1968 United States presidential election
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538 members of the Electoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 62.5%[1] 0.3 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 electoral votes cast by each state. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1968 U.S. presidential election | |
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The 1968 United States presidential election was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated both the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, former Alabama governor George Wallace. This was the last election until 1988 in which the incumbent president was not on the ballot. This was also the last election where a third-party candidate received an electoral vote.
Incumbent president
The support of civil rights by the Johnson administration hurt Humphrey's image in the South, leading the prominent Democratic governor of Alabama, George Wallace, to mount a third-party challenge against his own party to defend racial segregation on the basis of "states’ rights". Wallace led a far-right
During most of the campaign, Humphrey trailed Nixon significantly in polls taken from late August to early October, with some polls predicting a margin of victory of as high as 16% as late as August. In the final month of the campaign, however, Humphrey managed to narrow Nixon's lead 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 on election day, with just over 500,000 votes (0.7%) separating him and Humphrey. In the electoral college, however, Nixon's victory was much larger; he carried the tipping point state of California by over 230,000 votes (3.08%), and his overall margin of victory in the electoral college was 110 votes. This was the first presidential election after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which had resulted in growing restoration of the franchise for racial minorities, especially in the South, where most had been disenfranchised since the turn of the century. Minorities in other areas also regained their ability to vote.[2]
Nixon also became the first non-incumbent vice president to be elected president, something that would not happen again until 2020, when Joe Biden was elected president.[3] This also remains the most recent election in which the incumbent president was eligible to run again but was not the eventual nominee of that person's party. Nixon's victory also commenced the Republican Party's lock on certain Western states that would vote for them in every election until 1988, allowing them to win the presidency in five of the six presidential elections that took place in that period.
Background
In the
The Vietnam War was the primary reason for the precipitous decline of President Johnson's popularity. He had escalated U.S. commitment so 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.[6] But 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,
Republican Party nomination
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Pre-vice presidency 36th Vice President of the United States Post-vice presidency 37th President of the United States
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Post-presidency Presidential campaigns Vice presidential campaigns
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1968 Republican Party ticket | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Richard Nixon | Spiro Agnew | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961) |
55th Governor of Maryland (1967–1969) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 race | |||
Ronald Reagan | Nelson Rockefeller | Harold Stassen | George W. Romney |
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Governor of California (1967–1975) |
Governor of New York (1959–1973) |
Former president of the University of Pennsylvania (1948–1953) |
Governor of Michigan (1963–1969) |
Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | |
Lost nomination: August 8, 1968 1,696,632 votes |
Lost nomination: August 8, 1968 164,340 votes |
Lost nomination: August 8, 1968 31,665 votes |
Withdrew: February 28, 1968 4,447 votes |
Primaries
The front-runner for the Republican nomination was former Vice President Richard Nixon, who formally began campaigning in January 1968.[8] 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.[9] But, 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.[10]
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. He no longer sought the presidential nomination.[11]
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
By early spring, California governor Ronald Reagan the 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:
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Republican Convention
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
President | (before switches) | (after switches) | Vice President | Vice-Presidential votes |
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Richard Nixon | 692 | 1238 | Spiro Agnew | 1119 |
Nelson Rockefeller | 277 | 93 | George W. Romney | 186 |
Ronald Reagan | 182 | 2 | John V. Lindsay |
10 |
James A. Rhodes |
55 | — | Massachusetts senator Edward Brooke | 1 |
Michigan governor George W. Romney | 50 | — | James A. Rhodes |
1 |
Clifford Case |
22 | — | not voting | 16 |
Kansas senator Frank Carlson | 20 | — | — | |
Arkansas governor Winthrop Rockefeller | 18 | — | — | |
Hawaii senator Hiram Fong | 14 | — | — | |
Harold Stassen | 2 | — | — | |
New York City mayor John V. Lindsay |
1 | — | — |
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 ticket | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hubert Humphrey | Edmund Muskie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
38th Vice President of the United States (1965–1969) |
U.S. Senator from Maine (1959–1980) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 race | ||||||||
Eugene McCarthy | George McGovern | Channing E. Phillips | Lester Maddox | Robert F. Kennedy | Lyndon B. Johnson | |||
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U.S. senator from Minnesota (1959–1971) |
U.S. senator from South Dakota (1963–1981) |
Reverend at Lincoln Temple from Washington, D.C. |
Governor of Georgia (1967–1971) |
U.S. senator from New York (1965–1968) |
36th President of the United States (1963–1969) | |||
Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | ||||
Lost nomination: August 29, 1968 2,914,933 votes |
Lost nomination: August 29, 1968 0 votes |
Lost nomination: August 29, 1968 0 votes |
Withdrew and endorsed George Wallace: August 28, 1968 0 votes |
Assassinated: June 5, 1968 2,305,148 votes |
Withdrew: March 31, 1968 383,590 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
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.
In time, only Senator
Johnson withdraws
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.[21] 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 the President trailing badly.[22]
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.[23] 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.[24] Randall Bennett Woods said Johnson realized he needed to leave, in order for the nation to heal.[25] 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.[26] 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".[27]
In 2009, an AP reporter said that Johnson decided to end his re-election bid after CBS News anchor
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 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 President 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, Hispanic Americans, and other minorities, as well as several 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.[33] 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.[34] 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.[35]
Contest
After Johnson's withdrawal,
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
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.[39] 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.'"[40] 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.[41] The journalist Richard Reeves and historian Michael Beschloss have both written that Humphrey was the likely nominee,[42] 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.[43]
At the moment of RFK's death, the delegate totals were:
- Hubert Humphrey – 561
- Robert F. Kennedy – 393
- Eugene McCarthy – 258
Total popular vote:[44]
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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
When the
After the delegates nominated Humphrey, the convention then turned to selecting a vice-presidential nominee. The main candidates for this position were Senators
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 one national convention has been held there (the Democratic convention of 1996, which nominated Bill Clinton for a second term, while the Democratic convention of 2024 is scheduled to host in Chicago).[45]
Presidential tally | Vice Presidential tally | ||
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Hubert Humphrey | 1759.25 | Edmund S. Muskie |
1942.5 |
Eugene McCarthy | 601 | Not Voting | 604.25 |
George S. McGovern |
146.5 | Julian Bond | 48.5 |
Channing Phillips |
67.5 | David Hoeh | 4 |
Daniel K. Moore |
17.5 | Edward M. Kennedy |
3.5 |
Edward M. Kennedy |
12.75 | Eugene McCarthy | 3.0 |
Paul W. "Bear" Bryant | 1.5 | Others | 16.25 |
James H. Gray | 0.5 | ||
George Wallace | 0.5 |
Source: Keating Holland, "All the Votes... Really", CNN[46]
Endorsements
Hubert Humphrey
- President Lyndon B. Johnson
- Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago
- Former President Harry S. Truman
- Singer/actor Frank Sinatra
Robert F. Kennedy
- Senator Abraham Ribicoff from Connecticut[47]
- Senator George McGovern from South Dakota[48]
- Senator Vance Hartke from Indiana[49]
- Labor Leader Cesar Chavez
- Writer Truman Capote[50]
- Writer Norman Mailer
- Actress Shirley MacLaine[50]
- Actress Stefanie Powers
- Actor Robert Vaughn
- Actor Peter Lawford
- Singer Bobby Darin[51]
Eugene McCarthy
- Representative Don Edwards from California
- Actor Paul Newman
- Actress Tallulah Bankhead[50]
- Playwright Arthur Miller[50]
- Writer William Styron[50]
George McGovern (during convention)
- Senator Abraham Ribicoff from Connecticut
- Governor Harold E. Hughes of Iowa
American Independent Party nomination
1968 American Independent Party ticket | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
George Wallace | Curtis LeMay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Governor of Alabama (1963–1967) |
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (1961–1965) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
Wallace was not expected to win the election – his strategy was to prevent either major party candidate from winning a preliminary majority in the
Prior to deciding on LeMay, Wallace gave serious consideration to former U.S. senator, governor, and Baseball Commissioner A. B.
LeMay embarrassed Wallace's campaign in the fall by suggesting that
Other parties and candidates
Also on the ballot in two or more states were black activist
General election
Polling
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Poll source | Date | Richard Nixon Republican |
Hubert Humphrey Democratic |
George Wallace American Ind. |
Undecided/Other | Leading by (points) |
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Election Results | November 5, 1968 | 43.42% | 42.72% | 13.53% | 0.33% | 0.70 |
Harris[58] | November 4, 1968 | 40% | 43% | 13% | 4% | 3 |
Gallup[59] | November 4, 1968 | 42% | 40% | 14% | 4% | 2 |
Harris[60] | November 1, 1968 | 40% | 37% | 16% | 7% | 3 |
Gallup[61] | October 24, 1968 | 44% | 36% | 15% | 5% | 8 |
Harris[62] | October 18, 1968 | 40% | 35% | 18% | 7% | 5 |
Gallup[63] | October 9, 1968 | 44% | 29% | 20% | 7% | 8 |
Gallup[64] | September 29, 1968 | 43% | 28% | 21% | 8% | 15 |
Harris[65] | September 23, 1968 | 39% | 31% | 21% | 9% | 8 |
Gallup[66] | September 11, 1968 | 43% | 31% | 19% | 7% | 12 |
Harris[67] | August 27, 1968 | 40% | 34% | 17% | 9% | 6 |
Gallup[68] | August 21, 1968 | 45% | 29% | 18% | 8% | 16 |
Harris[69][70] | July 31, 1968 | 36% | 41% | 16% | 7% | 5 |
Crossley[69][71] | July 31, 1968 | 39% | 36% | 19% | 6% | 3 |
Gallup[72] | July 31, 1968 | 40% | 38% | 16% | 6% | 2 |
Harris[73][67] | July 20, 1968 | 35% | 37% | 17% | 11% | 2 |
Gallup[74] | July 11, 1968 | 35% | 40% | 16% | 9% | 5 |
Harris[75] | June 24, 1968 | - | - | - | - | 7 |
Gallup[76] | June 23, 1968 | 37% | 42% | 14% | 7% | 5 |
Gallup[77] | June 12, 1968 | 36% | 42% | 14% | 8% | 6 |
Harris[78] | May 23, 1968 | 37% | 41% | 14% | 8% | 4 |
Gallup[79] | May 12, 1968 | 39% | 36% | 14% | 11% | 3 |
Harris[80] | May 6, 1968 | 36% | 38% | 13% | 13% | 2 |
Gallup[81] | April 21, 1968 | 43% | 34% | 14% | 9% | 9 |
Harris[82] | April 6, 1968 | 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, 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.[83]
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
Campaign themes
Nixon campaigned on a theme to restore "
During the campaign, Nixon also used as a theme his opposition to the decisions of Chief Justice
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
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
In October, Humphrey—who was rising sharply in the polls due to the sharp decline of the Wallace polling—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.[94]
Nixon campaign sabotage of peace talks
The Nixon campaign had anticipated a possible "
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.[99]
Nixon asked Anna Chennault to be his "channel to Mr. Thieu" in order to advise him to refuse participation in the talks, in what is sometimes described as the "Anna Chennault Affair".[100] Thieu was promised a better deal under a Nixon administration.[101][100] 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."[102] In 1997, Chennault admitted that, "I was constantly in touch with Nixon and Mitchell".[103] 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".[104]
Johnson learned of the Nixon-Chennault effort because the NSA was intercepting communications in Vietnam.[105] In response, Johnson ordered NSA surveillance of Chennault and wire-tapped the South Vietnamese embassy and members of the Nixon campaign.[106] He did not leak the information to the public because he did not want to "shock America" with the revelation,[107] nor reveal that the NSA was intercepting communications in Vietnam.[108] 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.[109] The South Vietnamese government withdrew from peace negotiations, and Nixon publicly offered to go to Saigon to help the negotiations.[110] A promising "peace bump" ended up in "shambles" for the Democratic Party.[108]
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, Ohio, and Illinois, 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 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.[111]
Richard Nixon was able to win the Electoral College, dominating several regions in the
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 2020.[112] This is also the first time since 1916 that Minnesota voted for the candidate who did not eventually win.[113]
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.[111][112] Four of the fives states won by Wallace had voted for Goldwater.[114]
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.[111]
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."[115]
Results
Nixon's victory is often considered a
The election was a seismic event in the long-term realignment in Democratic Party support, especially in the South.[117] 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.[118] 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,[119] although other sources have placed this figure closer to twenty percent.[120][121] 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. Not until 2008 did a Northern Democrat, Barack Obama of Illinois, again win a presidential election. In 2020, another Northern Democrat, Joe Biden of Delaware, won a presidential election.[112][122]
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.[123]
After 1968, the only way to win the party's presidential nomination became through the primary process; Humphrey turned out to be the last nominee of either major party to win his party's nomination without having directly competed in the primaries. Interestingly, this remains the most recent presidential election in which the incumbent president was not nominated for a presidential term despite being eligible, and the only such election to occur after the Twenty-second Amendment came into effect. It is also the last election in which any third-party candidate won an entire state's electoral votes, with Wallace carrying five states.[112] 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. As of 2022[update], 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 election was the last time until 1992 that the Democratic nominee won Connecticut, Maine, and Michigan and the last until 1988 that Washington voted Democratic, and the last time a Republican won the presidency without winning Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.[112] It was also the first time since 1888 that bellwether Coös County, New Hampshire did not support the winning candidate.[124] Nixon became the first Republican to win without Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Maine. Minnesota had not voted for the losing candidate since 1916.
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). 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 states.
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
Results
Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Electoral vote |
Running mate | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | Percentage | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote | ||||
Richard Nixon | Republican
|
New York[a] | 31,783,783 | 43.42% | 301 | Spiro Agnew | Maryland | 301 |
Hubert Humphrey | Democratic
|
Minnesota | 31,271,839 | 42.72% | 191 | Edmund Muskie | Maine | 191 |
George Wallace | American Independent | Alabama | 9,901,118 | 13.53% | 46[e] | Curtis LeMay | California[126] | 46[e] |
Other | 243,259 | 0.33% | — | Other | — | |||
Total | 73,199,999 | 100% | 538 | 538 | ||||
Needed to win | 270 | 270 |
Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. "1968 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 7, 2005. Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved August 7, 2005.
Geography of results
-
Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote
-
Results by district, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote
Cartographic gallery
-
Presidential election results by county
-
Republican presidential election results by county
-
Democratic presidential election results by county
-
American Independent presidential election results by county
-
"Other" presidential election results by county
-
Cartogram of presidential election results by county
-
Cartogram of Republican presidential election results by county
-
Cartogram of Democratic presidential election results by county
-
Cartogram of American Independent presidential election results by county
-
Cartogram of "Other" presidential election results by county
Results by state
Source: [127]
States/districts won by Nixon/Agnew |
States/districts won by Humphrey/Muskie |
States/districts won by Wallace/LeMay |
Richard Nixon Republican |
Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic |
George Wallace American Independent |
Margin | Margin swing[f] |
State Total | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State | electoral votes |
# | % | electoral votes |
# | % | electoral votes |
# | % | electoral votes |
# | % | % | # | |
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 | 2.64 | 34.5% | 83,035 | AK |
Arizona | 5 | 266,721 | 54.78 | 5 | 170,514 | 35.02 | - | 46,573 | 9.56 | - | 96,207 | 19.76 | 18.8% | 486,936 | AZ |
Arkansas | 6 | 189,062 | 31.01 | - | 184,901 | 30.33 | - | 235,627 | 38.65 | 6 | -46,565 | -7.64 | 13.1% | 609,590 | AR |
California | 40 | 3,467,664 | 47.82 | 40 | 3,244,318 | 44.74 | - | 487,270 | 6.72 | - | 223,346 | 3.08 | 21.4% | 7,251,587 | CA |
Colorado | 6 | 409,345 | 50.46 | 6 | 335,174 | 41.32 | - | 60,813 | 7.50 | - | 74,171 | 9.14 | 32.2% | 811,199 | CO |
Connecticut | 8 | 556,721 | 44.32 | - | 621,561 | 49.48 | 8 | 76,650 | 6.10 | - | -64,840 | -5.16 | 29.5% | 1,256,232 | CT |
Delaware | 3 | 96,714 | 45.12 | 3 | 89,194 | 41.61 | - | 28,459 | 13.28 | - | 7,520 | 3.51 | 25.7% | 214,367 | DE |
D.C. | 3 | 31,012 | 18.18 | - | 139,566 | 81.82 | 3 | - | - | - | -108,554 | -63.64 | 7.4% | 170,578 | DC |
Florida | 14 | 886,804 | 40.53 | 14 | 676,794 | 30.93 | - | 624,207 | 28.53 | - | 210,010 | 9.60 | 11.9% | 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 | -21.12 | 36.4% | 236,218 | HI |
Idaho | 4 | 165,369 | 56.79 | 4 | 89,273 | 30.66 | - | 36,541 | 12.55 | - | 76,096 | 26.13 | 28.0% | 291,183 | ID |
Illinois | 26 | 2,174,774 | 47.08 | 26 | 2,039,814 | 44.15 | - | 390,958 | 8.46 | - | 134,960 | 2.92 | 21.9% | 4,619,749 | IL |
Indiana | 13 | 1,067,885 | 50.29 | 13 | 806,659 | 37.99 | - | 243,108 | 11.45 | - | 261,226 | 12.30 | 24.7% | 2,123,597 | IN |
Iowa | 9 | 619,106 | 53.01 | 9 | 476,699 | 40.82 | - | 66,422 | 5.69 | - | 142,407 | 12.19 | 36.2% | 1,167,931 | IA |
Kansas | 7 | 478,674 | 54.84 | 7 | 302,996 | 34.72 | - | 88,921 | 10.19 | - | 175,678 | 20.13 | 29.2% | 872,783 | KS |
Kentucky | 9 | 462,411 | 43.79 | 9 | 397,541 | 37.65 | - | 193,098 | 18.29 | - | 64,870 | 6.14 | 34.5% | 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 | -12.23 | 25.4% | 392,936 | ME |
Maryland | 10 | 517,995 | 41.94 | - | 538,310 | 43.59 | 10 | 178,734 | 14.47 | - | -20,315 | -1.64 | 29.3% | 1,235,039 | MD |
Massachusetts | 14 | 766,844 | 32.89 | - | 1,469,218 | 63.01 | 14 | 87,088 | 3.73 | - | -702,374 | -30.12 | 22.6% | 2,331,752 | MA |
Michigan | 21 | 1,370,665 | 41.46 | - | 1,593,082 | 48.18 | 21 | 331,968 | 10.04 | - | -222,417 | -6.73 | 26.9% | 3,306,250 | MI |
Minnesota | 10 | 658,643 | 41.46 | - | 857,738 | 54.00 | 10 | 68,931 | 4.34 | - | -199,095 | -12.53 | 15.2% | 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 | 1.13 | 29.2% | 1,809,502 | MO |
Montana | 4 | 138,835 | 50.60 | 4 | 114,117 | 41.59 | - | 20,015 | 7.29 | - | 24,718 | 9.01 | 27.4% | 274,404 | MT |
Nebraska | 5 | 321,163 | 59.82 | 5 | 170,784 | 31.81 | - | 44,904 | 8.36 | - | 150,379 | 28.01 | 33.2% | 536,851 | NE |
Nevada | 3 | 73,188 | 47.46 | 3 | 60,598 | 39.29 | - | 20,432 | 13.25 | - | 12,590 | 8.16 | 25.3% | 154,218 | NV |
New Hampshire | 4 | 154,903 | 52.10 | 4 | 130,589 | 43.93 | - | 11,173 | 3.76 | - | 24,314 | 8.18 | 36.0% | 297,298 | NH |
New Jersey | 17 | 1,325,467 | 46.10 | 17 | 1,264,206 | 43.97 | - | 262,187 | 9.12 | - | 61,261 | 2.13 | 33.9% | 2,875,395 | NJ |
New Mexico | 4 | 169,692 | 51.85 | 4 | 130,081 | 39.75 | - | 25,737 | 7.86 | - | 39,611 | 12.10 | 31.1% | 327,281 | NM |
New York | 43 | 3,007,932 | 44.30 | - | 3,378,470 | 49.76 | 43 | 358,864 | 5.29 | - | -370,538 | -5.46 | 31.8% | 6,790,066 | NY |
North Carolina | 13 | 627,192 | 39.51 | 12 | 464,113 | 29.24 | - | 496,188 | 31.26 | 1 | 131,004 | 8.25 | 20.6% | 1,587,493 | NC |
North Dakota | 4 | 138,669 | 55.94 | 4 | 94,769 | 38.23 | - | 14,244 | 5.75 | - | 43,900 | 17.71 | 33.8% | 247,882 | ND |
Ohio | 26 | 1,791,014 | 45.23 | 26 | 1,700,586 | 42.95 | - | 467,495 | 11.81 | - | 90,428 | 2.28 | 28.2% | 3,959,698 | OH |
Oklahoma | 8 | 449,697 | 47.68 | 8 | 301,658 | 31.99 | - | 191,731 | 20.33 | - | 148,039 | 15.70 | 27.2% | 943,086 | OK |
Oregon | 6 | 408,433 | 49.83 | 6 | 358,866 | 43.78 | - | 49,683 | 6.06 | - | 49,567 | 6.05 | 33.8% | 819,622 | OR |
Pennsylvania | 29 | 2,090,017 | 44.02 | - | 2,259,405 | 47.59 | 29 | 378,582 | 7.97 | - | -169,388 | -3.57 | 26.6% | 4,747,928 | PA |
Rhode Island | 4 | 122,359 | 31.78 | - | 246,518 | 64.03 | 4 | 15,678 | 4.07 | - | -124,159 | -32.25 | 29.5% | 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 | 11.31 | 22.5% | 281,264 | SD |
Tennessee | 11 | 472,592 | 37.85 | 11 | 351,233 | 28.13 | - | 424,792 | 34.02 | - | 47,800 | 3.83 | 14.8% | 1,248,617 | TN |
Texas | 25 | 1,227,844 | 39.87 | - | 1,266,804 | 41.14 | 25 | 584,269 | 18.97 | - | -38,960 | -1.27 | 25.6% | 3,079,406 | TX |
Utah | 4 | 238,728 | 56.49 | 4 | 156,665 | 37.07 | - | 26,906 | 6.37 | - | 82,063 | 19.42 | 29.1% | 422,568 | UT |
Vermont | 3 | 85,142 | 52.75 | 3 | 70,255 | 43.53 | - | 5,104 | 3.16 | - | 14,887 | 9.22 | 41.8% | 161,404 | VT |
Virginia | 12 | 590,319 | 43.36 | 12 | 442,387 | 32.49 | - | 321,833 | 23.64 | - | 147,932 | 10.87 | 18.2% | 1,361,491 | VA |
Washington | 9 | 588,510 | 45.12 | - | 616,037 | 47.23 | 9 | 96,990 | 7.44 | - | -27,527 | -2.11 | 22.5% | 1,304,281 | WA |
West Virginia | 7 | 307,555 | 40.78 | - | 374,091 | 49.60 | 7 | 72,560 | 9.62 | - | -66,536 | -8.82 | 27.1% | 754,206 | WV |
Wisconsin | 12 | 809,997 | 47.89 | 12 | 748,804 | 44.27 | - | 127,835 | 7.56 | - | 61,193 | 3.62 | 28.0% | 1,691,538 | WI |
Wyoming | 3 | 70,927 | 55.76 | 3 | 45,173 | 35.51 | - | 11,105 | 8.73 | - | 25,754 | 20.25 | 33.4% | 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 | 0.70 | 23.3% | 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
Close states
States where margin of victory was less than 5 percentage points (223 electoral votes):
|
States where margin of victory was more than 5 percentage points, but less than 10 percentage points (155 electoral 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.[128]
In North Carolina one Nixon Elector cast his ballot for George Wallace (President) and Curtis LeMay (Vice President).[129]
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
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 | 10 |
Source: 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 neighborhoods | 57 | 18 | 25 |
Rural (all income) | 29 | 30 | 41 |
African-American neighborhoods | 95 | 3 | 2 |
Hispanic neighborhoods | 92 | 7 | 1 |
Source: Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. "Group Analysis of the 1968 Presidential Vote", XXVI, No. 48 (November 1968), p. 3218.
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
- White, Theodore H. (1970). The Making of the President 1968. Pocket Books.
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- ^ Joseph A. Aistrup, The southern strategy revisited: Republican top-down advancement in the South (2015).
- ISBN 9781118300756.
- ^ Greenberg, David (October 22, 2001). "Civil Rights: Let 'Em Wiretap!". History News Network.
- ISBN 978-0-465-04195-4.
- ^ Conrad Black, (2007), p. 525.
- ^ Hindley, Meredith (October 2009). "Supremely Contentious: The Transformation of "Advice and Consent"". Humanities. Vol. 30, no. 5. National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-300-04669-4. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
- ^ Thomas W. Evans (Summer 1993). "The All-Volunteer Army After Twenty Years: Recruiting in the Modern Era". Sam Houston State University. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-89526-720-7. pp. 396–397.
- Ambrose, Stephen (1989). Nixon, Volume Two: The Triumph of a Politician 1962–1972. Simon & Schuster. pp. 264–266.
- ^ Time November 15, 1968
- ^ Theodore H. White, The Making of the President, 1968 (1970)
- ^ a b Baker, Peter (January 3, 2017). "Nixon Tried to Spoil Johnson's Peace Talks in '68, Notes Show". New York Times.
- ^ Mark Lisheron. "In tapes, LBJ accuses Nixon of treason". 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."
- YouTube of President Johnson: "This is treason."
"I know." - ISBN 978-0-394-56995-6. 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."
- ^ Robert Dallek (2007), Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power, HarperCollins, pp. 73–74.
- ^ a b "November 1–12, 1968: South Vietnamese Abstention From the Expanded Peace Conference; the Anna Chennault Affair". Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ISBN 978-0-253-21301-3. p. 237.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.
- ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume VII, Vietnam, September 1968–January 1969". Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ Dallek, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Dallek, pp. 73–74.
- (Nguyen Van) Thieuto 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"
- ^ Dallek, p. 75.
- YouTube 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."
- ^ a b Taylor, David (March 15, 2013). "The Lyndon Johnson tapes: Richard Nixon's 'treason'". BBC News. London. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- Thieu. Dragging his feet this past weekend hurt us. I wonder if that call did it. If Nixon knew."
- ^ "In Tapes, Johnson Accused Nixon's Associates of Treason". The New York Times, December 4, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ^ a b c Leip, David. "1968 Presidential General Election Results". David Leip's Atlas of Presidential Elections.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Historical U.S. Presidential Elections 1789-2016". www.270towin.com. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ "Presidential Election of 1916". www.270towin.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- ^ Murphy, Paul (1974). Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890-present. G. P. Putnam's Sons.
- ^ "1968 Year In Review". UPI. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
- ^ "A Realigning Election? | RealClearPolitics". www.realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- ^ "Misunderstanding the Southern Realignment". RealClearPolitics.com. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ Lassiter, Matthew (2007). The Silent Majority: Suburban Politics in the Sunbelt. Princeton University Press. pp. 2, 17.
- ^ Gould (1993) p 165; White (1969) p 401
- ISBN 9781136764882.
- ISBN 0870000586.
- ^ Michael A. Cohen, American Maelstrom: The 1968 Election and the Politics of Division (2016)
- ^ "McGovern-Fraser Commission | Politics Matters". Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- ^ The Political Graveyard; Coös County Votes for President
David Leip's Atlas of US Presidential Elections; Presidential Election, 2016 in New Hampshire - ^ "The First (And Last) Serious Challenge to the Electoral College System". mentalfloss.com. December 6, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- ^ "Electoral Votes for President and Vice President". Senate Manual. Government Printing Office. 2005. Retrieved March 14, 2006.
- ^ a b "1968 Presidential General Election Data – National". Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- ^ Wasson, Don F. (November 3, 1968). "Alabamians Must Sort Out Most Confusing Ballot in State History". The Selma Times-Journal. p. 3. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ "1968 Presidential General Election Results – North Carolina". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 3, 2008.
Notes
- ^ a b 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. During his first term as president, Nixon re-established his residency in California. Consequently, most reliable reference books, including the January 6, 1969, edition of the Congressional Record, list his home state as New York.
- ^ In 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
- ^ In Alabama he was also on the Ballot as the Democratic Party Candidate, and 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" "American Party" and as an independent candidate.
- ^ In some states former Georgia Governor Marvin Griffin was George Wallace's Running mate instead, although he won no electoral votes in any of those states.
- ^ A North Carolina faithless Republican elector voted for Wallace/LeMay
- ^ Percentage point difference in margin from the 1964 election, of Republican over Democrat margins
Further reading
- Ambrose, Stephen E. (1987). Nixon: The Education of a Politician: 1962–1972.
- 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.
- ISBN 978-0-8071-2597-7.
- Chester, Lewis; Hodgson, Godfrey; Page, Bruce (1969). An American Melodrama: The Presidential Campaign of 1968. Viking Press. ISBN 978-0-670-11991-2.
- 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
- S2CID 54762012.
- Gould, Lewis L. (1993). 1968: The Election that Changed America. Ivan R. Dee. ISBN 978-1-56663-010-8.
- Herzog, Arthur. McCarthy for President (1969)
- Farber, David (1988). Chicago '68. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-23800-5.
- 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
- ISSN 0145-2096Fulltext online in SwetsWise, Ingenta and Ebsco. Comments by others at pp. 563–576; reply, p. 577.
- Kogin, Michael (Spring 1966). "Wallace and the Middle Class". Public Opinion Quarterly. 30 (1): 98. doi: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. (2002). "Nixon Rides the Backlash to Victory: Racial Politics in the 1968 Presidential Campaign". Historian. 64 (3): 351–366. S2CID 143272460.
- 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.
- 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. (2002). A Nation Divided: The 1968 Presidential Campaign. ISBN 978-0-595-23699-2.
- Rising, George (1997). Clean for Gene: Eugene McCarthy's 1968 Presidential Campaign. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 978-0-275-95841-1.
- Savage, Sean J. (2004). JFK, LBJ, and the Democratic Party. SUNY Albany Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-6169-3.
- Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. (1978). Robert Kennedy and His Times. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 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; Unger, Debi (1988). Turning Point: 1968. Scribner's. ISBN 978-0-684-18696-2.
- Woods, Randall. LBJ: Architect of American Ambition (2006)
Primary sources
- Gallup, George H., ed. The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935–1971. 3 vols. Random House, 1972. press releases;
- Humphrey, Hubert H. (1976). The Education of a Public Man: My Life and Politics. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-8166-1897-2.
- McCarthy, Eugene. The Year of the People (1969), memoir
- ISBN 978-0-671-82249-1.; firsthand reporting
- ISBN 978-0-671-70741-5. online
- White, Theodore H. (1969). The Making of the President—1968. Atheneum. ISBN 978-0-224-61796-3., famous report by American journalist
- Chester, Edward W. A guide to political platforms (1977) online
- Porter, Kirk H., and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. National party platforms, 1840-1972 (1973)
External links
- The Election Wall's 1968 Election Video Page
- 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