1968 UMass Redmen football team
The 1968 UMass Redmen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1968 NCAA College Division football season as a member of the Yankee Conference. The team was coached by Vic Fusia and played its home games at Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. UMass finished the season with a record of 2–8 overall and 2–3 in conference play.


1968 US Open (tennis)
The 1968 US Open (formerly known as U.S. National Championships) was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills in New York City, United States. The tournament ran from 29 August until 8 September. It was the 88th staging of the tournament and the fourth Grand Slam event of 1968. It was the first edition of the tournament in the Open Era of tennis and as such for the first time offered prize money, totaling  $100,000. Arthur Ashe and Virginia Wade won the singles titles.


1968 US Open (tennis)
Ashe was still registered as an amateur and therefore not entitled to the  $14,000 first-prize money, which instead went to runner-up Tom Okker, while Wade earned $6,000. Frank Parker, at the age of 52, lost to eventual champion Arthur Ashe in the second round, and still holds the record for the oldest man to compete in a Grand Slam singles tournament.


1968 US Open (tennis), Finals, Men's singles
Arthur Ashe defeated  Tom Okker, 14–12, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3


1968 US Open (tennis), Finals, Men's doubles
Bob Lutz /  Stan Smith defeated  Arthur Ashe /  Andrés Gimeno, 11–9, 6–1, 7–5


1968 US Open (tennis), Finals, Women's doubles
Maria Bueno /  Margaret Court defeated  Rosemary Casals /  Billie Jean King, 4–6, 9–7, 8–6


1968 US Open (tennis), Finals, Mixed doubles
No mixed doubles event was held at the 1968 US Open. Results often listed are those of the 1968 U.S. National Championships held a month earlier in Boston. Mary-Ann Eisel /  Peter Curtis defeated  Tory Fretz /  Gerry Perry 6–4, 7–5


1968 US Open – Men's Doubles
John Newcombe and Tony Roche were the defending champions, but lost in the quarterfinals to Clark Graebner and Charlie Pasarell.


1968 US Open – Men's Doubles
Bob Lutz and Stan Smith won the title, defeating Arthur Ashe and Andrés Gimeno in the final, 11–9, 6–1, 7–5.


1968 US Open – Men's Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


1968 US Open – Men's Singles
Arthur Ashe defeated Tom Okker 14–12, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 1968 U.S. Open. The 1968 U.S. Open events were conducted from August 29 to September 8, 1968. John Newcombe was the 1967 defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Clark Graebner.


1968 US Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Arthur Ashe is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1968 US Open – Women's Doubles
Rosemary Casals and Billie Jean King were the defending champions, but lost in the final to Maria Bueno and Margaret Court, 4–6, 9–7, 8–6. It was Bueno and Court's only grand slam title together.


1968 US Open – Women's Singles
Virginia Wade defeated defending champion Billie Jean King, 6–4, 6–2 in the final, to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 1968 US Open. This was Wade's first Grand Slam title.


1968 US Open – Women's Singles
Wade had been the last British woman to win the US Open singles title until Emma Raducanu won the title in 2021.


1968 US Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Virginia Wade is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1968 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 1968 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships men's competition took place between June 19-21 at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Sacramento City College in Sacramento, California. The women's division held their championships separately almost two months later, combined with the Girls Track and Field Championships at Aurora Public School Stadium in Aurora, Colorado. The 20K race walk took place in Long Beach, California on June 29.


1968 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The anticipation of the 1968 Summer Olympics affected the choice of Aurora due to the high altitude. The late August date because the entire track and field calendar shifted later due to the late October dates for the Olympics. Being an Olympic year, all races were run in meters.


1968 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
It was at this meet, on the evening of June 20, 1968, when three men, Jim Hines, Ronnie Ray Smith and Charlie Greene, bettered the (hand timed) world record in the 100 metres (and several others were very close), is famous amongst track and field historians as the "Night of Speed." Hand timing was the official timing system for track and field worldwide for another 9 years. During that time, the record was equalled a further 11 times by six additional individuals but was never beaten.


1968 USAC Championship Car season
The 1968 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 28 races, beginning in Hanford, California on March 17 and concluding in Riverside, California on December 7. The USAC National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Bobby Unser. Mike Spence died in an accident while practicing for the 1968 Indianapolis 500. Ronnie Duman died of burns suffered during the Rex Mays Classic.


1968 USAC Championship Car season, Final points standings
Note1: John Cannon, George Fejer, Lou Sell, Mark Donohue, Jack Eiteljorg, Bud Morley, Lothar Motschenbacher, Jochen Rindt, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Denis Hulme, Skip Scott and Peter Revson are not eligible for points. Note2: Ronnie Bucknum did not compete with a USAC license until after the events at Indianapolis Raceway Park.


1968 USC Trojans baseball team
The 1968 USC Trojans baseball team represented the University of Southern California in the 1968 NCAA University Division baseball season. The team was coached Rod Dedeaux in his 27th season.


1968 USC Trojans baseball team
The Trojans won the College World Series, defeating the Southern Illinois Salukis in the championship game.


1968 USC Trojans baseball team, Trojans in the 1968 MLB Draft
The following members of the USC baseball program were drafted in the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft.


1968 USC Trojans football team
The 1968 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. In their ninth year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 9–1–1 record (6–0 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 259 to 168. The team was ranked #2 in the final Coaches Poll and #4 in the final AP Poll.


1968 USC Trojans football team
Steve Sogge led the team in passing, completing 122 of 207 passes for 1,454 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. O. J. Simpson led the team in rushing with 383 carries for 1,880 yards and 23 touchdowns. Jim Lawrence led the team in receiving with 26 catches for 386 yards and two touchdowns. Simpson won both the Heisman Trophy and the Walter Camp Award.


1968 USC Trojans football team, 1969 NFL Draft
The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.


1968 USSR Chess Championship
The 1968 Soviet Chess Championship was the 36th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 30 December 1968 to 1 February 1969 in Alma-Ata. The tournament was won by Lev Polugaevsky who defeats Alexander Zaitsev in a play-off match. The non-attendance of stars such as David Bronstein, Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, all away at foreign tournaments made it not too strong an event, especially in conjunction with the absence of Paul Keres. Mikhail Tal was ill again, after a year in which he spent a lot of time in hospital under observation.


1968 UTEP Miners football team
The 1968 UTEP Miners football team was an American football team that represented the University of Texas at El Paso as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. In its fourth season under head coach Bobby Dobbs, the team compiled a 4–5–1 record (3–3 against WAC opponents), finished fourth in the conference, and outscored opponents by a total of 232 to 225.


1968 Ukrainian Class B
The 1968 Football Championship of Ukrainian SSR (Class B) was the 38th season of association football competition of the Ukrainian SSR, which was part of the Ukrainian Class B. It was the eighteenth in the Soviet Class B and the sixth season of the Ukrainian Class B.


1968 Ukrainian Class B
The 1968 Football Championship of Ukrainian SSR (Class B) was won by FC Avanhard Ternopil.


1968 United Arab Republic 30 March Program referendum
A referendum on the 30 March Program was held in the United Arab Republic (now Egypt) on 2 May 1968. It was approved by 100% of voters, with only 798 votes against. Voter turnout was 98.2%.


1968 United Nations Security Council election
The 1968 United Nations Security Council election was held on 1 November 1968 during the Twenty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Colombia, Finland, Nepal, Spain, and Zambia (all but Colombia elected for the first time), as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1969.


1968 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.


1968 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
In accordance with the rules whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats are allocated as follows:


1968 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
To be elected, a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. If the vote is inconclusive after the first round, three rounds of restricted voting shall take place, followed by three rounds of unrestricted voting, and so on, until a result has been obtained. In restricted voting, only official candidates may be voted on, while in unrestricted voting, any member of the given regional group, with the exception of current Council members, may be voted on.


1968 United Nations Security Council election, Result
The election was managed by then-President of the United Nations General Assembly Emilio Arenales Catalán of Guatemala. The United Nations had 125 member states at this time (for a timeline of UN membership, see Enlargement of the United Nations). There were no nomination prior to the vote. Delegates were to write the names of the five member states they wished elected on the ballot papers. Voting was conducted on a single ballot. Ballots containing more states from a certain region than seats allocated to that region were invalidated.


1968 United States Grand Prix
The 1968 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 6, 1968, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 11 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 108-lap race was won by Matra driver Jackie Stewart after he started from second position. Graham Hill finished second for the Lotus team and Honda driver John Surtees came in third. This was the debut race of the future world champion Mario Andretti.


1968 United States Grand Prix, Summary
The first practice day was primarily a duel between Jackie Stewart and the Ferrari of Chris Amon, with Stewart posting the day's best time of 1:04.27. Stewart was unable to defend his provisional pole during the second practice day due to a broken stub-axle. However, Graham Hill bumped Amon from the second spot, before Mario Andretti—driving at Watkins Glen for the first time—rewarded the partisan crowd by taking the pole in his Gold Leaf Lotus, 0.07 seconds under Stewart's time. This was Andretti's first ever Formula One start.


1968 United States Grand Prix, Summary
On race day, a huge crowd of 93,000 anticipated a strong home showing with two other Americans also on the grid—Dan Gurney, in seventh, and Bobby Unser, in nineteenth. Stewart used a better start to take the lead on the first lap from crowd favorite Andretti. After the first lap the order was: Stewart, Andretti, Amon, Hill, Jochen Rindt, Denny Hulme, Gurney, John Surtees and Bruce McLaren.


1968 United States Grand Prix, Summary
By lap six, Andretti had opened up a gap to Amon and set off for Stewart. Three laps later, the nose on Andretti's Lotus was broken, with the right wing dragging on the ground. Andretti said though he had not touched anyone, the body had just cracked. However, he continued without losing his position until lap 13, when his pit crew taped the car back together, and dropped to thirteenth place.


1968 United States Grand Prix, Summary
On lap 10, there was a fight for third place as Amon, now behind Hill, spun on his own water spillage. In lap 6, Hulme hit an oil patch, dropping from third to ninth. On lap 26, Gurney, running in third place, did a 360° spin and was overtaken by Surtees' Honda.


1968 United States Grand Prix, Summary
After lap 33, Andretti retired with a broken clutch. Gurney then took over Surtees, as the two battled for the rest of the race. By lap 40, Stewart was 26 seconds ahead of Hill, with Gurney and Surtees another 10 seconds Hill. He then sent a message to the rest of the racers by posting the fastest lap of the race on lap 52, widening his lead to 31 seconds. Hill had struggled for a while with a loose steering column, to which he said he was driving crouched up.


1968 United States Grand Prix, Summary
On lap 97, a minute and twenty seconds ahead of Bruce McLaren, Jo Siffert's Lotus began to sputter, and he signaled to his pit that he would stop to refuel in the next round. As Siffert then exited the pit lane, McLaren went by into fifth place.


1968 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Siffert regained the position after two laps, before which McLaren too had to stop for fuel. Surtees then began to back off when he realised Gurney, just ahead in third place, was slowing down because he had a slow puncture and was also running very low on fuel. Surtees used the opportunity catch up with Gurney's McLaren in the last lap, as they both finished a lap down to the leaders.


1968 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Stewart led every lap in his Matra-Ford and was threatened only once, when he rounded a corner to find two spectators walking across the track. "It's as close as I've ever come to running somebody over," he said, "I missed them by an inch." It was his first American Grand Prix victory and kept alive hopes for his first World Drivers' Championship with just one more race to go. "It was the first time in my F1 career I felt I could dictate the pace," he said, "When I went faster, the field went faster. When I went slower, they went slower. It was an extraordinary moment of realisation."


1968 United States Grand Prix, Summary
The race promoters claimed that Stewart's prize of £8,300 for winning the race was the richest in F1 history. Andretti's Lotus teammate Hill, also in the running for the season's title along with Denny Hulme, finished 24 seconds behind Stewart in second place. This was the final all-British podium, as of April 2021.


1968 United States Grand Prix, Classification, Qualifying
* Pescarolo also drove car number 21 as a spare car.


1968 United States House of Representatives election in Puerto Rico
The election for Resident Commissioner to the United States House of Representatives took place on November 5, 1968, the same day as the larger Puerto Rican general election and the United States elections, 1968.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections
The 1968 United States House of Representatives elections were elections for the United States House of Representatives in 1968 which coincided with Richard M. Nixon's election as President. Nixon's narrow victory yielded only limited gains for his Republican Party, which picked up a net of five seats from the Democratic Party. The Democrats retained a majority in the House.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections
The election coincided with the presidential campaign of George Wallace of the American Independent Party, who unsuccessfully attempted to deny a majority in the Electoral College to any of his opponents. Had Wallace succeeded he would have given the House the choice of president from among the three, for the first time since 1825. As a result of this election, Democrats formed a majority of 26 state House delegations, with Republicans forming a majority in 19 and the other five delegations being evenly split (each state's House delegation receives one vote in such an election).


1968 United States House of Representatives elections
However, the Democrats' nominal majority of state delegations includes those of the Southern states who were more inclined to support Wallace as opposed to Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey. Wallace believed the Southern representatives would be able to use the clout his campaign was trying to give them to force an end to federal desegregation efforts in the South.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in California
The United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1968 was an election for California's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred as part of the general election of the House of Representatives on November 5, 1968. The delegation remained unchanged, at 21 Democrats and 17 Republicans.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in California, Results
Final results from the Clerk of the House of Representatives:


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland
The 1968 congressional elections in Maryland were held on November 5, 1968, to determine who will represent the state of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives. Maryland has eight seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1960 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 91st Congress from January 3, 1969 until January 3, 1971.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina
The 1968 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 5, 1968, to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections were held on June 11 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on June 25. All five incumbents who ran were re-elected and the open seat in the 5th district was retained by the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation remained five Democrats and one Republican.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 1st congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman L. Mendel Rivers of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1941, defeated black attorney George A. Payton, Jr. in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election. Charleston County Republican Party chairman James B. Edwards was prepared to run in the general election had George A. Payton, Jr. won the Democratic primary.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2nd congressional district
Incumbent Republican Congressman Albert Watson of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1963, defeated Democratic challenger Frank K. Sloan.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 3rd congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1951, defeated Republican challenger John Grisso.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 4th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Robert T. Ashmore of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1953, opted to retire. James R. Mann won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican challenger Charles Bradshaw in the general election.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 5th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Thomas S. Gettys of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1964, defeated Fred R. Sheheen in the Democratic primary and Republican Hugh J. Boyd in the general election.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 6th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman John L. McMillan of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1939, defeated Richard G. Dusenbury in the Democratic primary and Republican Ray Harris in the general election.


1968 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia
The 1968 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia were held on November 5, 1968, to determine who will represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives. Virginia had ten seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1960 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms.


1968 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
The Men's 1968 United States Olympic Trials for track and field were a two tiered event. Athletes first met for semi-final Olympic Trials in Los Angeles, from June 29–30. The final trials were held following a training camp at a specially constructed track at Echo Summit, California, between September 6–16. This was called the most bizarre location for an Olympic trials ever, selected to mimic the nearly identical high altitude location for the Olympics in Mexico City in October.


1968 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
An all-weather polyurethane Tartan track, similar to the Olympic venue, was constructed for the men's trials at Echo Summit, west of South Lake Tahoe. Just off U.S. Route 50, it was built in the summer of 1968 in the parking lot of Nebelhorn ski area, at an elevation of 7,377 feet (2,249 m).


1968 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
After training at Echo Summit, the race walk trials was held at a similar high altitude location of Alamosa, Colorado, 20 kilometers on September 7, and 50 km on September 10. The process was organized by the AAU, and the athletes invited to the finals were selected based on the qualification at the semi-Olympic Trials.


1968 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
The AccuTrak photographic fully automatic timing system was used at this meet, in anticipation of its implementation at the Olympics. Fully automatic timing became mandatory for world records in 1977. Administrators had not yet figured out what to do with the slower automatic times so the world records at this meet were set using hand times.


1968 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
The Women's Olympic Trials were held separately under less elegant, low altitude conditions at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The pentathlon took place in Columbia, Missouri during the AAU Championships. Both meets took place on August 24 and 25. The tight schedule also made doubling in individual events more difficult. American resident, but Taiwanese citizen Chi Cheng was allowed to participate in the pentathlon, but her dominant performance did not displace the American athletes in the trials.


1968 United States Olympic Trials (track and field), Men's results
Key:≠ Athlete without "A" standard, not selected. All events considered to be held at high altitude.


1968 United States Road Racing Championship
The 1968 United States Road Racing Championship season was the sixth and final season of the Sports Car Club of America's United States Road Racing Championship. It began March 31, 1968, and ended August 18, 1968, after nine races. Mark Donohue won the season championship. The series would be revived thirty years later, but only for two years before becoming the Rolex Sports Car Series.


1968 United States Senate election in Alabama
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Thomascampbell123 (talk | contribs) at 03:33, 5 June 2021. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


1968 United States Senate election in Alabama
The 1968 United States Senate election in Alabama took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator J. Lister Hill retired. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor of Alabama James Allen, who won a hotly contested primary over Armistead I. Selden Jr.. In the general election, Allen easily defeated Republican Probate Judge Perry O. Hooper Sr. and National Democratic nominee Robert Schwenn.


1968 United States Senate election in Alabama, Democratic primary, Run-off
Because no candidate received a majority in the first round, Allen and Selden advanced to a run-off election on June 4.


1968 United States Senate election in Alaska
The 1968 United States Senate election in Alaska took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ernest Gruening ran for a second full term in office but finished behind Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives Mike Gravel. Gruening launched an write-in bid for the seat in the general election, but finished third to Gravel and Republican former Anchorage mayor Elmer Rasmuson.


1968 United States Senate election in Alaska
Gravel would later lose the primary in 1980 to Gruening's grandson Clark.


1968 United States Senate election in Alaska
Future Senator Ted Stevens also ran in the primary, but lost to Rasmuson by around 1,000 votes. When incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Bartlett died that December, Governor Wally Hickel appointed Stevens to the vacant seat.


1968 United States Senate election in Arizona
The 1968 United States Senate election in Arizona took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Carl Hayden did not run for reelection to an eighth term, with his longtime staff member Roy Elson running as the Democratic Party nominee to replace him. Elson was defeated by a wide margin, however, by former U.S. Senator and 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. Prior to Goldwater's election, the seat had been held for decades by the Democratic Party under Carl Hayden, but after this election remained in Republican Party control continuously for 52 years, until Democrat Mark Kelly won in the 2020 special election.


1968 United States Senate election in Arizona
Elson had previously challenged U.S. Senator Paul Fannin in 1964, when Goldwater vacated his seat in order to run for President against Lyndon B. Johnson.


1968 United States Senate election in Arkansas
The 1968 United States Senate election in Arkansas was held on November 5, 1968.


1968 United States Senate election in Arkansas
Incumbent Democratic Senator J. William Fulbright was re-elected to a fifth term, defeating Democratic and Republican challengers.


1968 United States Senate election in California
The 1968 United States Senate election in California was held on November 5, 1968.


1968 United States Senate election in California
Incumbent Republican Thomas Kuchel was narrowly defeated in the June 4 primary by Superintendent of Public Instruction Max Rafferty. Rafferty would in turn go on to lose to Democratic former State Controller Alan Cranston by a close margin.


1968 United States Senate election in Colorado
The 1968 United States Senate election in Colorado took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Peter Dominick was re-elected to a second term in office over Democratic ex-Governor Stephen McNichols.


1968 United States Senate election in Connecticut
The 1968 United States Senate election in Connecticut took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Abraham Ribicoff was re-elected to a second term in office over Republican U.S. Representative Edwin H. May Jr.


1968 United States Senate election in Florida
The Florida United States Senate election of 1968 was marked by the election of the first Republican to the United States Senate from Florida since Reconstruction.


1968 United States Senate election in Florida
Democratic three-term incumbent George Smathers decided to not seek re-election in order to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.


1968 United States Senate election in Florida
Former popular two-term Governor LeRoy Collins won the Democratic nomination by defeating State Attorney General Earl Faircloth, while Representative Edward J. Gurney became the Republican candidate.


1968 United States Senate election in Florida
Gurney was much less well known than Collins, but he won by over 11% margin. It is possible that Richard Nixon's victory in the presidential race (including winning Florida) helped Gurney defeat Collins.


1968 United States Senate election in Georgia
The 1968 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Herman Talmadge was re-elected to a third consecutive term in office, winning large victories in the primary and general elections.


1968 United States Senate election in Georgia
For the first time, Republicans held a primary election to nominate a candidate for U.S. Senate.


1968 United States Senate election in Hawaii
The 1968 United States Senate election in Hawaii took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye was re-elected to a second term in office, easily defeating Republican nominee Wayne Thiessen.


1968 United States Senate election in Idaho
The 1968 United States Senate election in Idaho took place on Tuesday, November 5. Democratic incumbent Frank Church was re-elected to a third term in office, defeating Republican U.S. Representative George V. Hansen.


1968 United States Senate election in Illinois
The 1968 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 5, 1968 to elect one of Illinois's members to the United States Senate. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and Minority Leader Everett Dirksen won re-election to his fourth term.


1968 United States Senate election in Illinois, Election information
The primaries and general election coincided with those for other federal (United States president and  House) and those for state elections.


1968 United States Senate election in Illinois, Election information, Turnout
Turnout in the primary elections was 23.90%, with a total of 1,303,375 votes cast.


1968 United States Senate election in Illinois, Election information, Turnout
Turnout during the general election was 78.39%, with 4,449,757 votes cast.


1968 United States Senate election in Illinois, Democratic primary
Illinois Attorney General William G. Clark won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.


1968 United States Senate election in Illinois, Republican primary
Incumbent U.S. Senator, and Senate Minority Leader, Everett M. Dirksen, won renomination over Roy C. Johnson.


1968 United States Senate election in Illinois, General election, Results
Dirksen carried 99 of the state's 102 counties. Clark, however, carried the state's most populous county, Cook County, taking 54.07% of the vote, to Dirksen's 45.52%. Since Cook County was home to 50.65% of the votes cast in the election, the final result of the election was close, despite Dirksen winning a landslide 60.70% of the vote to Clark's 38.92% in the other 101 counties of the state.


1968 United States Senate election in Illinois, General election, Results
Additionally, in Cook County's principal city, Chicago (from which 31.02% of all statewide ballots were cast), Clark won 63.90% of the vote to Dirksen's 35.58%. Clark's majority in Chicago and Cook County was insufficient to roll back Dirksen's large majorities in the Chicago suburbs and Downstate.


1968 United States Senate election in Indiana
The 1968 United States Senate election in Indiana took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Birch Bayh was re-elected to a second consecutive term in office, defeating Republican State Representative William Ruckelshaus.


1968 United States Senate election in Kansas
The 1968 United States Senate election in Kansas took place on November 5, 1968, concurrently with the U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.


1968 United States Senate election in Kansas
Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Frank Carlson did not run for re-election.


1968 United States Senate election in Kansas
Republican nominee Bob Dole defeated Democratic nominee William I. Robinson with 60.08% of the vote.


1968 United States Senate election in Kansas, Bibliography
This Kansas elections-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .


1968 United States Senate election in Kentucky
The 1968 United States Senate election in Kentucky took place on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Thruston Morton retired from office. Jefferson County Judge (the equivalent of a County Executive) Marlow Cook won the open seat.


1968 United States Senate election in Louisiana
The 1968 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic Senator Russell Long was elected to a fifth term in office.


1968 United States Senate election in Louisiana
On August 17, Long won the Democratic primary with 87.02% of the vote. At this time, Louisiana was a one-party state and the Democratic nomination was tantamount to victory. Long won the November general election without an opponent.


1968 United States Senate election in Maryland
The 1968 United States Senate election in Maryland was held on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Daniel Brewster ran for re-election to a second term in office but was defeated by Republican U.S. Representative Charles Mathias. Mathias may have benefited from the campaign of George P. Mahoney, the 1966 Democratic nominee for Governor of Maryland, who ran on the George Wallace American Independent ticket and garnered a significant chunk of the vote.


1968 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
The 1968 United States Senate election in New Hampshire took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Republican Senator Norris Cotton won re-election to a third full term.


1968 United States Senate election in New York
The 1968 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jacob Javits defeated Democratic challenger Paul O'Dwyer and Conservative Party challenger James Buckley in a three-way race.


1968 United States Senate election in New York, Major candidates, Republican
While Javits did not face any challengers for the Republican nomination, he did face a minor one when seeking the Liberal Party of New York's nomination.


1968 United States Senate election in North Carolina
The North Carolina United States Senate election of 1968 was held on 5 November 1968 as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate. The general election was fought between the Democratic incumbent Sam Ervin and the Republican nominee Robert Somers. Ervin won re-election to a third full term, with over 60% of the vote.


1968 United States Senate election in North Carolina, Primaries, Democratic primary
The first round of the 1968 North Carolina Primary Election was held on 4 May. The runoff for the Republican Party candidates took place on June 1.


1968 United States Senate election in North Dakota
The 1968 U.S. Senate election for the state of North Dakota was held November 5, 1968. The incumbent, Republican Senator Milton Young, sought and received re-election to his fifth term, defeating North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party candidate Herschel Lashkowitz, the mayor of Fargo, North Dakota since 1954.


1968 United States Senate election in North Dakota
Only Young filed as a Republican, and the endorsed Democratic candidate was Herschel Lashkowitz of Fargo, North Dakota, who was serving as the mayor of the city since 1954. Young and Lashkowitz won the primary elections for their respective parties.


1968 United States Senate election in North Dakota
One independent candidate, Duane Mutch of Larimore, North Dakota, also filed before the deadline. Mutch was later a state senator for the North Dakota Republican Party in the North Dakota Senate from 1959 to 2006 for District 19. He ran as an independent when he did not receive his party's nomination.


1968 United States Senate election in Ohio
The 1968 United States Senate election in Ohio took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Senator Frank Lausche ran for re-election to a third term, but lost the Democratic primary to U.S. Representative John J. Gilligan. In the general election, Gilligan lost to Republican Ohio Attorney General William Saxbe.


1968 United States Senate election in Oklahoma
The 1968 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was held November 3, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Mike Monroney was running for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican Henry Bellmon.


1968 United States Senate election in Oregon
The 1968 United States Senate election in  Oregon was held on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Wayne Morse was seeking a fifth term, but narrowly lost re-election to 36 year-old Republican State Representative Bob Packwood in a very close race.


1968 United States Senate election in Oregon, Democratic primary
The general primary was held May 28, 1968. Incumbent Senator Wayne Morse defeated former Representative Robert B. Duncan. Duncan, an outspoken supporter of the Vietnam War, had previously been the Democratic nominee in the 1966 United States Senate election in Oregon, and the anti-war Morse had endorsed Duncan's opponent Mark Hatfield, an anti-war Republican.


1968 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
The 1968 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph S. Clark, Jr. sought re-election to another term, but was defeated by Republican nominee Richard Schweiker.


1968 United States Senate election in South Carolina
The 1968 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 5, 1968, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican state senator Marshall Parker in a rematch of the election two years earlier to win his first full term.


1968 United States Senate election in South Carolina, Democratic primary
Fritz Hollings, the incumbent Senator, easily defeated his primary opponent, John Bolt Culberson.


1968 United States Senate election in South Carolina, Republican primary
Marshall Parker, the state senator from Oconee County in the Upstate, was persuaded by South Carolina Republicans to enter the race and he did not face a primary challenge.


1968 United States Senate election in South Carolina, General election campaign
After a close election loss to Fritz Hollings in 1966, the Republicans felt that Parker might have a chance at defeating Hollings by riding Nixon's coattails in the general election. However, the Republicans did not provide Parker with the financial resources to compete and he subsequently lost by a bigger margin to Hollings than two years prior.


1968 United States Senate election in South Dakota
The 1968 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic Senator George McGovern ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged by former Governor Archie M. Gubbrud, who was persuaded to enter the race by the South Dakota Republican establishment. McGovern defeated Gubbrud by a wide margin, even as Richard Nixon was defeating Hubert Humphrey in the state's presidential election in a landslide.


1968 United States Senate election in South Dakota, Primary elections
Both McGovern and Gubbrud were unopposed in their respective primaries. Gubbrud and incumbent Governor Nils Boe were seen as likely Republican candidates, but on March 22, Boe announced that he would not run. Shortly thereafter, a grassroots group of Republicans supportive of Gubbrud, named "Archie's Archers," started a campaign to persuade him to run, and received promises from other potential Republican candidates that they wouldn't run if Gubbrud did. On April 7, Gubbrud announced that he would run for the Senate, and subsequently received endorsements from prominent Republican figures, including former Vice-President Richard Nixon.


1968 United States Senate election in Utah
The 1968 United States Senate election in Utah took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Republican Senator Wallace F. Bennett won re-election to a fourth term.


1968 United States Senate election in Vermont
The 1968 United States Senate election in Vermont took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Republican George Aiken ran successfully for re-election to another term in the United States Senate; he was unopposed. As of 2021, this is the last time the Republicans, or anyone other than Patrick Leahy, won the Class 3 Senate seat in Vermont.


1968 United States Senate election in Washington
The 1968 United States Senate election in Washington was held on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson won a fifth term in office, defeating Republican State Senator Jack Metcalf.


1968 United States Senate election in Washington, Bibliography
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1968 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
In the United States Senate election in Wisconsin in 1968, incumbent Democrat Gaylord A. Nelson defeated Republican Jerris Leonard


1968 United States Senate elections
The 1968 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate which coincided with the presidential election. Although Richard Nixon won the presidential election narrowly, the Republicans picked up five net seats in the Senate. Republicans would gain another seat after the election when Alaska Republican Ted Stevens was appointed to replace Democrat Bob Bartlett.


1968 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Elections leading to the next Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1969; ordered by state.


1968 United States Senate elections, Alaska
Democrat Ernest Gruening lost renomination to fellow Democrat Mike Gravel. Gruening then ran as an Independent, but lost again to Gravel in the general election, thereby keeping the seat in Democratic hands.


1968 United States Senate elections, Alaska
Two months after the election, on December 11, 1968, the other Alaskan senator, Democrat Bob Bartlett, died. Republican Ted Stevens was then appointed to that other seat.


1968 United States Senate elections, Arizona
Incumbent Democrat Carl Hayden did not run for re-election to an eighth term, with his longtime staff member Roy Elson running as the Democratic Party nominee to replace him. Elson beat State Treasurer of Arizona Bob Kennedy in the Primary.


1968 United States Senate elections, Arizona
Elson was defeated by a wide margin, however, by former U.S. senator and Republican Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. Prior to Goldwater's election, the seat had been held for decades by the Democratic Party under Carl Hayden, and has thus far remained in Republican Party control since. Elson had previously challenged U.S. senator Paul Fannin in 1964, when Goldwater vacated his seat to run for President against Lyndon B. Johnson.


1968 United States Senate elections, Illinois
Incumbent Republican and Minority Leader Everett Dirksen won re-election to his fourth term over William G. Clark (D), the Illinois Attorney General.


1968 United States Senate elections, Iowa
Four-term Republican Bourke B. Hickenlooper retired. Two-term Democratic Governor of Iowa Harold Hughes was elected senator in a close race against Republican state senator David M. Stanley.


1968 United States Senate elections, New York
Incumbent Republican Jacob K. Javits won against Democratic challenger Paul O'Dwyer and Conservative Party challenger James L. Buckley in a three-way election.


1968 United States Senate elections, New York
While Javits did not face any challengers for the Republican nomination, he did face a minor one when seeking the Liberal Party of New York's nomination.


1968 United States Senate elections, North Carolina
The general election was fought between the Democratic incumbent Sam Ervin and the Republican nominee Robert Somers. Ervin won re-election to a third full term, with over 60% of the vote.


1968 United States Senate elections, North Carolina
The first round of the Primary Election was held on  May 4, 1968. The runoff for the Republican Party candidates took place on June 1.


1968 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
North Dakota Republican Milton Young, sought and received re-election to his fifth term, defeating North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party candidate Herschel Lashkowitz, the mayor of Fargo, North Dakota since 1954.


1968 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
Only Young filed as a Republican, and the endorsed Democratic candidate was Herschel Lashkowitz of Fargo, North Dakota, who was serving as the mayor of the city since 1954. Young and Lashkowitz won the primary elections for their respective parties.


1968 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
One independent candidate, Duane Mutch of Larimore, North Dakota, also filed before the deadline. Mutch was later a state senator for the North Dakota Republican Party in the North Dakota Senate from 1959 to 2006 for District 19. He ran as an independent when he did not receive his party's nomination.


1968 United States Senate elections, Oklahoma
Incumbent Democratic U.S. senator Mike Monroney was running for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican former Governor Henry Bellmon.


1968 United States Senate elections, Oregon
Incumbent Democrat Wayne Morse was seeking a fifth term, but narrowly lost re-election to 36 year-old Republican State Representative Bob Packwood race.


1968 United States Senate elections, Oregon
The Democratic primary was held May 28, 1968. Morse defeated former Representative Robert B. Duncan, former U.S. Congressman from Oregon's 4th congressional district (1963–1967), and Phil McAlmond, millionaire and former aide to opponent Robert B. Duncan.


1968 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
Incumbent Democrat Joseph Clark sought re-election to another term, but was defeated by Republican nominee Richard Schweiker, member of the U.S. House of Representatives.


1968 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
Incumbent Democrat Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican state senator Marshall Parker in a rematch of the election two years earlier to win his first full term.


1968 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
Hollings faced no opposition from South Carolina Democrats and avoided a primary election. Marshall Parker, the state senator from Oconee County in the Upstate, was persuaded by South Carolina Republicans to enter the race and he did not face a primary challenge.


1968 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
After a close election loss to Fritz Hollings in 1966, the Republicans felt that Parker might have a chance at defeating Hollings by riding Nixon's coattails in the general election. However, the Republicans did not provide Parker with the financial resources to compete and he subsequently lost by a bigger margin to Hollings than two years prior.


1968 United States Senate elections, Vermont
Incumbent Republican George Aiken ran successfully for re-election to another term in the United States Senate; he was unopposed.


1968 United States Senate elections, Wisconsin
Incumbent Democrat Gaylord A. Nelson (U.S. senator since 1963) defeated Republican State Senator Jerris Leonard.


1968 United States elections
The 1968 United States elections were held on November 5, and elected members of the 91st United States Congress. The election took place during the Vietnam War, in the same year as the Tet Offensive, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the protests of 1968. The Republican Party won control of the presidency and picked up seats in the House and Senate, although the Democratic Party retained control of Congress.


1968 United States elections
In the presidential election, Republican former Vice President Richard Nixon defeated Democratic incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Nixon won the popular vote by less than one point, but took most states outside the Northeast and comfortably won the electoral vote. Former Alabama Governor George Wallace of the American Independent Party took 13.5% of the popular vote and won the electoral votes of the Deep South. After incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson declined to seek re-election, Humphrey won the Democratic nomination over Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy and South Dakota Senator George McGovern at the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention.


1968 United States elections
Nixon won the Republican nomination over New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and California Governor Ronald Reagan. As of 2016, Wallace is the most recent third party candidate to win a state's entire share of electoral votes. Nixon became the first former (non-sitting) vice president to win a presidential election, he was the only person to achieve that until former Vice President Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential election.


1968 United States elections
The Republican Party won a net gain of five seats in both the House and the Senate. However, the Democratic Party retained strong majorities in both houses of Congress.


1968 United States elections
In the gubernatorial elections, the Republican Party picked up a net gain of five governorships.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections
United States gubernatorial elections were held on 5 November 1968, in 21 states and one territory, concurrent with the House, Senate elections and presidential election. These were the last gubernatorial elections for Arizona, New Mexico, and Wisconsin to take place in a presidential election year, as all would extend their governors' terms from two to four years.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, Arizona
Jack Richard Williams won re-election against Samuel Pearson Goddard Jr., in a "rematch" election, in which Goddard was trying to get his old job back. This was basically a repeat of the 1966 Arizona governor's race, with Williams winning.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, Arkansas
Winthrop Rockefeller had already made his mark in 1966, when he was elected as the first Republican governor since 1872 and having the black vote to boot, not to mention challenging the Faubus empire two years before in 1964. Getting re-elected in 1968 was good, but things for Rockefeller went downhill from there.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, Delaware
Terry not wanting to take the National Guard out of the black communities in Wilmington played a factor in his defeat, not to mention that Peterson had made it. Peterson would go on to be a legend in Delaware politics in a short time, mainly for his "green" politics.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, Illinois
Samuel H. Shapiro was governor temporarily after Otto Kerner Jr. resigned in order to accept appointment to the federal appellate court. Shapiro lost the race to get his own full term. Kerner, would become famous for two things: being the head of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, aka the Kerner Commission, and going to jail over various charges stemming from being a stockholder in a racetrack business.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, Indiana
Indiana changed its laws so that governors could have two back-to-back four-year terms beginning in November 1972. Thus, Braniginwas not eligible for a second term.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, Iowa
Harold Hughes resigned on January 1, 1969, to run for United States Senate. Robert D. Fulton would serve as governor from January 1 to January 16, 1969, when the new Governor, Robert D. Ray took office. Ray would go on to a political career, while Hughes, inspired by his own battles with alcoholism, made drug/alcohol abuse his focus in the Senate, and later left politics to open an alcoholism treatment center and to do religious work.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, Kansas
George Docking won re-election. Ultimately, he would set a record by winning four two-year terms. Kansas governors served two-year terms until 1974, when a constitutional amendment was added, creating a four-year term system.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, Missouri
In Missouri, during Warren Hearnes' term, the laws were changed so that governors were allowed two back-to-back four-year terms. Thus, by 1968, Hearnes was eligible for another term.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, Montana
Tim Babcock became governor in January 1962 after his predecessor, Governor Donald Nutter, was killed in a plane crash. Babcock won a full term in the 1964 gubernatorial election.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, New Hampshire
King might have run for another term had the 1968 presidential election not gotten in his way. He was anavid President Lyndon B. Johnson supporter, and a "hawk" on Vietnam. So, when Senator Eugene McCarthy dropped into New Hampshire, King didn't hold back, but his attacks didn't work. President Johnson dropped out of the presidential race, and Vice President Hubert Humphrey joined the race as a result and asked King to run for the Senate. King did, but lost to Republican Norris Cotton.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, New Mexico
David Cargo was re-elected in 1968. Being term-limited in 1970 (see 1970 United States gubernatorial elections), he tried running for other offices, but "Lonesome Dave" never won again.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, North Carolina
In North Carolina, governors were not allowed two consecutive terms until 1977.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, North Dakota
Governors served two-year terms until 1964, when a constitutional amendment changed it to a four-year term.


1968 United States gubernatorial elections, West Virginia
In 1970, during Arch Moore’s term, an amendment to the West Virginia constitution allowed governors to serve two consecutive terms. Thus, Hulett Smith was not eligible for a second term.


1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team
The 1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team represented the United States at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico from October 13 to 25, 1968. Team USA won its seventh consecutive gold medal.


1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team, 1968 USA men's Olympic games roster
The roster was led by future NBA All-Stars Haywood (19 years old) and White (21 years old), who led the team in scoring, with an average of 16.3 points and 11.7 points respectively. Haywood was the youngest player to make the USA basketball team at the time.


1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team, 1968 USA men's Olympic games roster
USA Basketball also selected 6 alternates to the U.S. squad; Tom Black of the Goodyear Wingfoots, George Carter of the US Army, Joe Hamilton of Christian College of the Southwest (TX) Junior College, Dan Issel of the University of Kentucky, Rick Mount of Purdue University and Charles Paulk of Northeastern Oklahoma College.


1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Results
By obtaining an 8–0 record, Team USA would earn its right to play in the gold medal game. The team who won the game would receive the gold medal, and the team who lost the game would receive the silver medal.


1968 United States presidential election
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 the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, Alabama Governor George Wallace.


1968 United States presidential election
Incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson had been the early front-runner for the Democratic Party's nomination, but he withdrew from the race after only narrowly winning the New Hampshire primary. Eugene McCarthy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Humphrey emerged as the three major candidates in the Democratic primaries until Kennedy was assassinated. Humphrey won the nomination, sparking numerous anti-war protests. Nixon entered the Republican primaries as the front-runner, defeating liberal New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and conservative Governor of California Ronald Reagan, and other candidates to win his party's nomination. Alabama's Democratic governor, George Wallace ran on the American Independent Party ticket, campaigning in favor of racial segregation.


1968 United States presidential election
The election year was tumultuous; it was marked by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in early April and subsequent riots across the nation, the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in early June, and widespread opposition to the Vietnam War across university campuses. Vice President Hubert Humphrey won the Democratic nomination, promising to continue Johnson's war on poverty and to support the civil rights movement. Such ideas hurt Humphrey's image in the South, leading to prominent conservative Democratic governor of Alabama, George Wallace to mount a third party challenge against his own party to defend racial segregation.


1968 United States presidential election
Wallace led a far-right American Independent Party attracting socially conservative voters throughout the South, and encroaching further support from white-working class voters in the Industrial Midwest who were attracted to Wallace's economic populism. In doing so, Wallace split the Democratic vote against Humphrey, allowing Republican nominee Richard Nixon to win the presidency despite carrying only 43% of the popular vote.


1968 United States presidential election
Nixon previously served as Vice President under Dwight Eisenhower for eight years, and chose to take advantage of Democratic infighting by running a centrist platform attracting moderate voters as part of his "silent majority" who were alienated by the liberal agenda that was advocated by Hubert Humphrey, and the ultra-conservative viewpoints shared by George Wallace on social issues regarding race and civil rights. Nixon sought to restore law and order to the nation's cities and provide new leadership in the Vietnam War.


1968 United States presidential election
During most of the campaign, Humphrey trailed significantly in polls taken by late August but narrowed Nixon's lead after Wallace's candidacy collapsed and Johnson suspended bombing in the Vietnam War. Despite a last minute effort to win the presidency, Humphrey was unable to surpass Nixon in the final days of the campaign, losing the electoral college significantly as well as the popular vote by a narrow margin.


1968 United States presidential election
Richard Nixon was able to win the Electoral College, dominating several regions in the Western United States, Midwest, Upper 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, carrying 191 electoral votes. Lastly, Wallace won five states in the Deep South and ran well in some ethnic enclave industrial districts in the North; he is the most recent third party candidate to win one or more states.


1968 United States presidential election
This was the first presidential election after passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which had resulted in growing restoration and enforcement 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.


1968 United States presidential election
Richard Nixon's victory is most similar to the 1912 United States Presidential Election where Democratic nominee at the time, Woodrow Wilson won in a reversal situation with a Republican split between President Taft and his archenemy, Theodore Roosevelt. Despite an embarrassing defeat in the presidential level, Democrats were still able to maintain a solid majority in both the Senate, and House of Representatives in simultaneous congressional elections that took place, continuing Democratic dominance in both state and local levels during the Fifth Party System which had begun since Franklin D. Roosevelt's election win in 1932. Richard Nixon also became the first non-incumbent vice president to be elected president, a feat that was not repeated until 2020, when Joe Biden was elected president.


1968 United States presidential election, Historical background
In the election of 1964, incumbent Democratic United States President Lyndon B. Johnson won the largest popular vote landslide in U.S. presidential election history over Republican United States 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Historical background
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 counterculture, 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 leader Rev. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Historical background
The Vietnam War was the primary reason for the precipitous decline of President Lyndon B. Johnson's popularity. He had greatly escalated U.S. commitment: 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. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Historical background
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. But, shortly thereafter, they launched the Tet Offensive, in which they and Communist Vietcong forces undertook simultaneous attacks on all government strongholds across South Vietnam. Though 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 US.


1968 United States presidential election, Historical background
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. 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, Illinois, because it could not guarantee his safety.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, Primaries
The front-runner for the Republican nomination was former Vice President Richard Nixon, who formally began campaigning in January 1968. Nixon had worked tirelessly 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 wariness in the Republican ranks over Nixon, who had lost the 1960 election 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, Primaries
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. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, Primaries
United States 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, Primaries
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 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 United States Senator Jacob Javits, the favorite son, either in preparation of a presidential campaign or to secure him the second spot on the ticket.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, Primaries
As Rockefeller warmed to the idea of entering the race, Javits shifted his effort to seeking a third term in the Senate. Nixon led Rockefeller in the polls throughout the primary campaign, and though Rockefeller defeated Nixon and Governor John Volpe from 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, Primaries
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.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, Republican Convention
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. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, Republican Convention
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 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Republican Party nomination, Republican Convention
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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, 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 22nd Amendment did not disqualify him from running for another term. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Enter Eugene McCarthy
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. Even United States 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Enter Eugene McCarthy
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 campuseswas 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Enter Eugene McCarthy
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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Enter Eugene McCarthy
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 president 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Enter Eugene McCarthy
In time, only United States 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, who shaved their beards and cut their hair to be "Clean for Gene".


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Enter Eugene McCarthy
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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Enter Eugene McCarthy
Sensing Johnson's vulnerability, Senator Robert F. Kennedy announced his candidacy four days after the New Hampshire primary. Thereafter, McCarthy and Kennedy engaged in a series of state primaries. Despite Kennedy's high profile, McCarthy won most of the early primaries, including Kennedy's native state of Massachusetts and some primaries in which he and Kennedy were in direct competition. Following his victory in the key battleground state of Oregon, it was assumed that McCarthy was the preferred choice among the young voters.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, 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,


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Johnson withdraws
"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."


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Johnson withdraws
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. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Johnson withdraws
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. Lewis L. Gould says that Johnson had neglected the Democratic party, was hurting it by his Vietnam policies, and underestimated McCarthy's strength until the last minute, when it was too late for Johnson to recover. Randall Bennett Woods said Johnson realized he needed to leave in order for the nation to heal.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Johnson withdraws
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 preoccupied 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 peacemaker. 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".


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Johnson withdraws
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. 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. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Johnson withdraws
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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Johnson withdraws
Schieffer, who was a reporter for the Star-Telegram's 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 conversion 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Johnson withdraws
After Johnson's withdrawal, the Democratic Party quickly split into four factions.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Johnson withdraws
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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Johnson withdraws
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. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Contest
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 three primaries (Indiana, Nebraska, and California) and McCarthy won one (Oregon). 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Contest
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, and then defeated McCarthy in the Nebraska primary. However, McCarthy upset Kennedy in the Oregon primary.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Contest
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%.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Contest
However, McCarthy refused to withdraw from the race and made it clear that he would contest Kennedy in the upcoming New York primary, where McCarthy had much support from anti-war activists in New York City. The New York primary quickly became a moot point, however, for Kennedy was assassinated  shortly after midnight on June 5; he died twenty-six hours later at Good Samaritan Hospital.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Contest
Kennedy had just given his victory speech in a crowded ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles; he and his aides then entered a narrow kitchen pantry on their way to a banquet room to meet with reporters. In the pantry Kennedy and five others were shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Rosicrucian Palestinian of Christian background and Jordanian citizenship, who hated Kennedy because of his support for Israel. Sirhan admitted his guilt, was convicted of murder, and is still in prison. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Contest
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. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Contest
I think he said to me, and Pete Hamill, 'Daley is the ball game, and I think we have Daley.'" 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. The journalist Richard Reeves and historian Michael Beschloss have both written that Humphrey was the likely nominee, 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Contest
At the moment of RFK's death, the delegate totals were:


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, 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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Democratic Convention and antiwar protests
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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Democratic Convention and antiwar protests
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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Democratic Convention and antiwar protests
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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Democratic Convention and antiwar protests
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 anti-climactic, with Vice-President Humphrey handily beating McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Democratic Convention and antiwar protests
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.


1968 United States presidential election, Democratic Party nomination, Democratic Convention and antiwar protests
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).


1968 United States presidential election, American Independent Party nomination of George Wallace
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. 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 most popular 1968 presidential candidate among young men. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, American Independent Party nomination of George Wallace
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.


1968 United States presidential election, American Independent Party nomination of George Wallace
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.


1968 United States presidential election, American Independent Party nomination of George Wallace
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. 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. Paradoxically, Chandler supported the segregationist Dixiecrats in the 1948 presidential elections. However, after being reelected Governor of Kentucky in 1955, he used National Guard troops to enforce school integration.


1968 United States presidential election, American Independent Party nomination of George Wallace
LeMay embarrassed Wallace's campaign in the fall by suggesting that nuclear weapons could be used in Vietnam.


1968 United States presidential election, American Independent Party nomination of George Wallace, 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; 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."


1968 United States presidential election, General election, 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 the ghettos of most large cities. Wallace, however, won over many of the voters Nixon targeted, effectively splitting that voting bloc. Indeed, 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.


1968 United States presidential election, General election, Campaign strategies
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.


1968 United States presidential election, General election, Campaign themes
Nixon campaigned on a theme to restore "law and order," 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 murder of Martin Luther King in April 1968, there was massive rioting in inner city areas. The police were overwhelmed and President Johnson had to call out the U.S. Army. Nixon also opposed forced busing to desegregate schools. 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.


1968 United States presidential election, General election, Campaign themes
During the campaign, Nixon also used as a theme his opposition to the decisions of Chief Justice Earl Warren. 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. In another campaign promise, he pledged to end the draft.


1968 United States presidential election, General election, Campaign themes
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. 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.