDarin.com – Bobby Darin & Bobby Kennedy Bobbydarin.net May 10, 1968 June 17, 2010 July 3, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100703072914/http://www.bobbydarin.net/kennedy.html live Eugene McCarthy Representative Don Edwards from California Actor Paul Newman Actress Tallulah Bankhead Playwright Arthur Miller Writer William StyronGeorge McGovern (during convention) Senator Abraham Ribicoff from Connecticut Governor Harold E. Hughes of Iowa American Independent Party nomination George Wallace 1968 presidential campaign 94x94px 1968 American Independent Party ticket white George Wallace white Curtis LeMayfor Presidentfor Vice President center|220x220px center|220x220px 45thGovernor of Alabama(1963–1967) Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force(1961–1965)Campaign200x200px The American Independent Party, which was established in 1967 by Bill and Eileen Shearer, nominated former Alabama Governor George Wallace – whose pro-racial segregation policies had been rejected by the mainstream of the Democratic Party – as the party's candidate for president. Much like the campaign of Strom Thurmond in the presidential election of 1948, the impact of the Wallace campaign was substantial, winning the electoral votes of several states in the Deep South. He appeared on the ballot in all fifty states, but not the District of Columbia. Although he did not come close to winning any states outside the South, Wallace was the 1968 presidential candidate who most disproportionately drew his support from among young men. How We Got Here: The '70s Frum David David Frum 2000 Basic Books New York 978-0-465-04195-4 xxi https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum Wallace also proved to be popular among blue-collar workers in the North and Midwest, and he took many votes which might have gone to Humphrey.B. Dan Wood Soren Jordan Party Polarization in America: The War Over Two Social Contracts https://books.google.com/books?id=diAzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA165 2017 165 Cambridge University Press 9781108171212 July 3, 2019 August 13, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210813192723/https://books.google.com/books?id=diAzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA165 live Wallace was not expected to win the election; his strategy was to prevent either major party candidate from winning a preliminary majority in the Electoral College. Although Wallace put considerable effort into mounting a serious general election campaign, his presidential bid was also a continuation of Southern efforts to elect unpledged electors that had taken place in every election from 1956 – he had his electors promise to vote not necessarily for him but rather for whomever he directed them to support – his objective was not to move the election into the U.S. House of Representatives where he would have had little influence, but rather to give himself the bargaining power to determine the winner. Wallace's running mate was retired four star General Curtis LeMay. Prior to deciding on LeMay, Wallace gave serious consideration to former U.S. senator, governor, and Baseball Commissioner A. B. Happy Chandler of Kentucky as his running mate.A. B. "Happy" Chandler, George C. Wallace, and the Presidential Election of 1968 December 16, 2002 10.1111/1540-6563.00010 64 34 The Historian 667–685 Hill John Paul 145329893 Chandler and Wallace met a number of times; however, Chandler said that he and Wallace were unable to come to an agreement regarding their positions on racial matters. Chandler had supported the segregationist Dixiecrats in the 1948 presidential elections. However, after being re-elected Governor of Kentucky in 1955, he used National Guard troops to enforce school integration.https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/105414/Happy-Chandler Happy Chandler | biography – American politician and baseball commissioner Britannica.com June 15, 1991 August 25, 2015 February 12, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150212210654/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/105414/Happy-Chandler live Other considerations included ABC newscaster Paul Harvey of Oklahoma, former Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson of Utah, former Governor of Arkansas Orval Faubus, and even Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Sanders.https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,902367,00.html The Campaign: George's General Time October 11, 1968 April 12, 2023 April 12, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230412132653/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,902367,00.html live Wallace's position of withdrawing from Vietnam, if the war was "not winnable within 90 days",Kauffman, Bill (2008-05-19) When the Left Was Right https://web.archive.org/web/20110430231746/http://amconmag.com/article/2008/may/19/00009/ 2011-04-30, The American Conservative was overshadowed by LeMay, implying he would use nuclear weapons to win the war.Carter 1995 361 Other parties and candidates Also on the ballot in two or more states were black activist Eldridge Cleaver (who was ineligible to take office, as he would have only been 33 years of age on January 20, 1969) for the Peace and Freedom Party (nominated at the party's national convention); Henning Blomen for the Socialist Labor Party; Fred Halstead for the Socialist Workers Party; E. Harold Munn for the Prohibition Party; and Charlene Mitchell – the first African-American woman to run for president, and the first woman to receive valid votes in a general election – for the Communist Party. Comedians Dick Gregory and Pat Paulsen were notable write-in candidates. A facetious presidential candidate for 1968 was a pig named Pigasus, as a political statement by the Yippies, to illustrate their premise that "one pig's as good as any other".Rick Perlstein Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America 2008 Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of AmericaMarch 2013 General election Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report Oct–Dec 1968 UCSB Publisher Date Prediction 1964 result Nov 3, 1964 D: 486, R: 52 1968 result Nov 5, 1968 A: 45, D: 191, R: 301 Newsweek Oct 27, 1968 A: 56, D: 46, R: 287, Tossup: 149 Associated Press Oct 20, 1968 A: 45, D: 17, R: 222, Tossup: 154 N.Y. Times Oct 6, 1968 A: 64, D: 28, R: 380, Tossup: 64 The Washington Post Oct 6, 1968 A: 53, D: 46, R: 346, Tossup: 93 CBS Oct 28, 1968 A: 58, D: 25, R: 270, Tossup: 185 CQ Oct 25, 1968 A: 53, D: 32, R: 317, Tossup: 136 Polling aggregation The following graph depicts the standing of each candidate in the poll aggregators from April 1968 to Election Day. thumb|800px|center| 18em #e81b23 solid 5px Richard Nixon #3333ff solid 5px Hubert Humphrey #FF7F00 solid 5px George Wallace Polling Nationwide opinion polling for the 1968 United States presidential election Poll source Date(s)administered RichardNixon (R) HubertHumphrey (D) GeorgeWallace (AI) Other Undecided Margin Election ResultsNovember 5, 196843.42% 42.72% 13.53% 0.33% - 0.7 Harris1968-11-02 Humphrey Gains In A Harris Poll https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/11/02/76901271.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-10November 1, 1968"Harris Polls" 37% 40% 16% - 7% 3 GallupGallup George George Gallup 1983 The 1935-1971 Gallup Poll Public Opinion, Volume III 2167Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 1968 42% 40% 14% - 4% 2 GallupOctober 17–22, 1968 44% 36% 15% - 5% 8 Harris1968-10-19 Humphrey Gains In A Harris Poll https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/10/19/76894251.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-10October 18, 1968"Harris Polls" 40% 35% 18% - 7% 5 GallupGallup George George Gallup 1983 The 1935-1971 Gallup Poll Public Opinion, Volume III 2162September 19–24, 1968 43% 28% 21% - 8% 15 Harris1968-09-24 New Harris Poll Puts Nixon On Top https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/09/24/302057962.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-10September 23, 1968"Harris Polls" 39% 31% 21% - 9% 8 GallupGallup George George Gallup 1983 The 1935-1971 Gallup Poll Public Opinion, Volume III 2159September 1–6, 1968 43% 31% 19% - 7% 12 August 26–29: Democratic National Convention Harris1968-08-28 New Harris Poll Puts Nixon On Top https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/28/76967978.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-10August 27, 1968"Harris Polls" 40% 34% 17% - 9% 6 GallupGallup George George Gallup 1983 The 1935-1971 Gallup Poll Public Opinion, Volume III 2154August 7–12, 1968 45% 29% 18% - 8% 16 August 5–8: Republican National Convention Harris1968-08-01 Harris Poll Gives Rockefeller A Lift https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/01/79942476.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-091968-08-02 Comparison of 4 Polls https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/02/91234173.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-10 September 21, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240921111507/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/02/91234173.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 live July 31, 1968"Harris Polls" 36% 41% 16% - 7% 5 Crossley1968-08-01 Crossley Findings https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/01/79942610.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-10 September 21, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240921111507/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/01/79942610.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 live July 31, 1968"Harris Polls" 39% 36% 19% - 6% 3 GallupGallup George George Gallup 1983 The 1935-1971 Gallup Poll Public Opinion, Volume III 2150July 18–23, 1968 40% 38% 16% - 6% 2 Harris1968-07-21 McCarthy, Buoyed by 2 Polls, Sees 'Even Chance https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/07/21/110090197.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-09 September 21, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240921111509/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/07/21/110090197.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 live July 20, 1968"Harris Polls" 35% 37% 17% - 11% 2 GallupGallup George George Gallup 1983 The 1935-1971 Gallup Poll Public Opinion, Volume III 2139Jun. 26-Jul. 1, 1968 35% 40% 16% - 9% 5 HarrisJune 24, 1968 Pollster Says Democrats Far Ahead 2 The World-News https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-world-news-pollster-says-democrats-f/161107311/ Newspapers.comJune 24, 1968"Harris Polls" 36% 43% 13% - 8% 7 GallupGallup George George Gallup 1983 The 1935-1971 Gallup Poll Public Opinion, Volume III 2134June 13–18, 1968 37% 42% 14% - 7% 5 GallupGallup George George Gallup 1983 The 1935-1971 Gallup Poll Public Opinion, Volume III 2130May 23–28, 1968 36% 42% 14% - 8% 6 Harris1968-05-23 Harris Poll Finds Gain By Humphrey https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/05/24/77102545.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-09 September 21, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240921111510/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/05/24/77102545.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 live May 23, 1968"Harris Polls" 37% 41% 14% - 8% 4 Harris1968-05-07 Kennedy's Lead Fades in 2 Polls https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/05/07/79938778.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-09 September 21, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240921111510/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/05/07/79938778.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 live May 6, 1968"Harris Polls" 36% 38% 13% - 13% 2 GallupGallup George George Gallup 1983 The 1935-1971 Gallup Poll Public Opinion, Volume III 2126May 2–5, 1968 39% 36% 14% - 11% 3 GallupGallup George George Gallup 1983 The 1935-1971 Gallup Poll Public Opinion, Volume III 2122April 4–9, 1968 43% 34% 9% - 14% 9 Harris1968-04-06 Harris Poll Shows Kennedy, McCarthy In Front of Nixon https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/04/06/88935855.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The New York Times 2020-12-09 September 21, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240921111538/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/04/06/88935855.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 live April 6, 1968"Harris Polls" The publication date is used, as the dates of the survey were not given in the source. 34% 35% 12% - 19% 1 Campaign strategies Nixon developed a "Southern strategy" that was designed to appeal to conservative White southerners, who had traditionally voted Democratic, but were opposed to Johnson and Humphrey's support for the civil rights movement, as well as the rioting that had broken out in most large cities. Wallace, however, won over many of the voters Nixon targeted, especially in Goldwater-supporting Southern states, effectively splitting that voting bloc. Wallace deliberately targeted many states he had little chance of carrying himself in the hope that by splitting as many votes with Nixon as possible he would give competitive states to Humphrey and, by extension, boost his own chances of denying both opponents an Electoral College majority.Joseph A. Aistrup, The southern strategy revisited: Republican top-down advancement in the South (2015). Since he was well behind Nixon in the polls as the campaign began, Humphrey opted for a slashing, fighting campaign style. He repeatedly – and unsuccessfully – challenged Nixon to a televised debate, and he often compared his campaign to the successful underdog effort of President Harry Truman, another Democrat who had trailed in the polls, in the 1948 presidential election. Humphrey predicted that he, like Truman, would surprise the experts and win an upset victory.Daniel S. Margolies A Companion to Harry S. Truman https://books.google.com/books?id=bcLeZ7MLvM0C&pg=PT264 2012 264 John Wiley & Sons 9781118300756 July 3, 2019 August 23, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200823003558/https://books.google.com/books?id=bcLeZ7MLvM0C&pg=PT264%2F live Campaign themes Nixon campaigned on a theme to restore "law and order", Civil Rights: Let 'Em Wiretap! Greenberg David David Greenberg (historian) October 22, 2001 History News Network http://hnn.us/articles/366.html December 29, 2008 March 1, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110301212237/http://hnn.us/articles/366.html live which appealed to many voters angry with the hundreds of violent riots that had taken place across the country in the previous few years. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King in April 1968, there was massive rioting in inner city areas. The police were overwhelmed and President Johnson decided to call out the U.S. Army. Nixon also opposed forced busing to desegregate schools. How We Got Here: The '70s Frum David David Frum 2000 Basic Books New York City 978-0-465-04195-4 265 https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/265 Proclaiming himself a supporter of civil rights, he recommended education as the solution rather than militancy. During the campaign, Nixon proposed government tax incentives to African Americans for small businesses and home improvements in their existing neighborhoods.Conrad Black, (2007), p. 525. During the campaign, Nixon also used as a theme his opposition to the decisions of Chief Justice Earl Warren, pledging to "remake the Supreme Court."Hindley Meredith Supremely Contentious: The Transformation of "Advice and Consent" Humanities National Endowment for the Humanities October 2009 30 5 https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2009/septemberoctober/feature/supremely-contentious February 22, 2022 Many conservatives were critical of Chief Justice Warren for using the Supreme Court to promote liberal policies in the fields of civil rights, civil liberties, and the separation of church and state. Nixon promised that if he were elected president, he would appoint justices who would take a less-active role in creating social policy. Abe Fortas Laura Kalman Yale University Press 1990 https://archive.org/details/abefortasbiograp00kalm registration October 20, 2008 978-0-300-04669-4 In another campaign promise, he pledged to end the draft.http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/VolArm.html The All-Volunteer Army After Twenty Years: Recruiting in the Modern Era Thomas W. Evans Sam Houston State University Summer 1993 December 31, 2007 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20130808222147/http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/VolArm.html August 8, 2013 mdy-all During the 1960s, Nixon had been impressed by a paper he had read by Professor Martin Anderson of Columbia University. Anderson had argued in the paper for an end to the draft and the creation of an all-volunteer army.Aitken Jonathan Nixon: A Life Regnery Publishing 1996 978-0-89526-720-7 pp. 396–397. Nixon also saw ending the draft as an effective way to undermine the anti-Vietnam war movement, since he believed affluent college-age youths would stop protesting the war once their own possibility of having to fight in it was gone.Ambrose Stephen Stephen Ambrose Nixon, Volume Two: The Triumph of a Politician 1962–1972 Simon & Schuster 1989 pp. 264–266. Humphrey, meanwhile, promised to continue and expand the Great Society welfare programs started by President Johnson, and to continue the Johnson Administration's War on Poverty. He also promised to continue the efforts of presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and the Supreme Court, in promoting the expansion of civil rights and civil liberties for minority groups. However, Humphrey also felt constrained for most of his campaign in voicing any opposition to the Vietnam War policies of President Johnson, due to his fear that Johnson would reject any peace proposals he made and undermine his campaign. As a result, early in his campaign Humphrey often found himself the target of anti-war protestors, some of whom heckled and disrupted his campaign rallies. Humphrey's comeback and the October surprise After the Democratic Convention in late August, Humphrey trailed Nixon by double digits in most polls, and his chances seemed hopeless, with some polls predicting a margin of victory for Nixon as high as 16% as late as August. Many within Humphrey's campaign saw their real goal as avoiding the potential humiliation of finishing behind Wallace in the Electoral College vote (if not necessarily the popular vote), rather than having any serious chance of defeating Nixon. According to Time magazine, "The old Democratic coalition was disintegrating, with untold numbers of blue-collar workers responding to Wallace's blandishments, Negroes threatening to sit out the election, liberals disaffected over the Vietnam War, the South lost. The war chest was almost empty, and the party's machinery, neglected by Lyndon Johnson, creaked in disrepair."Time November 15, 1968 Calling for "the politics of joy", and using the still-powerful labor unions as his base, Humphrey fought back. To distance himself from Johnson, and to take advantage of the Democratic plurality in voter registration, Humphrey stopped being identified in ads as "Vice President Hubert Humphrey", instead being labelled "Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey". Humphrey attacked Wallace as a racist bigot who appealed to the darker impulses of Americans. Wallace had been rising in the polls as a result of tailoring his message to audiences outside of his southern strongholds by using anti-establishment rhetoric and attacks on "concentrated wealth", with Wallace's polling numbers peaking at 21% nationally in late September and early October. However, Wallace's momentum went into reverse after he selected Curtis LeMay as his running mate. Curtis LeMay's suggestion of using tactical nuclear weapons in Vietnam conjured up the worst memories of the 1964 Goldwater campaign.Perlstein 2008 Labor unions also undertook a major effort to win back union members who were supporting Wallace, with some substantial success. Polling numbers that had shown Wallace winning almost one-half of union members in the summer of 1968 went increasingly into sharp decline as the election campaign progressed into the fall up to early November election day. As election day approached and Wallace's support in the North, Midwest and West began to wane, Humphrey finally began to climb in the polls. In October, Humphrey — who was rising sharply in the polls due to the decline of Wallace — began to distance himself publicly from the Johnson administration on the Vietnam War, calling for a bombing halt. The key turning point for Humphrey's campaign came when President Johnson officially announced a bombing halt, and even a possible peace deal, the weekend before the election. The "Halloween Peace" gave Humphrey's campaign a badly needed boost. In addition, Senator Eugene McCarthy finally endorsed a vote for Humphrey in late October after previously refusing to do so, and by election day the polls were reporting a dead heat.Theodore H. White, The Making of the President, 1968 (1970) Possible sabotage of peace talks The Nixon campaign had anticipated a possible "October surprise", a peace agreement produced by the Paris negotiations; as such an agreement would be a boost to Humphrey, Nixon thwarted any last-minute chances of a "Halloween Peace". Nixon told campaign aide and his future White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman to put a "monkey wrench" into an early end to the war. Baker Peter https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/politics/nixon-tried-to-spoil-johnsons-vietnam-peace-talks-in-68-notes-show.html?mcubz=0 The New York Times Nixon Tried to Spoil Johnson's Peace Talks in '68, Notes Show January 3, 2017 September 18, 2017 January 2, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180102073902/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/politics/nixon-tried-to-spoil-johnsons-vietnam-peace-talks-in-68-notes-show.html?mcubz=0 live Johnson was enraged and said that Nixon had "blood on his hands", and that Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen agreed with Johnson that such action was "treason".Mark Lisheron. "In tapes, LBJ accuses Nixon of treason" https://web.archive.org/web/20081208104725/http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/12/05/1205lbjtapes.html December 8, 2008 . Austin American-Statesman. December 5, 2008. "Johnson tells Sen. Everett Dirksen, the Republican minority leader, that it will be Nixon's responsibility if the South Vietnamese don't participate in the peace talks. 'This is treason', LBJ says to Dirksen."Robert "KC" Johnson. "Did Nixon Commit Treason in 1968? What The New LBJ Tapes Reveal" https://web.archive.org/web/20130313031845/http://hnn.us/articles/60446.html March 13, 2013 . History News Network, January 26, 2009. Transcript from ubVzX3y_yVE audio recording of President Johnson: "This is treason.""I know." Defense Secretary Clark Clifford considered the moves an illegal violation of the Logan Act. Clark M. Clifford Clark Clifford Counsel to the President: A Memoir 1991 May 21, 1991 709 Random House 978-0-394-56995-6 https://archive.org/details/counseltopreside00clar/page/709 p. 582. "The activities of the Nixon team went far beyond the bounds of justifiable political combat. It constituted direct interference in the activities of the executive branch and the responsibilities of the Chief Executive, the only people with authority to negotiate on behalf of the nation. The activities of the Nixon campaign constituted a gross, even potentially illegal, interference in the security affairs of the nation by private individuals." A former director of the Nixon Library called it a "covert action" which "laid the skulduggery of his presidency". Bryce Harlow, former Eisenhower White House staff member, claimed to have "a double agent working in the White House... I kept Nixon informed." Harlow and Nixon's future National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who was friendly with both campaigns and guaranteed a job in either a Humphrey or Nixon administration, separately predicted Johnson's "bombing halt": "The word is out that we are making an effort to throw the election to Humphrey. Nixon has been told of it", Democratic senator George Smathers informed Johnson.Robert Dallek (2007), Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power, HarperCollins, pp. 73–74. Nixon asked Anna Chennault to be his "channel to Mr. Thieu" to advise him to refuse participation in the talks, in what is sometimes described as the "Anna Chennault Affair". https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/ch5 November 1–12, 1968: South Vietnamese Abstention From the Expanded Peace Conference; the Anna Chennault Affair Office of the Historian January 15, 2024 January 15, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240115035541/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/ch5 live Thieu was promised a better deal under a Nixon administration. Bùi Diễm with David Chanoff In the Jaws of History April 1, 1999 367 Indiana University Press 978-0-253-21301-3 1999 p. 237. https://web.archive.org/web/20230411084342/https://books.google.com/books?id=XNlnzQk2678C&dq=%22Waiting+for+me+in+the+lobby+was+Anna+Chennault%22&pg=PA237 April 11, 2023 Waiting for me in the lobby was Anna Chennault. A few minutes later I was being introduced to Nixon and John Mitchell, his law partner and adviser. (...) Nixon (...) added that his staff would be in touch with me through John Mitchell and Anna Chennault. Chennault agreed and periodically reported to John Mitchell that Thieu had no intention of attending a peace conference. On November 2, Chennault informed Bùi Diễm, the South Vietnamese ambassador: "I have just heard from my boss in Albuquerque who says his boss [Nixon] is going to win. And you tell your boss [Thieu] to hold on a while longer." https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/d212 Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume VII, Vietnam, September 1968–January 1969 Office of the Historian January 15, 2024 January 15, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240115035416/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/d212 live In 1997, Chennault admitted that, "I was constantly in touch with Nixon and Mitchell".Dallek, pp. 74–75. The effort also involved Texas Senator John Tower and Kissinger, who traveled to Paris on behalf of the Nixon campaign. William Bundy stated that Kissinger obtained "no useful inside information" from his trip to Paris, and "almost any experienced Hanoi watcher might have come to the same conclusion". While Kissinger may have "hinted that his advice was based on contacts with the Paris delegation", this sort of "self-promotion ... is at worst a minor and not uncommon practice, quite different from getting and reporting real secrets".Dallek, pp. 73–74. Johnson learned of the Nixon-Chennault effort because the NSA was intercepting communications in Vietnam.Thomas Powers. "The Man who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms & the CIA". Alfred A. Knopf, 1979, p.198. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405183109/https://books.google.com/books?id=Yi2GAAAAMAAJ&q=%22during+the+week+which+ended+Sunday,+October+27,+the+National+Security+Agency+intercepted+a+radio+message+from+the+South+Vietnamese+Embassy+to+Saigon+explicitly+urging+Thieu+to+stand+fast+against+an+agreement+until+after+the+election.+As+soon+as+learned+of+the+cable+he+ordered+the+FBI+to+place+Madame+under+surveillance+and+to+install+a+phone+tap+on+the+South+Vietnamese+Embassy%22 April 5, 2023 "during the week which ended Sunday, October 27 [1968], the National Security Agency intercepted a radio message from the South Vietnamese Embassy to Saigon explicitly urging (Nguyen Van) Thieu to stand fast against an agreement until after the election. As soon as Johnson learned of the cable he ordered the FBI to place Madame (Anna) Chennault under surveillance and to install a phone tap on the South Vietnamese Embassy" In response, Johnson ordered NSA surveillance of Chennault and wire-tapped the South Vietnamese embassy and members of the Nixon campaign.Dallek, p. 75. He did not leak the information to the public because he did not want to "shock America" with the revelation,Robert "KC" Johnson. "Did Nixon Commit Treason in 1968? What the New LBJ Tapes Reveal" https://web.archive.org/web/20130313031845/http://hnn.us/articles/60446.html March 13, 2013 . History News Network, January 26, 2009. Transcript from ubVzX3y_yVE audio recording of President Johnson: "Now, I can identify 'em, because I know who's doing this. I don't want to identify it. I think it would shock America if a principal candidate was playing with a source like this on a matter this important. (...) I don't want to do that." nor reveal that the NSA was intercepting communications in Vietnam.David Taylor The Lyndon Johnson tapes: Richard Nixon's 'treason' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21768668 London BBC News March 15, 2013 March 18, 2013 March 17, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130317223409/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21768668 live Johnson did make information available to Humphrey, but at this point Humphrey thought he was going to win the election, so he did not reveal the information to the public. Humphrey later regretted this as a mistake.Jules Witcover. "The Making of an Ink-Stained Wretch: Half a Century Pounding the Political Beat". Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005, p131. https://web.archive.org/web/20230406003954/https://books.google.com/books?id=ePRIONzLmEoC&dq=%22Johnson+had+turned+over+incriminating+evidence+about+Chennault%27s+activities+to+Humphrey+for+use+in+the+final+days+of+the+campaign%22&pg=PA131 April 6, 2023 "Johnson had turned over incriminating evidence about (Anna) Chennault's activities to (Hubert) Humphrey's for use in the final days of the campaign. The idea was that such an act of treason would sink Nixon and elect Humphrey. But Humphrey declined to use it, partly because he felt he could not reveal the sources of the classified material (...) Later, in his memoir https://web.archive.org/web/20230405183111/https://books.google.com/books?id=L6u94c-7wX8C&q=The+Education+of+a+Public+Man April 5, 2023 , Humphrey recounted a memo of his own at the time: "I wonder if I should have blown the whistle on Anna Chennault and Nixon. I wish [his italics] I could have been sure. Damn Thieu. Dragging his feet this past weekend hurt us. I wonder if that call did it. If Nixon knew." The South Vietnamese government withdrew from peace negotiations, and Nixon publicly offered to go to Saigon to help the negotiations."In Tapes, Johnson Accused Nixon's Associates of Treason" https://web.archive.org/web/20170215095348/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/us/05tapes.html?_r=0 February 15, 2017 . The New York Times, December 4, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2013. A promising "peace bump" ended up in "shambles" for the Democratic Party. The claim of sabotage of peace talks between the United States and South Vietnam from Nixon has been disputed by historian Luke Nichter in his 2023 book The Year That Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968.Nichter Luke A. The Year That Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968 2023 Yale University Press 978-0-300-25439-6 Election The election on November 5, 1968, proved to be extremely close, and it was not until the following morning that the television news networks were able to declare Nixon the winner. The key states proved to be California, Illinois and Ohio, all of which Nixon won by three percentage points or less. Had Humphrey carried all three of these states, he would have won the election. Had he carried only two of them or just California among them, George Wallace would have succeeded in his aim of preventing an Electoral College majority for any candidate, and the decision would have been given to the House of Representatives, at the time controlled by the Democratic Party. Nixon won the popular vote with a plurality of 512,000 votes, or a victory margin of about one percentage point. In the Electoral College, Nixon's victory was much larger, as he carried 32 states with 301 electoral votes, compared to Humphrey's 13 states and 191 electoral votes and Wallace's five states and 46 electoral votes.https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1968 1968 Presidential General Election Results Leip David David Leip's Atlas of Presidential Elections February 1, 2019 September 18, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180918012042/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1968 live Richard Nixon was able to win the Electoral College, dominating several regions in the Western United States, Midwest, Upland South, and portions of the Northeast, while winning the popular vote by a relatively small 511,944 votes over Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey. Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey performed relatively well in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Wallace finished last with five states in the Deep South; he is the most recent third-party candidate to win any states.https://www.270towin.com/historical-presidential-elections/ Historical U.S. Presidential Elections 1789-2016 www.270towin.com 2021-12-20 May 22, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190522080905/https://www.270towin.com/historical-presidential-elections/ live This was the first time that the Republican nominee won the popular vote with a margin of under 5 points since 1896, something that would not be seen again until 2004. Out of all the states that Nixon had previously carried in 1960, Maine and Washington were the only two states that did not vote for Nixon again in 1968, although Nixon would carry them four years later during his re-election campaign in 1972. He also carried eight states that voted for John F. Kennedy in 1960: Illinois, New Jersey, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada and Delaware. This was the last time until 1988 that the state of Washington voted Democratic and until 1992 that Connecticut, Maine, and Michigan voted Democratic in the general election. Nixon was also the last Republican candidate to win a presidential election without carrying Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. This is the first time which the Republican candidate captured the White House without carrying Michigan, Minnesota, Maine and Pennsylvania. He would be the last Republican candidate to carry Minnesota (four years later, in 1972), as of 2024. This is also the first time since 1916 that Minnesota voted for the candidate who did not eventually win.https://www.270towin.com/1916_Election/?m=In+1916,+Woodrow+Wilson+won+the+election+while+losing+Minnesota Presidential Election of 1916 www.270towin.com 1 February 2019 Remarkably, Nixon won the election despite winning only two of the six states (Arizona and South Carolina) won by Republican Barry Goldwater four years earlier. He remains the only presidential candidate to win in spite of defending such a low number of his own party's states. All of the remaining four states carried by Goldwater were carried by Wallace in 1968. They would be won by Nixon in 1972. Four of the fives states won by Wallace had voted for Goldwater.Murphy Paul 1974 Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890-present G. P. Putnam's Sons Of the 3,130 counties/districts/independent cities making returns, Nixon won in 1,859 (59.39%) while Humphrey carried 693 (22.14%). Wallace was victorious in 578 counties (18.47%), all of which (with one exception of Pemiscot County, Missouri) were located in the South. Nixon said that Humphrey left a gracious message congratulating him, noting, "I know exactly how he felt. I know how it feels to lose a close one."http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1968/1968-Presidential-Election/12303153093431-2/ 1968 Year In Review UPI June 17, 2010 July 26, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130726223101/http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1968/1968-Presidential-Election/12303153093431-2/ live Results thumb|right|400px|Election results by countyRed Richard Nixon 1px #AAAAAA solid Blue Hubert Humphrey 1px #AAAAAA solid Lime George Wallace 1px #AAAAAA solid thumb|right|250px|Results by congressional district Nixon's victory is often considered a realigning election in American politics. From 1932 to 1964, the Democratic Party was undoubtedly the majority party, winning seven out of nine presidential elections, and their agenda influenced policies undertaken by the Republican Eisenhower administration. The 1968 election reversed the situation completely. From 1968 until 2004, Republicans won seven out of ten presidential elections, and its policies demonstrably affected those enacted by the Democratic Clinton administration via the Third Way.http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/10/a_realigning_election.html A Realigning Election? RealClearPolitics www.realclearpolitics.com 1 February 2019 February 27, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210227144617/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/10/a_realigning_election.html live The election was a seismic event in the long-term realignment in Democratic Party support, especially in the South.http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/09/09/misunderstanding_the_southern_realignment_107084.html Misunderstanding the Southern Realignment RealClearPolitics.com March 19, 2014 November 7, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131107161039/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/09/09/misunderstanding_the_southern_realignment_107084.html live Nationwide, the bitter splits over civil rights, the new left, the Vietnam War, and other "culture wars" were slow to heal. Democrats could no longer count on White Southern support for the presidency, as Republicans made major gains in suburban areas and areas filled with Northern migrants.The Silent Majority: Suburban Politics in the Sunbelt Lassiter Matthew Princeton University Press 2007 2, 17 The rural Democratic "courthouse cliques" in the South lost power. While Democrats controlled local and state politics in the South, Republicans usually won the presidential vote. Some estimates suggest that Humphrey won less than ten percent of the white vote in the former Confederacy,Gould (1993) p 165; White (1969) p 401 although other sources have placed this figure closer to twenty percent.Black Earl Competing Responses to the New Southern Politics: Republican and Democratic Southern Strategies, 1964-76 Perspectives on the American South: An Annual Review of Society, Politics, and Culture Reed John Shelton Black Merle 2021 Routledge 9781136764882Phillips Kevin P. Kevin Phillips (political commentator) The Emerging Republican Majority 1969 207 0870000586 New Rochelle, New York Arlington House Nevertheless, there is little doubt that a majority of Humphreyʼs support in the former Confederacy came from black voters, who were now voting in full force. From 1968 until 2004, only two Democrats were elected president, both native Southerners – Jimmy Carter of Georgia and Bill Clinton of Arkansas, both of whom won several states in the region. Other Democratic presidential candidates since 1968 have performed very poorly in former confederate states. Virginia has consistently voted Democratic since 2008, after voting Republican from 1968 to 2004. But all Democratic presidential candidates since 2000 combined have only won Florida twice, and North Carolina and Georgia once. The elections in which Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden won these states are also the only other times the party has won the presidency since 1968. No Democrat has ever been elected president without carrying at least one of Georgia or Florida.Michael A. Cohen, American Maelstrom: The 1968 Election and the Politics of Division (2016) Another important result of this election was that it led to several reforms in how the Democratic Party chose its presidential nominees. In 1969, the McGovern–Fraser Commission adopted a set of rules for the states to follow in selecting convention delegates. These rules reduced the influence of party leaders on the nominating process and provided greater representation for minorities, women, and youth. The reforms led most states to adopt laws requiring primary elections, instead of party leaders, to choose delegates.https://poliscinews.wordpress.com/tag/mcgovern-fraser-commission/ McGovern-Fraser Commission Politics Matters 1 February 2019 After 1968, the only way to win the party's presidential nomination became through the primary process; Humphrey was the last nominee of either major party until Kamala Harris in 2024 to win their party's nomination without having directly competed in the primaries. Until Biden withdrew from the race in 2024, this remained the most recent presidential election in which the incumbent president was eligible to run again but was not the eventual nominee of their party. It is also the last election in which any third-party candidate won an entire state's electoral votes, with Wallace carrying five states. Nixon also became the first non-incumbent vice president to be elected president, something that would not happen again until 2020.Azari Julia Julia Azari August 20, 2020 Biden Had To Fight For The Presidential Nomination. But Most VPs Have To. FiveThirtyEight https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/biden-had-to-fight-for-the-presidential-nomination-but-most-vps-have-to/ January 26, 2021 November 17, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201117190453/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/biden-had-to-fight-for-the-presidential-nomination-but-most-vps-have-to/ dead This is one of two times in American history that a former vice president and an incumbent vice president were major party nominees, after 1800.Incumbent president John Adams (a former vice president) ran against incumbent vice president Thomas Jefferson, who defeated Adams and won the election. 2024, this is the last time that all 50 states and the District of Columbia would vote under a winner-take-all system. Maine would begin allocating its electoral votes by congressional district in 1972 and Nebraska would begin doing the same in 1992. This was the first time since 1928 that North Carolina voted for a Republican, and the first since 1912 (only the second and final time since 1852) that Maine and Vermont did not support the same party. Similarly, it is the second of two times that Oregon and Washington did not support the same party since 1920 (the other being in 1948). This was the penultimate time Texas voted Democratic, and the last time it voted for a Democrat who lost the presidential election. Nixon was the first Republican to win the presidency without Michigan and Pennsylvania, these feats reprised by George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. By losing New York, Nixon became the third victorious candidate to lose his home state, which also occurred in 1844, 1916, and 2016. This election and 1916 are the only times a winning presidential and vice-presidential each lost their home state. This is also, as of 2025, the most recent election apart from 2016 (in which both major party nominees were registered in the same state) in which the winner of the electoral college won without winning their home state. Despite the narrow (0.7%) difference in the popular vote, Humphrey took only 35.5% of the electoral vote. This disparity prompted the introduction of the Bayh–Celler amendment in Congress, which would have replaced the Electoral College with a direct election of the presidency. The effort was not successful, and the Electoral College is still in force.http://mentalfloss.com/article/13012/first-and-last-serious-challenge-electoral-college-system The First (And Last) Serious Challenge to the Electoral College System 2014-12-06 mentalfloss.com 1 February 2019 February 2, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190202041849/http://mentalfloss.com/article/13012/first-and-last-serious-challenge-electoral-college-system live Nixon was the first Republican to win only a plurality of the popular vote since 1880; he was the last winning presidential candidate until Bill Clinton in 1992 to do so, and the last winning Republican until Donald Trump in 2024 to do so. Nixon was also the last presidential candidate until Trump in 2024 to successfully make a political comeback by winning an election after losing a previous one. Richard Nixon Republican New York"California 1960" 31,783,783 43.42% 301 Spiro Agnew Maryland Hubert Humphrey Democratic Minnesota 31,271,839 42.72% 191 Edmund Muskie Maine George Wallace American Independent Alabama 9,901,118 13.53% 46A North Carolina faithless Republican elector voted for Wallace/LeMay Curtis LeMay Californiahttp://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_senate_manual&docid=sd001_107-41 Electoral Votes for President and Vice President Senate Manual Government Printing Office 2005 March 14, 2006 October 29, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20111029174917/http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_senate_manual&docid=sd001_107-41 live 243,259 0.33% 73,199,999 538 270Source (Popular Vote): 1968 August 7, 2005Source (Electoral Vote): 1968 August 7, 2005 Popular vote 600px 410px Nixon Republican Party (US) 43.42 Humphrey Democratic Party (US) 42.72 Wallace #ff7f00 13.53 Others #777777 0.33 Electoral vote 600px 410px Nixon Republican Party (US) 55.95 Humphrey Democratic Party (US) 35.50 Wallace #ff7f00 8.55 Geography of results 650px|thumb|left Cartographic gallery Results by state Source:http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1968&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0 1968 Presidential General Election Data – National March 18, 2013 April 7, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230407150234/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1968&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0 live States/districts won by Nixon/AgnewStates/districts won by Humphrey/MuskieStates/districts won by Wallace/LeMay Richard NixonRepublican Hubert H. HumphreyDemocratic George WallaceAmerican Independent MarginMarginswingPercentage point difference in margin from the 1964 election, of Republican over Democrat margins State Total State electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # %% # Alabama 10 146,923 13.99 - 196,579 18.72 - 691,425 65.86 10 -494,846 -47.13 -83.8% 1,049,917 AL Alaska 3 37,600 45.28 3 35,411 42.65 - 10,024 12.07 - 2,189 2.6434.5% 83,035 AK Arizona 5 266,721 54.78 5 170,514 35.02 - 46,573 9.56 - 96,207 19.7618.8% 486,936 AZ Arkansas 6 189,062 31.01 - 184,901 30.33 - 235,627 38.65 6 -46,565 -7.6413.1% 609,590 AR California 40 3,467,664 47.82 40 3,244,318 44.74 - 487,270 6.72 - 223,346 3.0821.4% 7,251,587 CA Colorado 6 409,345 50.46 6 335,174 41.32 - 60,813 7.50 - 74,171 9.1432.2% 811,199 CO Connecticut 8 556,721 44.32 - 621,561 49.48 8 76,650 6.10 - -64,840 -5.1629.5% 1,256,232 CT Delaware 3 96,714 45.12 3 89,194 41.61 - 28,459 13.28 - 7,520 3.5125.7% 214,367 DE D.C. 3 31,012 18.18 - 139,566 81.82 3 - - - -108,554 -63.647.4% 170,578 DC Florida 14 886,804 40.53 14 676,794 30.93 - 624,207 28.53 - 210,010 9.6011.9% 2,187,805 FL Georgia 12 380,111 30.40 - 334,440 26.75 - 535,550 42.83 12 -155,439 -12.43 -11.9% 1,250,266 GA Hawaii 4 91,425 38.70 - 141,324 59.83 4 3,469 1.47 - -49,899 -21.1236.4% 236,218 HI Idaho 4 165,369 56.79 4 89,273 30.66 - 36,541 12.55 - 76,096 26.1328.0% 291,183 ID Illinois 26 2,174,774 47.08 26 2,039,814 44.15 - 390,958 8.46 - 134,960 2.9221.9% 4,619,749 IL Indiana 13 1,067,885 50.29 13 806,659 37.99 - 243,108 11.45 - 261,226 12.3024.7% 2,123,597 IN Iowa 9 619,106 53.01 9 476,699 40.82 - 66,422 5.69 - 142,407 12.1936.2% 1,167,931 IA Kansas 7 478,674 54.84 7 302,996 34.72 - 88,921 10.19 - 175,678 20.1329.2% 872,783 KS Kentucky 9 462,411 43.79 9 397,541 37.65 - 193,098 18.29 - 64,870 6.1434.5% 1,055,893 KY Louisiana 10 257,535 23.47 - 309,615 28.21 - 530,300 48.32 10 -220,685 -20.11 -18.4% 1,097,450 LA Maine 4 169,254 43.07 - 217,312 55.30 4 6,370 1.62 - -48,058 -12.2325.4% 392,936 ME Maryland 10 517,995 41.94 - 538,310 43.59 10 178,734 14.47 - -20,315 -1.6429.3% 1,235,039 MD Massachusetts 14 766,844 32.89 - 1,469,218 63.01 14 87,088 3.73 - -702,374 -30.1222.6% 2,331,752 MA Michigan 21 1,370,665 41.46 - 1,593,082 48.18 21 331,968 10.04 - -222,417 -6.7326.9% 3,306,250 MI Minnesota 10 658,643 41.46 - 857,738 54.00 10 68,931 4.34 - -199,095 -12.5315.2% 1,588,510 MN Mississippi 7 88,516 13.52 - 150,644 23.02 - 415,349 63.46 7 -264,705 -40.44 -4.7% 654,509 MS Missouri 12 811,932 44.87 12 791,444 43.74 - 206,126 11.39 - 20,488 1.1329.2% 1,809,502 MO Montana 4 138,835 50.60 4 114,117 41.59 - 20,015 7.29 - 24,718 9.0127.4% 274,404 MT Nebraska 5 321,163 59.82 5 170,784 31.81 - 44,904 8.36 - 150,379 28.0133.2% 536,851 NE Nevada 3 73,188 47.46 3 60,598 39.29 - 20,432 13.25 - 12,590 8.1625.3% 154,218 NV New Hampshire 4 154,903 52.10 4 130,589 43.93 - 11,173 3.76 - 24,314 8.1836.0% 297,298 NH New Jersey 17 1,325,467 46.10 17 1,264,206 43.97 - 262,187 9.12 - 61,261 2.1333.9% 2,875,395 NJ New Mexico 4 169,692 51.85 4 130,081 39.75 - 25,737 7.86 - 39,611 12.1031.1% 327,281 NM New York 43 3,007,932 44.30 - 3,378,470 49.76 43 358,864 5.29 - -370,538 -5.4631.8% 6,790,066 NY North Carolina 13 627,192 39.51 12 464,113 29.24 - 496,188 31.26 1 131,004 8.2520.6% 1,587,493 NC North Dakota 4 138,669 55.94 4 94,769 38.23 - 14,244 5.75 - 43,900 17.7133.8% 247,882 ND Ohio 26 1,791,014 45.23 26 1,700,586 42.95 - 467,495 11.81 - 90,428 2.2828.2% 3,959,698 OH Oklahoma 8 449,697 47.68 8 301,658 31.99 - 191,731 20.33 - 148,039 15.7027.2% 943,086 OK Oregon 6 408,433 49.83 6 358,866 43.78 - 49,683 6.06 - 49,567 6.0533.8% 819,622 OR Pennsylvania 29 2,090,017 44.02 - 2,259,405 47.59 29 378,582 7.97 - -169,388 -3.5726.6% 4,747,928 PA Rhode Island 4 122,359 31.78 - 246,518 64.03 4 15,678 4.07 - -124,159 -32.2529.5% 385,000 RI South Carolina 8 254,062 38.09 8 197,486 29.61 - 215,430 32.30 - 38,632 5.79 -12.0% 666,982 SC South Dakota 4 149,841 53.27 4 118,023 41.96 - 13,400 4.76 - 31,818 11.3122.5% 281,264 SD Tennessee 11 472,592 37.85 11 351,233 28.13 - 424,792 34.02 - 47,800 3.8314.8% 1,248,617 TN Texas 25 1,227,844 39.87 - 1,266,804 41.14 25 584,269 18.97 - -38,960 -1.2725.6% 3,079,406 TX Utah 4 238,728 56.49 4 156,665 37.07 - 26,906 6.37 - 82,063 19.4229.1% 422,568 UT Vermont 3 85,142 52.75 3 70,255 43.53 - 5,104 3.16 - 14,887 9.2241.8% 161,404 VT Virginia 12 590,319 43.36 12 442,387 32.49 - 321,833 23.64 - 147,932 10.8718.2% 1,361,491 VA Washington 9 588,510 45.12 - 616,037 47.23 9 96,990 7.44 - -27,527 -2.1122.5% 1,304,281 WA West Virginia 7 307,555 40.78 - 374,091 49.60 7 72,560 9.62 - -66,536 -8.8227.1% 754,206 WV Wisconsin 12 809,997 47.89 12 748,804 44.27 - 127,835 7.56 - 61,193 3.6228.0% 1,691,538 WI Wyoming 3 70,927 55.76 3 45,173 35.51 - 11,105 8.73 - 25,754 20.2533.4% 127,205 WY TOTALS: 538 31,783,783 43.42 301 31,271,839 42.72 191 9,901,118 13.53 46 511,944 0.7023.3% 73,199,998 US States that flipped from Democratic to Republican Alaska California Colorado Delaware Florida Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Mexico New Hampshire New Jersey North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon South Dakota Tennessee Utah Virginia Vermont Wisconsin Wyoming States that flipped from Republican to American Independent Georgia Louisiana Alabama Mississippi States that flipped from Democratic to American Independent Arkansas Close states States where margin of victory was less than 5 percentage points (223 electoral votes): 25% Missouri, 1.13% (20,488 votes) Texas, 1.27% (38,960 votes) Maryland, 1.64% (20,315 votes) Washington, 2.11% (27,527 votes) New Jersey, 2.13% (61,261 votes) Ohio, 2.28% (90,428 votes) (tipping point state for Nixon win) Alaska, 2.64% (2,189 votes) Illinois, 2.92% (134,960 votes) (tipping point state for Humphrey win) California, 3.08% (223,346 votes) Delaware, 3.51% (7,520 votes) Pennsylvania, 3.57% (169,388 votes) Wisconsin, 3.62% (61,193 votes) Tennessee, 3.83% (47,800 votes) States where margin of victory was more than 5 percentage points, but less than 10 percentage points (155 electoral votes): 25% Kentucky, 5.14% (64,870 votes) Connecticut, 5.16% (64,840 votes) New York, 5.46% (370,538 votes) South Carolina, 5.79% (38,632 votes) Oregon, 6.05% (49,567 votes) Michigan, 6.73% (222,417 votes) Arkansas, 7.64% (46,565 votes) Nevada, 8.17% (12,590 votes) New Hampshire, 8.17% (24,314 votes) North Carolina, 8.25% (131,004 votes) West Virginia, 8.82% (66,536 votes) Montana, 9.01% (24,718 votes) Colorado, 9.14% (74,171 votes) Vermont, 9.22% (14,887 votes) Florida, 9.60% (210,010 votes) Notes: In Alabama, Wallace was the official Democratic Party nominee, while Humphrey ran on the ticket of short-lived National Democratic Party of Alabama, loyal to him as an official Democratic Party nominee.Wasson Don F. November 3, 1968 Alabamians Must Sort Out Most Confusing Ballot in State History 3 The Selma Times-Journal https://www.newspapers.com/image/571495454/?terms=%22Wallace%22%20%22Humphrey%22%20%22National%20Democratic%20Party%20of%20Alabama%22&match=1 May 16, 2022 May 16, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220516222029/https://www.newspapers.com/image/571495454/?terms=%22Wallace%22%20%22Humphrey%22%20%22National%20Democratic%20Party%20of%20Alabama%22&match=1 live In North Carolina one Nixon Elector cast his ballot for George Wallace (President) and Curtis LeMay (Vice President).http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1968&f=1&off=0&elect=0&fips=37&submit=Retrieve 1968 Presidential General Election Results – North Carolina Uselectionatlas.org November 3, 2008 November 3, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081103102623/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1968&f=1&off=0&elect=0&fips=37&submit=Retrieve live Statistics Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Republican) Hooker County, Nebraska 87.94% Jackson County, Kentucky 84.09% McIntosh County, North Dakota 82.65% McPherson County, South Dakota 80.34% Sioux County, Iowa 80.04%Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Democratic) Duval County, Texas 88.74% Jim Hogg County, Texas 82.06% Washington, D.C. 81.82% Webb County, Texas 79.65% Suffolk County, Massachusetts 75.62%Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (American Independent) Geneva County, Alabama 91.73% George County, Mississippi 91.20% Lamar County, Alabama 88.25% Calhoun County, Mississippi 87.80% Holmes County, Florida 87.21%National voter demographics +2010-07-21 Election Polls -- Vote by Groups, 1968-1972 http://www.gallup.com/poll/9457/election-polls-vote-groups-19681972.aspx 2024-10-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20100721032858/http://www.gallup.com/poll/9457/election-polls-vote-groups-19681972.aspx July 21, 2010 The 1968 presidential vote by demographic subgroupHumphreyNixonWallaceGenderMen414316Women454312AgeUnder 3047381530-4944411550 or Older414712RaceWhite384715Non-White85123ReligionProtestant354916Catholic59338EducationCollege37549High School424315Grade School523315OccupationBusiness345610White Collar414712Manual503515Farmer295120Party IDRepublican9855Democrat741214Independent314425RegionEast50437Midwest44479South313633West44497Union StatusUnion Family562915 NBC sample precincts 1968 election % Humphrey % Nixon % Wallace High income urban 32 63 5 Middle income urban 43 44 13 Low income urban 69 19 12 Rural (all income) 33 46 21 African-American neighborhoods 94 5 1 Italian neighborhoods 51 39 10 Slavic neighborhoods 65 24 11 Jewish neighborhoods 81 17 2 Unionized neighborhoods 61 29 10Source: Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. "Group Analysis of the 1968 Presidential Vote" XXVI, No. 48 (November 1968), p. 3218. Voter demographics in the South NBC sample precincts 1968 election: South only % Humphrey % Nixon % Wallace Middle income urban neighborhoods 28 40 32 Low income urban neighborhoods57 18 25 Rural (all income) 29 30 41 African-American neighborhoods 95 3 2 Hispanic neighborhoods 92 7 1Source:''' Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. "Group Analysis of the 1968 Presidential Vote", XXVI, No. 48 (November 1968), p. 3218. Estimated voting age population Out of the entire population, the Census Bureau in October 1968 estimated that 121.5 million people would be eligible to vote, including those in the military regardless of whether they were serving domestically or abroad. When including the civilian and military population, which were residing in the United States, it was estimated to be 120 million people. With the civilian population, it was estimated to be 118.5 million people would be eligible to vote.https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/1968/demo/p25-406.pdf ESTIMATES OF THE POPULATION VOTING AGE, FOR STATES: NOVEMBER 1, 1968 United States Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. July 13, 2024 April 14, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220414022614/https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/1968/demo/p25-406.pdf live See also 1968 United States House of Representatives elections 1968 United States Senate elections 1968 United States gubernatorial elections History of the United States (1964–1980) History of the United States Democratic Party History of the United States Republican Party List of presidents of the United States First inauguration of Richard Nixon Sources Theodore H. White White Theodore H. The Making of the President 1968 Pocket Books 1970 Notes References Further reading Ambrose Stephen E. Stephen E. Ambrose Nixon: The Education of a Politician: 1962–1972 https://archive.org/details/nixon00ambr registration 1987 Boomhower, Ray E. "Fighting the Good Fight: John Bartlow Martin and Hubert Humphrey's 1968 Presidential Campaign." Indiana Magazine of History (2020) 116#1 pp 1–29. Brown, Stuart Gerry. The Presidency on Trial: Robert Kennedy's 1968 Campaign and Afterwards. U. Press of Hawaii, 1972. 155 pp. Burner, David, and West, Thomas R. The Torch Is Passed: The Kennedy Brothers and American Liberalism. (1984). 307 pp. Carter Dan T. Dan T. Carter The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics 1995 LSU Press 978-0-8071-2597-7 Lewis Chester Hodgson Godfrey Godfrey Hodgson Page Bruce An American Melodrama: The Presidential Campaign of 1968 Viking Press 1969 978-0-670-11991-2 https://archive.org/details/americanmelodram00ches Coffey, Justin P. Spiro Agnew and the Rise of the Republican Right (ABC-CLIO, 2015). Cohen, Michael A. American Maelstrom: The 1968 Election and the Politics of Division (Oxford UP, 2016) excerpt and online review Converse Philip E. Philip Converse Warren Miller (political scientist) Miller Warren E. Rusk Jerrold G. Wolfe Arthur C. 1969 Continuity And Change In American Politics: Parties and Issues in the 1968 Election American Political Science Review 63 4 1083–1105 1955073 10.2307/1955073 54762012 Farber David Chicago '68 University of Chicago Press 1988 978-0-226-23800-5 https://archive.org/details/chicago6800farb Gould Lewis L. Lewis L. Gould 1968: The Election that Changed America https://archive.org/details/1968electionthat0000goul registration Ivan R. Dee 1993 978-1-56663-010-8 Herzog, Arthur. McCarthy for President (1969) Jamieson, Patrick E. "Seeing the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidency through the March 31, 1968 Withdrawal Speech." Presidential Studies Quarterly Vol 29#1 1999 pp. 134+ Johnstone, Andrew, and Andrew Priest, eds. US Presidential Elections and Foreign Policy: Candidates, Campaigns, and Global Politics from FDR to Bill Clinton (2017) pp 177–202. online Kimball, Warren F. "The Election of 1968." Diplomatic History 2004 28(4): 513–528. 0145-2096 Fulltext online in SwetsWise, Ingenta and Ebsco. Comments by others at pp. 563–576; reply, p. 577. Kogin Michael Wallace and the Middle Class Public Opinion Quarterly 30 1 98 Spring 1966 10.1086/267384 LaFerber, Walter. The Deadly Bet: LBJ, Vietnam, and the 1968 Election (2005) short survey Lesher, Stephan. George Wallace: American Populist. (1994). 587 pp. Lichtenstein, Nelson, ed. Political Profiles: The Johnson Years. 1976. short biographies of 400+ key politicians. Longley, Kyle. LBJ's 1968: Power, Politics, and the Presidency in America's Year of Upheaval (2018) excerpt Mayer Jeremy D. 143272460 2002 Nixon Rides the Backlash to Victory: Racial Politics in the 1968 Presidential Campaign Historian 64 3 351–366 10.1111/j.1540-6563.2002.tb01487.x Nelson, Michael. Resilient America: Electing Nixon in 1968, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government (University Press of Kansas; 2014) 360 pages Nelson, Michael. "The Historical Presidency: Lost Confidence: The Democratic Party, the Vietnam War, and the 1968 Election." Presidential Studies Quarterly 48.3 (2018): 570–585. Nichter, Luke. The Year That Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968 (Yale University Press, 2023) Six scholars evaluate this book, and Nichter responds O'Mara, Margaret. Pivotal Tuesdays: Four Elections That Shaped the Twentieth Century (2015), compares 1912, 1932, 1968, 1992 in terms of social, economic, and political history Richardson Darcy G. A Nation Divided: The 1968 Presidential Campaign 2002 iUniverse 978-0-595-23699-2 Rising George Clean for Gene: Eugene McCarthy's 1968 Presidential Campaign Praeger Publishers 1997 978-0-275-95841-1 Savage Sean J. JFK, LBJ, and the Democratic Party SUNY Albany Press 2004 978-0-7914-6169-3 https://archive.org/details/jfklbjdemocratic00sava_0 Schlesinger Arthur M. Jr. Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Robert Kennedy and His Times https://archive.org/details/robertkenn00schl registration Houghton Mifflin 1978 978-0-395-24897-3 Schumacher, Michael. The Contest: The 1968 Election and the War for America's Soul (U of Minnesota Press, 2018) 540 pp. online review Shesol, Jeff. Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, and the Feud that Defined a Decade (1997) Small, Melvin. "The Election of 1968", Diplomatic History (2004) 28#4 pp 513–528, on foreign-policy issues online Solberg, Carl. Hubert Humphrey (2003), scholarly biography excerpt and text search Time. "Wallace's Army: The Coalition Of Frustration", Time October 18, 1968 Unger Irwin Irwin Unger Unger Debi Turning Point: 1968 Scribner's 1988 978-0-684-18696-2 https://archive.org/details/turningpoint196800unge Woods, Randall. LBJ: Architect of American Ambition (2006) Primary sources Chester, Edward W. A guide to political platforms (1977) online Gallup, George H., ed. The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935–1971. 3 vols. Random House, 1972. press releases; Humphrey Hubert H. The Education of a Public Man: My Life and Politics https://archive.org/details/educationofpubli00hump registration Doubleday 1976 978-0-8166-1897-2 McCarthy, Eugene. The Year of the People (1969), memoir McGinniss Joe Joe McGinniss The Selling of the President 1968 https://archive.org/details/sellingofpresid00mcgi registration Trident Press 1969 978-0-671-82249-1; firsthand reporting Richard M. Nixon Richard Nixon 1978 RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon Simon & Schuster 978-0-671-70741-5 online Porter, Kirk H., and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. National party platforms, 1840-1972'' (1973) White Theodore H. The Making of the President—1968 Atheneum 1969 978-0-224-61796-3 registration https://archive.org/details/makingofpresiden0000whit_z6y4, famous report by American journalist External links The Election Wall's 1968 Election Video Page https://web.archive.org/web/20210813192722/http://electionwall.org/1968.php August 13, 2021 1968 popular vote by counties 1968 popular vote by states 1968 popular vote by states (with bar graphs) Campaign commercials from the 1968 election "LBJ Tapes Implicate Nixon With Treason". ABC News. December 5, 2008, (video). Election of 1968 in Counting the Votes https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215841/http://www.countingthevotes.com/1968/ March 3, 2016 Category:Presidency of Richard Nixon Category:Spiro Agnew Category:Richard Nixon Category:Hubert Humphrey Category:George Wallace Presidential election