1968 Humphrey-Nixon Election
Profiles
* Political Thought * Colonial Government * Revolution * Constitution * Birth of Party Politics * War of 1812 * James Monroe: "Era of Good Feeling" and Monroe Doctrine * Jacksonian Democracy * Regional Conflict and Compromise * 1860 Election of Abraham Lincoln * Civil War 1861-62 * Civil War 1863-65 * Reconstruction and Impeachment of President Johnson * Gilded Age and Progressive Era * 1912 Election of Woodrow Wilson * 1916 Election and World War I * Women's Suffrage * Depression and 1932 Election of Franklin D. Roosevelt * Prelude to World War II * Pearl Harbor and Mobilization * World War II: European Theater * World War II: Pacific Theater * Atomic Bomb and End of World War II * 1948 Truman-Dewey Election * 1960 Kennedy-Nixon Election * 1964 Johnson-Goldwater Election * Civil Rights Movement * Vietnam: Evolution of the American Role * Vietnam: Kennedy Administration and Intervention * Vietnam: Johnson Administration and Escalation * Vietnam: Nixon, Ford and Fall of South Vietnam * 1968 Humphrey-Nixon Election * Watergate Scandal and Resignation of President Nixon * 1976 Carter-Ford Election * 1980 & 1984 Reagan Elections * Clinton Impeachment * 2000 Bush-Gore Election * War in Iraq * 2008 Obama-McCain Election * 2016 Trump-Clinton Election |
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General Election
The Humphrey campaign was adversely affected by the splits within the Democrats so evident at the Chicago convention, along with Humphrey's reluctance to provoke President Johnson by courting the antiwar and younger constituents who made up so much of the core Kennedy and McCarthy supporters. The third-party candidacy of Alabama Governor George Wallace, running on themes of states' rights, segregation and populism, further divided the Democrats. While Humphrey trailed Richard Nixon by double-digit numbers in most of the early polls, his campaign was sparked a few days before the election when Humphrey finally risked Johnson's disapproval by stating that the war in Vietnam "must come to an end." Four days before the election, Johnson also announced an end to the bombing of North Vietnam, belatedly implementing a pledge that Humphrey had made. On election day, the Republicans won with just over 43% of the votes, half a percent more than the Democratic ticket. |