1968 United States presidential election

===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 [[antiwar|anti-war]] elements within the party, who identified him with Johnson's controversial position on the Vietnam War. However, Kennedy's delegates failed to unite behind a single candidate who could have prevented Humphrey from getting the nomination. Some of Kennedy's support went to McCarthy, but many of Kennedy's delegates, remembering their bitter primary battles with McCarthy, refused to vote for him. Instead, these delegates rallied around the late-starting candidacy of Senator [[George McGovern]] of South Dakota, a Kennedy supporter in the spring primaries who had presidential ambitions himself. This division of the anti-war votes at the Democratic Convention made it easier for Humphrey to gather the delegates he needed to win the nomination.
[[File:Photograph of Hubert Humphrey and Edmund Muskie at the 1968 Democratic National Convention a.jpg|thumb|Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]] and U.S. Senator [[Edmund Muskie]] wave from the podium at the [[1968 Democratic National Convention]] in Chicago]]
When the [[1968 Democratic National Convention]] opened in Chicago, thousands of young activists from around the nation gathered in the city to [[1968 Democratic National Convention protest activity|protest the Vietnam War]]. On the evening of August 28, in a clash which was covered on live television, Americans were shocked to see Chicago police brutally beating anti-war protesters in the streets of Chicago in front of the Conrad Hilton Hotel. While the protesters chanted, "[[The whole world is watching]]", the police used clubs and [[tear gas]] to beat back or arrest the protesters, leaving many of them bloody and dazed. The tear gas wafted into numerous hotel suites; in one of them Vice President Humphrey was watching the proceedings on television. The police said that their actions were justified because numerous police officers were being injured by bottles, rocks, and broken glass that were being thrown at them by the protestors. The protestors had also yelled insults at the police, calling them "pigs" and other [[epithets]]. The anti-war and police riot divided the Democratic Party's base: some supported the protestors and felt that the police were being heavy-handed, but others disapproved of the violence and supported the police. Meanwhile, the convention itself was marred by the strong-arm tactics of Chicago's mayor Richard J. Daley (who was seen on television angrily cursing Senator [[Abraham Ribicoff]] from Connecticut, who made a speech at the convention denouncing the excesses of the Chicago police). In the end, the nomination itself was anticlimactic, with Vice-president Humphrey handily beating McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot.

After the delegates nominated Humphrey, the convention then turned to selecting a vice-presidential nominee. The main candidates for this position were Senators [[Edward M. Kennedy]] from Massachusetts, [[Edmund Muskie]] from Maine, and [[Fred R. Harris]] from Oklahoma; Governors [[Richard J. Hughes|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.

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 [[1996 Democratic National Convention|Democratic convention of 1996]], which nominated [[Bill Clinton]] for a second term, while the [[2024 Democratic National Convention|Democratic convention of 2024]] is scheduled to host in Chicago).<ref>{{Cite book |title=Guide to U.S. Elections |publisher=[[CQ Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60426-536-1 |editor-last=Kalb |editor-first=Deborah |location=Washington, DC |pages=622–624}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|+Balloting
|-
!colspan=2|Presidential tally!! colspan=2|Vice Presidential tally
|-
![[Hubert Humphrey]] !!1759.25!! [[Edmund S. Muskie]] !!1942.5
|-
![[Eugene McCarthy]]!!601!! Not Voting !!604.25
|-
![[George S. McGovern]] !!146.5!! [[Julian Bond]] !!48.5
|-
![[Channing Phillips]] !!67.5!! David Hoeh !!4
|-
![[Daniel K. Moore]] !!17.5!! [[Edward M. Kennedy]] !!3.5
|-
![[Edward M. Kennedy]] !!12.75!! [[Eugene McCarthy]] !!3.0
|-
![[Bear Bryant|Paul W. "Bear" Bryant]] !!1.5!! Others !! 16.25
|-
![[James H. Gray Sr.|James H. Gray]] !!0.5!! !!
|-
![[George Wallace]] !!0.5!! !!
|}
Source: Keating Holland, "All the Votes... Really", CNN<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/san.diego/facts/weird.facts/votes.shtml.orig |title=AllPolitics – 1996 GOP NRC – All The Votes...Really |publisher=Cnn.com |access-date=November 3, 2008}}</ref>