1964 Republican National Convention

Political convention of the Republican Party February 2026 1964 Republican 1964 RNC logo.png 150px RP1964.png 125 RV1964.png 125 NomineesGoldwater and Miller July 13–16, 1964 Daly City, California Cow Palace Thruston Ballard Morton Richard M. NixonNelson Rockefeller Barry Goldwater Arizona William E. Miller New York Nelson RockefellerWilliam Scranton 1,308 655 Goldwater (AZ): 883 (67.50%)Scranton (PA): 214 (16.36%)Rockefeller (NY): 114 (8.72%) Miller (NY): 100% (Roll call) 1 1960 1968 The 1964 Republican National Convention took place in the Cow Palace, Daly City, California, from July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had been only one national Republican convention on the West Coast, the 1956 Republican National Convention, which also took place in the Cow Palace. Many believed that a convention in San Francisco indicated the rising power of the Republican Party in the west.Stephen Shadegg Stephen Shadegg What Happened to Goldwater? The Inside Story of the 1964 Republican Campaign NY Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1965 134 9780878370115 https://books.google.com/books?id=--FAAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA134 Political context The Republican primaries of 1964 featured liberal Nelson Rockefeller of New York and conservative Barry Goldwater of Arizona as the two leading candidates. Shortly before the California primary, Rockefeller's wife, whom he had married the previous year after divorcing his first wife, gave birth.Davies Lawrence E. June 4, 1964 Goldwater, Narrowly Beating Rockefeller, Sets California G.O.P. on a New Course https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/04/archives/goldwater-narrowly-beating-rockefeller-sets-california-gop-on-a-new.html The New York Times New York, NY 22 TimesMachine This event drew renewed attention to Rockefeller's family life, which hurt his popularity among conservatives. Rockefeller's divorce and remarriage were viewed by many observers as helping Goldwater win the primary. An anti-Goldwater organization called for the nomination of Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania, but the effort failed. Although former President Dwight Eisenhower only reluctantly supported Goldwater after he won the nomination, former President Herbert Hoover gave him enthusiastic endorsement. By the end of the primaries, Goldwater's nomination was secure. Senator Margaret Chase Smith's name was entered for nomination at the convention, the first time a woman's name was entered for nomination at a major party convention. The convention The Republican National Convention of 1964 was a tension-filled contest. Goldwater's conservatives were openly clashing with Rockefeller's moderates. Goldwater was regarded as the "conservatives' leading spokesman."The New York Times Election Handbook 1964 New York McGraw Hill 1964 65 https://books.google.com/books?id=46IcuAAACAAJ&pg=PA65 As a result, Goldwater was not as popular with the moderates and liberals of the Republican Party.Leon D. Epstein Austin Ranney Who Voted for Goldwater: The Wisconsin Case Political Science Quarterly 1966 81 1 82–94 [p. 85] 10.2307/2146862 2146862 Mattar Edward Paul Barry Goldwater: A Political Indictment Minneapolis Century Twenty One Unlimited 1964 84–7 When Rockefeller attempted to deliver a speech, he was booed by the convention's conservative delegates, who regarded him as a member of the "eastern liberal establishment." thumb|Governor Mark Hatfield appears before the convention in the Cow Palace.|left Former vice president and GOP presidential nominee (and future President) Richard Nixon introduced Goldwater as "Mr. Conservative" and "Mr. Republican" and continued that "he is the man who, after the greatest campaign in history, will be Mr. President — Barry Goldwater".nQGEgH7pU58 Conservatives Re-Take the R...March 2016 1964 was the only Republican convention between 1952 and 1972 that did not result in Nixon being nominated for president or vice-president. The newly opened San Francisco Hilton served as the headquarters of the convention.Sawislak Arnold Democrats chose San Francisco today as the site of... https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/04/21/Democrats-chose-San-Fransisco-today-as-the-site-of/6377419749200/ UPI 3 February 2022 en April 21, 1983 Civil Rights Movement The 1964 Republican National Convention exposed the party's deep resentment towards the civil right's movement and the widening divide over civil rights within the GOP. As the fight for racial equality reached its most critical moment, leading Republicans who defended civil rights were shouted down, mocked, and marginalized. New York Governor, Nelson Rockefeller, a long-time advocate for social justice, warned of "the extremist threat" growing within his own party and fought to keep the GOP "the party of all people." The rejection of Rockefeller's message symbolized the Republican Party's turn away from its historic association with racial equality and toward a brand of conservatism that many African Americans viewed as openly hostile.https://time.com/6991064/rnc-history-1964-republican-convention/ The Republican National Convention That Shocked the Country July 17, 2024 TIME Jackie Robinson, attending as a delegate for Rockefeller, personally witnessed this hostility. According to the Jackie Robinson Museum, the experience transformed his political outlook; he later said he felt "like a black man in the wrong place." For Robinson and countless other Black Americans, the convention confirmed that the GOP had abandoned its role as the party of Lincoln. As civil rights leaders celebrated the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the events at the Cow Palace made clear that the Republican Party was moving in a direction that would alienate Black voters for generations.https://www.jackierobinsonmuseum.org/learn/stories/jackie-and-the-1964-republican-national-convention/ Jackie and the 1964 Republican National Convention That same summer, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been signed into law, outlawing segregation in public facilities and prohibiting discrimination in employment and education. Instead of uniting behind this achievement, the Republican Party split sharply. Barry Goldwater, the party's presidential nominee, voted against this act, claiming it would lead to the "destruction of free society." His opposition appealed to white voters resistant to racial change and marked a decisive break from the party's historic commitment to civil rights. As Time reports, Goldwater's stance offered a clear signal that "liberty and justice were reserved for White Americans like them."Holden James July 15, 2024 The Republican National Convention That Shocked the Country https://time.com/6991064/rnc-history-1964-republican-convention/ October 8, 2025 Time Platform thumbnail|A Platform Committee meeting held ahead of the convention in on July 9 The 1964 Republican Platform was dominated by Goldwater conservatives, which meant the platform was dominated by calls for limited government, condemnations of the Kennedy and Johnson foreign and domestic policy, calls for more open space for free enterprise, a hard-line against Communist North Vietnam, calls for reform of the United Nations, a staunch support of NATO, calls for lower taxes, a hard line against international Communism, and an accusation that the Kennedy Administration was guilty of Munich-like appeasement for having opened a hotline with the Soviet Union and not with American allies.http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25840 Republican Party Platforms: Republican Party Platform of 1964 www.presidency.ucsb.edu 1 April 2018 Presidential nomination Presidential candidates Despite political infighting, Goldwater was easily nominated on a revised first ballot. In his acceptance speech, Goldwater declared communism as a "principal disturber of the peace in the world today" and said, "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." Some people, including those within his own campaign staff, believed this weakened Goldwater's chances, as he effectively severed ties with the moderates and liberals of the Republican Party.White Clifton F. Suite 3505: The Story of the Draft Goldwater Movement New Rochelle Arlington House 1967 15 https://books.google.com/books?id=QOB4AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA15 As delegates celebrated Goldwater's nomination, Republican officials attempted to clear reporters from the convention floor.August 17, 2020 1964: NBC reporter arrested on air https://wcfcourier.com/news/1964-nbc-reporter-arrested-on-air/image_3c9d3532-0db3-5a15-a526-5e03ef5f692e.html The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier Waterloo, IA NBC reporter John Chancellor refused to leave and was escorted from the convention by police officers, leading to his famous signoff, "This is John Chancellor, somewhere in custody!" According to Emmy award-winning television journalist, Belva Davis, she and another black reporter were chased out of the convention by attendees yelling racial slurs.http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/19/4272687/the-reading-rack.html https://archive.today/20130201174509/http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/19/4272687/the-reading-rack.html dead February 1, 2013 The Reading Rack E3 Sacramento Bee Ginger Rutland February 19, 2012 November 14, 2012 States (1st ballot - before shifts) Goldwater Scranton Rockefeller Romney Smith Judd Fong Lodge Alabama 20 Alaska 8 2 1 1 Arizona 16 Arkansas 9 2 1 California 86 Colorado 15 3 Connecticut 4 12 Delaware 7 5 Florida 32 2 Georgia 22 2 Hawaii 4 4 Idaho 14 Illinois 56 2 Indiana 21 Iowa 14 10 Kansas 18 1 1 Kentucky 21 3 Louisiana 20 Maine 14 Maryland 6 13 1 Massachusetts 5 26 1 2 Michigan 8 40 Minnesota 8 18 Mississippi 13 Missouri 23 1 Montana 14 Nebraska 16 Nevada 6 New Hampshire 14 New Jersey 20 20 New Mexico 14 New York 5 87 North Carolina 26 North Dakota 7 1 3 3 Ohio 57 1 Oklahoma 22 Oregon 18 Pennsylvania 4 60 Rhode Island 3 11 South Carolina 16 South Dakota 12 2 Tennessee 28 Texas 56 Utah 14 Vermont 3 2 2 5 Virginia 29 1 Washington 22 1 1 West Virginia 10 2 2 Wisconsin 30 Wyoming 12 District of Columbia 4 5 Puerto Rico 5 U.S. Virgin Islands 3 Total 883 214 114 41 27 22 5 2 Presidential ballotingCandidate1st (before shifts) 1st (after shifts)Goldwater8831,220Scranton 21450Rockefeller 1146Romney 411Smith 2722Judd 221Fong 51Lodge 20Not voting 07 Presidential balloting / 3rd day of convention (July 15, 1964) Vice presidential nomination Vice presidential candidates William E. Miller, a representative from Western New York who had served as chairman of the Republican National Committee since 1961, was nominated unanimously on a roll call vote. Goldwater stated that he chose Miller to be his running mate simply because "he drives Johnson nuts" with his Republican activism.Rick Perlstein https://books.google.com/books?id=DG3BE0C0VkAC&pg=PA389 Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus 2002 389 PublicAffairs 9780786744152 Google Books However, by some other accounts, Johnson "was barely aware of Miller's existence." Miller's Eastern roots and Catholic faith balanced the ticket in some ways, however ideologically he was conservative like Goldwater. His relative obscurity—"he was better known for snipes at President Kennedy than for anything else"—gave birth to the refrain "Here's a riddle, it's a killer / Who the hell is William Miller?" He was replaced as Chairman of the RNC by Dean Burch, a Goldwater loyalist from Arizona. Vice presidential ballotingCandidate1stMiller1,305Abstained3 Vice presidential balloting / 4th day of convention (July 16, 1964) See also History of the United States Republican Party List of Republican National Conventions United States presidential nominating convention 1964 Democratic National Convention 1964 United States presidential election Barry Goldwater 1964 presidential campaign References 30em External links Republican Party platform of 1964 at The American Presidency Project Goldwater nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC (transcript) at The American Presidency Project 1964 Republican National ConventionAugust 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes at Smithsonian Magazine Video of Goldwater nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC from C-SPAN (via YouTube) https://web.archive.org/web/20161107121855/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFSiyueal7Q 2016-11-07 Audio of Goldwater nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC 1960Chicago, Illinois Republican National Conventions 1968Miami Beach, Florida Republican National Convention Republican National Convention Republican National Convention Category:Events of the civil rights movement Republican National Convention Category:United States presidential nominating conventions in California Category:Political events in the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Republican National Conventions Category:Republican Party (United States) events in California Republican National Convention Category:Organized events in Daly City, California Category:1960s political conferences Category:Nelson Rockefeller Category:George W. 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