1960 United States presidential election

==Results==
[[Image:PresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|thumb|right|400px|Results by county explicitly indicating the percentage for the winning candidate. Shades of blue are for Kennedy (Democratic), shades of red are for Nixon (Republican), and shades of green are for [[Unpledged elector]]s (Democratic/States' Rights).]]
[[File:1960 US Presidential election by congressional district.svg|thumb|400x400px|Results by congressional district]]
The election was held on November 8, 1960. Nixon watched the election returns from his suite at the [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Ambassador Hotel]] in Los Angeles, while Kennedy watched them at the [[Kennedy Compound]] in [[Hyannis Port, Massachusetts]]. As the early returns poured in from large Northeastern and Midwestern cities, such as [[Boston]], New York City, [[Philadelphia]], [[Pittsburgh]], [[Cleveland]], Detroit, and Chicago, Kennedy opened a large lead in the popular and electoral votes, and appeared headed for victory. However, as later returns came in from rural and suburban areas in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], the Rocky Mountain states, and the Pacific Coast states, Nixon began to steadily close the gap on Kennedy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/business/media/no-concession-no-sleep-glued-to-the-tv-on-election-night-1960.html|title=No Concession, No Sleep: Glued to the TV on Election Night 1960|last=Beschloss|first=Michael|date=October 29, 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-01-28|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Before midnight, ''[[The New York Times]]'' had gone to press with the headline, "Kennedy Elected President". As the election again became too close to call, ''Times'' managing editor [[Turner Catledge]] hoped that, as he recalled in his memoirs, "a certain Midwestern mayor would steal enough votes to pull Kennedy through", thus allowing the ''Times'' to avoid the embarrassment of announcing the wrong winner, as the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' had [[Dewey Defeats Truman|memorably done twelve years earlier]] in announcing that [[Thomas E. Dewey]] had defeated President [[Harry S. Truman]].<ref name="wash post">{{cite news |title=Another Race To the Finish |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/11/17/another-race-to-the-finish/c810a41c-7da9-461a-927b-9da6d36a65dc/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=November 17, 2000 |access-date=May 12, 2016}}</ref>

Nixon made a speech at about 3&nbsp;am, and hinted that Kennedy might have won the election. News reporters were puzzled, as it was not a formal concession speech. He talked of how Kennedy would be elected if "the present trend continues".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remarks Conceding the Presidential Election in Los Angeles, California {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-conceding-the-presidential-election-los-angeles-california |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu}}</ref> It was not until the afternoon of the next day that Nixon finally conceded the election, and Kennedy claimed his victory.

Kennedy won in twenty-seven of the thirty-nine largest cities, but lost in Southern cities that had voted for [[Adlai Stevenson II]] although he maintained [[Atlanta]], [[New Orleans]], and [[San Antonio]]. New Orleans and San Antonio were the only cities in the Southern United States to have large Catholic populations and Atlanta was a traditional Democratic stronghold.<ref>{{cite book |last=Murphy |first=Paul |date=1974 |title=Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890–present |publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons]]}}</ref> Of the 3,129 counties and county-equivalents making returns, Nixon won in 1,857 (59.35%), while Kennedy carried 1,200 (38.35%). "Unpledged" electors came first in 71 counties and parishes (2.27%) throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, and one borough (0.03%) in Alaska split evenly between Kennedy and Nixon. The Kennedy-Johnson ticket was the first successful all Senator ticket, which would only be replicated in 2008.

This election marked the beginning of a decisive realignment in the Democratic presidential coalition; whereas Democrats had until this point relied on dominating in Southern states to win the electoral college, Kennedy managed to win without carrying a number of these states. As such, this marked the first election in history in which a Republican candidate carried any of Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Virginia, or Idaho without winning the presidency, and the first time since statehood that Arizona backed any losing candidate in a presidential election. This in many ways foreshadowed the results of subsequent elections, in which Democratic candidates from northern states would rely on their performance in the northeast and midwest to win, while Republican candidates would rely on success in the former [[Solid South]] and the [[Mountain states|Mountain West]]. This is the last time a Democrat won without Wisconsin.

[[File:John F. Kennedy voting 1960.jpg|thumb|left|Kennedy casts his ballot at his [[polling place]] at a branch of the [[Boston Public Library]].]]

A sample of how close the election was can be seen in California, Nixon's home state. Kennedy seemed to have carried the state by 37,000 votes when all of the voting precincts reported, but when the [[absentee ballots]] were counted a week later, Nixon came from behind to win the state by 36,000 votes.<ref name="salon">{{cite web |last1=Posner |first1=Gerald |title=The fallacy of Nixon's graceful exit |url=https://www.salon.com/2000/11/10/nixon_4/ |work=Salon |access-date=March 8, 2021 |date=November 11, 2000}}</ref>

Similarly, [[1960 United States presidential election in Hawaii|in Hawaii]], official results showed Nixon winning by a small margin of 141 votes, with the state being called for him early Wednesday morning. Acting Governor [[James Kealoha]] certified the Republican electors, and they cast Hawaii's three electoral votes for Nixon. However, clear discrepancies existed in the official electoral tabulations, and Democrats petitioned for a recount in Hawaii circuit court.<ref name="tuttle1961">{{cite journal|title=The 1960 Election in Hawaii|last=Tuttle|first=Daniel W. Jr.|jstor=443854|pages=331–338|volume=14|number=1, Part 2|journal=[[The Western Political Quarterly]]|publisher=[[University of Utah]]|doi=10.2307/443854|date=March 1961|series=The 1960 Elections in the West|editor-last=Anderson|editor-first=Totton J.|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/106591296101400106|format=PDF|via=[[SAGE Journals]]}}</ref> The court challenge was still ongoing at the time of the [[Electoral Count Act]]'s [[Electoral Count Act#Safe harbor|safe harbor deadline]], but Democratic electors still convened at the [[{{Okina}}Iolani Palace]] on the constitutionally-mandated date of December 19 and cast their votes for Kennedy.<ref name="tuttle1961" /> The recount, completed before Christmas, resulted in Kennedy being declared winner by 115 votes. On December 30, the circuit court ruled that Hawaii's three electoral votes should go to Kennedy. It was decided that a new certificate was necessary, with only two days remaining before Congress convened on January 6, 1961, to count and certify the Electoral College votes. A letter to Congress saying a certificate was on the way was rushed out by registered air mail. Both Democrat and Republican electoral votes from Hawaii were presented for counting on January 6, 1961, and Vice President Nixon who presided over the certification, graciously, and saying "without the intent of establishing a precedent",<ref>{{cite book|author= Brookings Institution |title=The Presidential Election and Transition, 1960–1961: Brookings Lectures and Additional Papers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b-2GAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Brookings Institution |year=1961 |page=152}}</ref> requested unanimous consent that the Democratic votes for Kennedy to be counted.<ref name="honolulu">Burlingame, Burl. "[http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/11/18/editorial/special.html Hawaii was the 'Florida' of 1960 election]." ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin''. November 18, 2000. Retrieved 2020-12-19.</ref><ref name="order">Stern, Michael. "[http://www.pointoforder.com/2016/01/04/what-the-1960-hawaii-presidential-election-meant-for-bush-v-gore/ What the 1960 Hawaii Presidential Election Meant for Bush v. Gore]." Point of Order. January 4, 2016. Retrieved 2020-12-19.</ref>

In the national popular vote, Kennedy beat Nixon by less than two-tenths of one percentage point (0.17%), the closest popular-vote margin of the 20th century. So close was the popular vote that a shift of 18,838 votes in Illinois and Missouri, both won by Kennedy by less than 1%, would have left both Kennedy and Nixon short of the 269 electoral votes required to win, thus forcing a contingent election in the House of Representatives. Furthermore, had all five of the states Kennedy won by a margin of less than 1% (Hawaii, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, and New Mexico) gone to Nixon instead, it would have been enough for Nixon to win the election with 283 electoral votes (not accounting for a faithless elector in Oklahoma).

In the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]], Kennedy's victory was larger, as he took 303 electoral votes, to Nixon's 219. A total of 15 electors – eight from Mississippi, six from Alabama, and one from Oklahoma – all refused to vote for either Kennedy or Nixon, and instead cast their votes for Senator [[Harry F. Byrd]] of Virginia, a conservative Democrat, even though he had not been a candidate for president.<ref name="Dudley Shiraev 2008">{{cite book |last1=Dudley |first1=Robert L. |last2=Shiraev |first2=Eric |title=Counting Every Vote: The Most Contentious Elections in American History |url=https://archive.org/details/countingeveryvot0000dudl |url-access=registration |publisher=Potomac Books |location=Dulles, VA |year=2008 |page=[https://archive.org/details/countingeveryvot0000dudl/page/83 83] |isbn=978-1-59797-224-6}}</ref> Kennedy carried 12 states by three percentage points or less, while Nixon won six by similarly narrow margins. Kennedy carried all but three states in the populous [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]], and he also carried the large states of Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri in the Midwest. With Lyndon Johnson's help, he also carried most of the South, including the large states of North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas. Nixon carried all but three of the Western states (including California), and he ran strong in the farm belt states, where his biggest victory was in Ohio.

''[[The New York Times]]'', summarizing the discussion in late November, spoke of a "narrow consensus" among the experts that Kennedy had won more than he lost "as a result of his Catholicism",<ref>''The New York Times'', November 20, 1960, Section 4, p. E5</ref> as Northern Catholics flocked to Kennedy because of attacks on his religion. Interviewing people who voted in both 1956 and 1960, a [[University of Michigan]] team analyzing the election returns discovered that people who voted Democratic in 1956 split 33–6 for Kennedy, while the Republican voters of 1956 split 44–17 for Nixon. That is, Nixon lost 28% ({{sfrac|17|61}}) of the Eisenhower voters, while Kennedy lost only 15% of the Stevenson voters. The Democrats, in other words, did a better job of holding their 1956 supporters.<ref>{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Angus |display-authors=etal |title=Elections and the Political Order |year=1966 |page=83 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-13340-7}}</ref>

Kennedy said that he saw the challenges ahead and needed the country's support to get through them. In his victory speech, he declared: "To all Americans, I say that the next four years are going to be difficult and challenging years for us all; that a supreme national effort will be needed to move this country safely through the 1960s. I ask your help, and I can assure you that every degree of my spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interest of the United States and to the cause of freedom around the world."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kennedy Wins 1960 Presidential Election - 1960 Year In Review - Audio - UPI.com |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1960/Kennedy-Wins-1960-Presidential-Election/ |access-date=2022-06-30 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> This was the last time [[Ohio]] voted for the losing candidate until [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]].

=== Allegations of vote fraud ===
There were widespread allegations of [[vote fraud]], especially in Texas, where Kennedy's running mate [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] was Senator, and Illinois, home of Mayor [[Richard J. Daley|Richard Daley]]'s powerful [[Chicago political machine]].<ref name="salon"/> These two states were important because if Nixon had carried both, he would have earned 270 electoral votes, one more than the 269 needed to win the presidency. Republican senators such as [[Everett Dirksen]] and [[Barry Goldwater]] claimed vote fraud "played a role in the election",<ref name="wash post"/> and that Nixon actually won the national popular vote. Republicans tried, and failed, to overturn the results in both Illinois and Texas at the time, as well as in nine other states.<ref name="greenberg slate">{{Cite journal| url = http://www.slate.com/id/91350/| last = Greenberg| first = David| title = Was Nixon Robbed?| journal = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]| date = October 16, 2000 }}</ref> [[Earl Mazo]], a journalist who was Nixon's biographer, made accusations of voter fraud.<ref>{{cite news| title=Another Race To the Finish |newspaper=The Washington Post | date=17 November 2000 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/11/17/another-race-to-the-finish/c810a41c-7da9-461a-927b-9da6d36a65dc/ | access-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Richard Nixon 1960 Campaign Button.png|thumb|right|1960 Nixon campaign button]] 
Nixon's campaign staff urged him to pursue recounts and challenge the validity of Kennedy's victory in several states, especially Illinois, Missouri, and New Jersey, where large majorities in Catholic precincts handed Kennedy the election.<ref name="wash post"/> Nixon gave a speech three days after the election, stating that he would not contest the election.<ref name="wash post"/> The Republican National chairman, Senator [[Thruston Ballard Morton]] of Kentucky, visited [[Key Biscayne, Florida]], where Nixon had taken his family for a vacation, and pushed for a recount.<ref name="wash post"/> Morton challenged the results in 11 states,<ref name="salon"/> keeping challenges in the courts into mid-1961, but the only result of these challenges was the loss of Hawaii to Kennedy on a recount.

Kennedy won Illinois by less than 9,000 votes, out of 4.75&nbsp;million cast, a margin of 0.2%.<ref name="salon"/> Nixon carried 92 of the state's 101 counties. Kennedy's victory in Illinois came from Chicago, which had favorable demographics for Kennedy, with its large populations of [[Catholic]] and African-American voters.<ref name="wash post von hippel">{{Cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/08/heres-a-voter-fraud-myth-richard-daley-stole-illinois-for-john-kennedy-in-the-1960-election/| last = von Hippel| first = Paul| title = Here's a voter fraud myth: Richard Daley "stole" Illinois for John Kennedy in the 1960 election?| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]| date = August 8, 2017 }}</ref> His victory margin in the city was 318,736, and 456,312 in Cook County. Daley was alleged to have phoned the Kennedy campaign with the promise "With a little bit of luck and the help of a few close friends, you're going to carry Illinois."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.sfgate.com/magazine/article/Politics-Chicago-Style-3088070.php | title=Politics, Chicago Style | newspaper=Sfgate | date=April 11, 1999 | last1=Matthews | first1=- Christopher }}</ref> When the Republican ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' went to press, 79% of Cook County precincts had reported, compared with just 62% of Illinois's precincts overall. Moreover, Nixon never led in Illinois, and Kennedy's lead merely shrank as election night went on.<ref name="wash post von hippel"/>

In Texas, Kennedy defeated Nixon by a 51 to 49% margin, or 46,000 votes.<ref name="salon"/> Some Republicans argued that Johnson's formidable political machine had stolen enough votes in counties along the [[Mexico–United States border|Mexican border]] to give Kennedy the victory. Kennedy's defenders, such as his speechwriter and special assistant [[Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.]], argued that Kennedy's margin in Texas was simply too large for vote fraud to have been a decisive factor.

[[Earl Mazo]], writing in the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'', argued that in Texas, "a minimum of 100,000 votes for the Kennedy-Johnson ticket simply were nonexistent."{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} Allegations of voter fraud were made in Texas. [[Fannin County, Texas|Fannin County]] had only 4,895 registered voters; yet 6,138 votes were cast in that county, three-quarters for Kennedy.<ref name="wash post"/> In an [[Angelina County, Texas|Angelina County]] precinct, Kennedy received 187 votes, to Nixon's 24, though there were only 86 registered voters in the precinct.<ref name="wash post"/> When Republicans demanded a statewide recount, they learned that the state Board of Elections, whose members were all Democrats, had already certified Kennedy as the winner.<ref name="wash post"/> This analysis has been challenged, since registered voter figures only counted people who had paid the [[Poll taxes in the United States|poll tax]], and "veterans and senior citizens and some other isolated groups" were exempt from that tax.<ref>''The Houston Chronicle'', April 13, 2012, [https://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Vote-ID-law-is-a-waste-of-money-3481335.php "Vote ID law is a waste of money"] by Terri Burke</ref> Earl Mazo's analysis produced evidence of voters casting up to six ballots at once, precinct chiefs bribing voters, and pre-primed voting machines, one of which was caught recording 121 ballots when 43 people voted.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Schlesinger and others have pointed out that even if Nixon had carried Illinois, the state would not have given him a victory, for Kennedy would still have won 276 electoral votes, to Nixon's 246. More to the point, Illinois was the site of the most extensive challenge process, which fell short, despite repeated efforts spearheaded by Cook County state's attorney Benjamin Adamowski, a Republican, who also lost his re-election bid. Despite demonstrating net errors favoring both Nixon and Adamowski (some precincts, 40% in Nixon's case, showed errors favoring them, a factor suggesting error, rather than fraud), the totals found fell short of reversing the results for the candidates. While a Daley-connected circuit judge, Thomas Kluczynski (later appointed a federal judge by Kennedy, at Daley's recommendation), threw out a federal lawsuit "filed to contend" the voting totals,<ref name="wash post"/> the Republican-dominated State Board of Elections unanimously rejected the challenge to the results. Furthermore, there were signs of possible irregularities in downstate areas controlled by Republicans, which Democrats never seriously pressed, since the Republican challenges went nowhere.<ref>''Slate'', October 16, 2000, [http://www.slate.com/id/91350/ "Was Nixon Robbed? The legend of the stolen 1960 presidential election"] by David Greenberg</ref> More than a month after the election, the Republican National Committee abandoned its Illinois voter fraud claims.<ref name="salon"/>

An academic study in 1985<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kallina |first=Edmund F. |title=Was the 1960 Presidential Election Stolen? The Case of Illinois |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27550168 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=113–118 |date=Winter 1985 |access-date=November 19, 2020 |jstor=27550168}}</ref> later analyzed the ballots of two disputed precincts in Chicago which were subject to a recount. It found that while there was a pattern of miscounting votes to the advantage of Democratic candidates, Nixon suffered less from this than Republicans in other races, and, furthermore, the extrapolated error would only have reduced his Illinois margin from 8,858 votes (the final official total) to just under 8,000. It concluded there was insufficient evidence that he had been cheated out of winning Illinois.

A special prosecutor assigned to the case brought charges against 650 people, but charges were later dropped.<ref name="wash post"/> Three Chicago election workers were convicted of voter fraud in 1962, and served short terms in jail.<ref name="wash post"/> Mazo later said that he "found names of the dead who had voted in Chicago, along with 56 people from one house".<ref name="wash post"/> He also found cases of Republican voter fraud in southern Illinois, but said that the totals "did not match the Chicago fraud he found."<ref name="wash post"/> After Mazo had published four parts of an intended 12-part voter fraud series documenting his findings, which was re-published nationally, he said: "Nixon requested his publisher stop the rest of the series so as to prevent a [[constitutional crisis]]."<ref name="wash post"/> Nevertheless, the ''Chicago Tribune'' (which routinely endorsed GOP presidential candidates, including Nixon in 1960, 1968, and 1972) wrote that "the election of November 8 was characterized by such gross and palpable fraud as to justify the conclusion that [Nixon] was deprived of victory".<ref name="wash post"/>

Nixon's personal decision not to challenge the electoral results came despite pressure from Eisenhower, his wife [[Pat Nixon|Pat]], and others. He explained in his memoirs that he did not do it for a number of reasons, one of them being that every state had different electoral laws, and some had no provisions for a vote recount. Consequently, a recount of the votes, if it was even possible, would take months, during which time the nation would be left without a president. Furthermore, Nixon feared that it would set a bad precedent for other countries, especially the Latin American states ("every pipsqueak politician down there would start claiming fraud when he lost an election"). "I had no doubt that had the results been the other way around, Kennedy wouldn't have hesitated to challenge the election."

=== Popular votes ===

==== Alabama ====
{{See also|1960 United States presidential election in Alabama|United States presidential elections in which the winner lost the popular vote#1960 Alabama results ambiguity}}

The situation in Alabama was controversial, as the number of popular votes that Kennedy received in Alabama is difficult to determine because of the unusual situation there. Instead of having the voters use one vote to choose from a slate of electors, the Alabama ballot had voters choose the [[US Presidential Electors|electors]] individually with up to 11 votes. In such a situation, a given candidate is traditionally assigned the popular vote of the elector who received the most votes. For instance, all 11 Republican candidates in Alabama were pledged to Nixon, and the 11 Republican electors received anywhere from as low as 230,951 votes (for George Witcher) to as high as 237,981 votes (for Cecil Durham); Nixon is therefore assigned 237,981 popular votes from Alabama.

The situation was more complicated on the Democratic side. The Alabama statewide Democratic primary had chosen 11 candidates for the Electoral College, five of whom were pledged to vote for Kennedy, but the other six of whom were unpledged and could therefore vote for anyone that they chose to be president. All 11 of these Democratic candidates won in the general election in Alabama, from as low as 316,394 votes for Karl Harrison, to as high as 324,050 votes for [[Frank M. Dixon]]. All six of the unpledged Democratic electors ended up voting against Kennedy, and instead voted for the Dixiecrat segregationist [[Harry F. Byrd]]. The number of popular votes that Kennedy received is therefore difficult to calculate. There are typically three methods that can be used. The first method, which is mostly used and the method used on the results table on this page below, is to assign Kennedy 318,303 votes in Alabama (the votes won by the most popular Kennedy elector, C.G. Allen), and to assign 324,050 votes in Alabama (the votes won by the most popular unpledged Democratic elector, Frank M. Dixon) to unpledged electors. However, using this method gives a combined voting total that is much higher than the actual number of votes cast for the Democrats in Alabama. The second method that can be used is to give Kennedy 318,303 votes in Alabama, and count the remaining 5,747 Democratic votes as unpledged electors.

The third method would give a completely different outlook in terms of the popular vote in both Alabama and in the USA overall. The third method is to allocate the Democratic votes in Alabama between Kennedy electors and unpledged electors on a percentage basis, giving 5/11s of the 324,050 Democratic votes to Kennedy (which comes to 147,295 votes for Kennedy) and 6/11s of the 324,050 Democratic votes to unpledged electors (which comes to 176,755 votes for unpledged electors). Bearing in mind that the highest Republican/Nixon elector in Alabama got 237,981 votes, this third method of calculating the Alabama vote means that Nixon wins the popular vote in Alabama, and wins the popular vote in the USA overall, as it would give Kennedy 34,049,976 votes nationally, and Nixon 34,108,157 votes nationally.<ref name="trende">{{cite news| title = Did JFK Lose the Popular Vote?| publisher = RealClearPolitics| date = October 22, 2012| url = http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/10/19/did_jfk_lose_the_popular_vote_115833.html| access-date = October 23, 2012 }}</ref>

==== Georgia ====
{{see also|1960 United States presidential election in Georgia}}
The number of popular votes Kennedy and Nixon received in Georgia is also difficult to determine because voters voted for 12 separate electors.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal|last1=Novotny|first1=Patrick|title=John F. Kennedy, the 1960 Election, and Georgia's Unpledged Electors in the Electoral College|journal=Georgia Historical Quarterly|date=2004|volume=88|issue=3|pages=375–397|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=14658910&site=eds-live&scope=site|access-date=February 15, 2018}}</ref> The vote totals of 458,638 for Kennedy and 274,472 for Nixon reflect the number of votes for the Kennedy and Nixon electors who received the highest number of votes. The Republican and Democratic electors receiving the highest number of votes were [[outliers]] from the other 11 electors from their party. The average vote totals for the 12 electors were 455,629 for the Democratic electors, and 273,110 for the Republican electors. This shrinks Kennedy's election margin in Georgia by 1,647 votes, to 182,519.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Gaines| first=Brian J.| date=March 2001| title=Popular Myths About Popular Vote–Electoral College Splits| journal=PS: Political Science & Politics| page=74| url=http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/PopularMythsPopularVote-Gaines.pdf| access-date=April 2, 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060523234634/http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/PopularMythsPopularVote-Gaines.pdf| archive-date=May 23, 2006| url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Unpledged Democratic electors ===
{{main|Unpledged elector}}
[[File:Harry F. Byrd.jpg|thumb|200px|Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. received 15 electoral votes]]

Many Southern Democrats were opposed to voting rights for African Americans living in the South. There was a call from segregationists for electoral votes to be withheld, or to be cast for Virginia senator [[Harry F. Byrd]], a segregationist Democrat, as an independent candidate.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Novotny|first=Patrick|date=Fall 2004|title=John F. Kennedy, the 1960 Election, and Georgia's Unpledged Electors in the Electoral College|journal=The Georgia Historical Quarterly|volume=88}}</ref> Both before and after the convention, they attempted to put [[unpledged elector|unpledged Democratic electors]] on their states' ballots, in the hopes of influencing the race; the existence of such electors might influence which candidate would be chosen by the national convention, and in a close race, such electors might be in a position to extract concessions from either the Democratic or Republican presidential candidates in return for their electoral votes.

Most of these attempts failed. The Democrats in Alabama put up a mixed slate of five electors loyal to Kennedy and six unpledged electors. The Democrats in Mississippi put up two distinct slates – one of Kennedy loyalists, and one of unpledged electors. Louisiana also put up two distinct slates, although the unpledged slate did not receive the "Democratic" label. Georgia freed its Democratic electors from pledges to vote for Kennedy, although all 12 Democratic electors in Georgia did end up voting for Kennedy. Governor [[Ernest Vandiver]] wanted the Democratic electors to vote against Kennedy. Former governor Ellis Arnall supported Kennedy getting the electoral votes, with Arnall calling Vandiver's stand "utterly disgraceful".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Novotny|first=Patrick|date=Fall 2004|title=John F. Kennedy, the 1960 Election, and Georgia's Unpledged Electors in the Electoral College|journal=The Georgia Historical Quarterly|volume=88|pages=383}}</ref>

In total, 14 [[Unpledged elector|unpledged Democratic electors]] won election from the voters and chose not to vote for Kennedy, eight from Mississippi and six from Alabama. Because electors pledged to Kennedy had won a clear majority of the Electoral College, the unpledged electors could not influence the results. Nonetheless, they refused to vote for Kennedy. Instead, they voted for Byrd, even though he was not an announced candidate and did not seek their votes. In addition, Byrd received one electoral vote from a faithless Republican elector in Oklahoma, for a total of 15 electoral votes. The faithless Republican elector in Oklahoma voted for [[Barry Goldwater]] as vice president; whereas the 14 unpledged Democratic electors from Mississippi and Alabama voted for [[Strom Thurmond]] as vice president.

{{start U.S. presidential ticket box}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name= [[John F. Kennedy]]| party=[[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]]| state=Massachusetts | pv=34,220,984{{ref|box-a|(a)}} |pv_pct=49.72%| ev=303| vp_name=[[Lyndon B. Johnson]]| vp_state=Texas}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Richard Nixon]]| party=[[United States Republican Party|Republican]]| state=California| pv=34,108,157| pv_pct=49.55%| ev=219| vp_name=[[Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.]]| vp_state=Massachusetts}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box rowspan| name=[[Harry F. Byrd]]| party=[[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]]| state=Virginia| pv=—{{ref|box-b|(b)}}| pv_pct=—{{ref|box-b|(b)}}| ev=15| vp_count=2| vp_name=[[Strom Thurmond]]| vp_state=South Carolina| vp_ev=14|}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box vp subrow| vp_name=[[Barry Goldwater]]{{ref|box-c|(c)}}| vp_state=Arizona| vp_ev=1{{ref|box-c|(c)}}}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row |name= (''[[unpledged elector]]s'') | party= [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] | state= (''n/a'') | pv=286,359| pv_pct=0.42% | ev=—{{ref|box-d|(d)}}| vp_name= (''n/a'') | vp_state= (''n/a'') | vp_ev=—{{ref|box-d|(d)}}}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Eric Hass]]| party=[[Socialist Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor]]| state=New York| pv=47,522| pv_pct=0.07%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Georgia Cozzini]]| vp_state=Wisconsin}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Rutherford Decker]]| party=[[Prohibition Party|Prohibition]]| state=Missouri| pv=46,203| pv_pct=0.07%| ev=0| vp_name=[[E. Harold Munn]]| vp_state=Michigan}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Orval Faubus]]| party=[[National States' Rights Party|States' Rights]]| state=Arkansas| pv=44,984| pv_pct=0.07%| ev=0| vp_name=[[John G. Crommelin]]| vp_state=Alabama}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Farrell Dobbs]]| party=[[Socialist Workers Party (United States)|Socialist Workers]]| state=New York| pv=40,175| pv_pct=0.06%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Myra Tanner Weiss]]| vp_state=New York}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Charles L. Sullivan]]| party=[[Constitution Party (United States 1952)|Constitution]]| state=Mississippi| pv= (TX) 18,162| pv_pct=0.03%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Merritt B. Curtis]]| vp_state=California}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[J. Bracken Lee]]| party=Conservative| state=Utah| pv= (NJ) 8,708| pv_pct=0.01%| ev=0| vp_name=Kent Courtney| vp_state=Louisiana|}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box other| pv=11,128| pv_pct=0.02%}}
{{end U.S. presidential ticket box| pv=68,832,482| ev=537| to_win=269}}

{{ubl|a.{{note|box-a||''This figure is problematic; see [[#Alabama|Alabama popular vote]] above.''}}
|b.{{note|box-b||''Byrd was not directly on the ballot. Instead, his electoral votes came from [[Unpledged Elector|unpledged Democratic electors]] and a faithless elector.''}}
|c.{{note|box-c||''Oklahoma [[faithless elector]] [[Henry D. Irwin]], though pledged to vote for Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., instead voted for non-candidate [[Harry F. Byrd]]. However, unlike other electors who voted for Byrd and [[Strom Thurmond]] as vice president, Irwin cast his vice presidential electoral vote for Arizona Republican Senator Barry Goldwater.''}}
|d.{{note|box-d||''In Mississippi, the slate of unpledged Democratic electors won. They cast their 8 votes for Byrd and Thurmond.''}}}}

'''Source (Popular Vote):''' {{Leip PV source 2| year=1960| as of= February 18, 2012}}Note: Sullivan / Curtis ran only in Texas. In Washington, the Constitution Party ran Curtis for president and B. N. Miller for vice president, receiving 1,401 votes.
'''Source (Electoral Vote):''' {{National Archives EV source| year=1960| as of=August 2, 2005}}

There were 537 electoral votes, up from 531 in 1956, because of the addition of two U.S. senators and one U.S. representative from each of the new states of Alaska and Hawaii. The House of Representatives was temporarily expanded from 435 members to 437, to accommodate this, and went back to 435 when re-apportioned, according to the 1960 census. The re-apportionment took place after the 1960 election.

{{bar box
|title=Popular vote
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=410px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Kennedy'''|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|49.72}}
{{bar percent|Nixon|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|49.55}}
{{bar percent|Unpledged (Byrd)|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|0.42}}
{{bar percent|Others|#777777|0.31}}
}}
{{bar box
|title=Electoral vote
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=410px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Kennedy'''|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|56.42}}
{{bar percent|Nixon|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|40.78}}
{{bar percent|Byrd|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|2.79}}
}}

===Geography of results===
[[File:1960 Electoral Map.png|650px|thumb|left]]
<gallery perrow="3" widths="500px" heights="317px">
File:1960 United States presidential election results map by county.svg|Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote
</gallery>

====Cartographic gallery====
<gallery perrow="5" widths="185px" heights="113px">
File:PresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|Presidential election results by county
File:DemocraticPresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|Democratic presidential election results by county
File:RepublicanPresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|Republican presidential election results by county
File:UnpledgedElectorsPresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|Unpledged electors presidential election results by county
File:OtherPresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|"Other" presidential election results by county
File:CartogramPresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of presidential election results by county
File:CartogramDemocraticPresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of Democratic presidential election results by county
File:CartogramRepublicanPresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of Republican presidential election results by county
File:CartogramUnpledgedElectorsPresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of unpledged electors presidential election results by county
File:CartogramOtherPresidentialCounty1960Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of "Other" presidential election results by county
</gallery>

===Results by state===
Source:<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1960&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0|title=1960 Presidential General Election Data – National|access-date=March 18, 2013}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
|States won by [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]]/[[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]]
|-{{Party shading/Dixiecrat}}
|States won by [[Harry F. Byrd|Byrd]]/[[Strom Thurmond|Thurmond]]
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
|States won by [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]]/[[Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.|Lodge]]
|}<div style="overflow:auto">
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
!colspan=2|
! align=center colspan=3 | John F. Kennedy<br>Democratic
! align=center colspan=3 | Richard Nixon<br>Republican
! align=center colspan=3 | Unpledged Electors<br>Unpledged Democratic
! align=center colspan=3 | Eric Hass<br> Socialist Labor
! align=center colspan=2 | Margin
! align=center colspan=2 | State Total
|-
! align=center | State
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br>votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br>votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br>votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br>votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br>votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | #
!
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Alabama|Alabama]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
| 318,303
| 56.39
| 5
| 237,981
| 42.16
| –
| 324,050
| 0.00
| 6
| –
| –
| –
| 80,322
| 14.23
| 564,478
| style="text-align:center;" | AL
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Alaska|Alaska]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 29,809
| 49.06
| –
| 30,953
| 50.94
| 3
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −1,144
| −1.88
| 60,762
| style="text-align:center;" | AK
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Arizona|Arizona]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 176,781
| 44.36
| –
| 221,241
| 55.52
| 4
| –
| –
| –
| 469
| 0.12
| –
| −44,460
| −11.16
| 398,491
| style="text-align:center;" | AZ
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Arkansas|Arkansas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 215,049
| 50.19
| 8
| 184,508
| 43.06
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 30,541
| 7.13
| 428,509
| style="text-align:center;" | AR
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in California|California]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 32
| 3,224,099
| 49.55
| –
| 3,259,722
| 50.10
| 32
| –
| –
| –
| 1,051
| 0.02
| –
| −35,623
| −0.55
| 6,506,578
| style="text-align:center;" | CA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Colorado|Colorado]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
| 330,629
| 44.91
| –
| 402,242
| 54.63
| 6
| –
| –
| –
| 2,803
| 0.38
| –
| −71,613
| −9.73
| 736,246
| style="text-align:center;" | CO
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Connecticut|Connecticut]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 657,055
| 53.73
| 8
| 565,813
| 46.27
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 91,242
| 7.46
| 1,222,883
| style="text-align:center;" | CT
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Delaware|Delaware]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 99,590
| 50.63
| 3
| 96,373
| 49.00
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 82
| 0.04
| –
| 3,217
| 1.64
| 196,683
| style="text-align:center;" | DE
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Florida|Florida]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 748,700
| 48.49
| –
| 795,476
| 51.51
| 10
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −46,776
| −3.03
| 1,544,176
| style="text-align:center;" | FL
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Georgia|Georgia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 458,638
| 62.54
| 12
| 274,472
| 37.43
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 184,166
| 25.11
| 733,349
| style="text-align:center;" | GA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Hawaii|Hawaii]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 92,410
| 50.03
| 3
| 92,295
| 49.97
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 115
| 0.06
| 184,705
| style="text-align:center;" | HI
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Idaho|Idaho]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 138,853
| 46.22
| –
| 161,597
| 53.78
| 4
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −22,744
| −7.57
| 300,450
| style="text-align:center;" | ID
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Illinois|Illinois]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 27
| 2,377,846
| 49.98
| 27
| 2,368,988
| 49.80
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 10,560
| 0.22
| –
| 8,858
| 0.19
| 4,757,409
| style="text-align:center;" | IL
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Indiana|Indiana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 952,358
| 44.60
| –
| 1,175,120
| 55.03
| 13
| –
| –
| –
| 1,136
| 0.05
| –
| −222,762
| −10.43
| 2,135,360
| style="text-align:center;" | IN
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Iowa|Iowa]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 550,565
| 43.22
| –
| 722,381
| 56.71
| 10
| –
| –
| –
| 230
| 0.02
| –
| −171,816
| −13.49
| 1,273,810
| style="text-align:center;" | IA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Kansas|Kansas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 363,213
| 39.10
| –
| 561,474
| 60.45
| 8
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −198,261
| −21.35
| 928,825
| style="text-align:center;" | KS
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Kentucky|Kentucky]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 521,855
| 46.41
| –
| 602,607
| 53.59
| 10
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −80,752
| −7.18
| 1,124,462
| style="text-align:center;" | KY
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Louisiana|Louisiana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 407,339
| 50.42
| 10
| 230,980
| 28.59
| –
| 169,572
| 20.99
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 176,359
| 21.83
| 807,891
| style="text-align:center;" | LA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Maine|Maine]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| 181,159
| 42.95
| –
| 240,608
| 57.05
| 5
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −59,449
| −14.10
| 421,767
| style="text-align:center;" | ME
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Maryland|Maryland]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
| 565,808
| 53.61
| 9
| 489,538
| 46.39
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 76,270
| 7.23
| 1,055,349
| style="text-align:center;" | MD
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
| 1,487,174
| 60.22
| 16
| 976,750
| 39.55
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 3,892
| 0.16
| –
| 510,424
| 20.67
| 2,469,480
| style="text-align:center;" | MA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Michigan|Michigan]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
| 1,687,269
| 50.85
| 20
| 1,620,428
| 48.84
| –
| 539
| 0.02
| –
| 1,718
| 0.05
| –
| 66,841
| 2.01
| 3,318,097
| style="text-align:center;" | MI
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Minnesota|Minnesota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
| 779,933
| 50.58
| 11
| 757,915
| 49.16
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 962
| 0.06
| –
| 22,018
| 1.43
| 1,541,887
| style="text-align:center;" | MN
|-{{Party shading/Dixiecrat}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Mississippi|Mississippi]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 108,362
| 36.34
| –
| 73,561
| 24.67
| –
| 116,248
| 38.99
| 8
| –
| –
| –
| −7,886
| −2.64
| 298,171
| style="text-align:center;" | MS
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Missouri|Missouri]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 972,201
| 50.26
| 13
| 962,221
| 49.74
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 9,980
| 0.52
| 1,934,422
| style="text-align:center;" | MO
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Montana|Montana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 134,891
| 48.60
| –
| 141,841
| 51.10
| 4
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −6,950
| −2.50
| 277,579
| style="text-align:center;" | MT
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Nebraska|Nebraska]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
| 232,542
| 37.93
| –
| 380,553
| 62.07
| 6
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −148,011
| −24.14
| 613,095
| style="text-align:center;" | NE
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Nevada|Nevada]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 54,880
| 51.16
| 3
| 52,387
| 48.84
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 2,493
| 2.32
| 107,267
| style="text-align:center;" | NV
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in New Hampshire|New Hampshire]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 137,772
| 46.58
| –
| 157,989
| 53.42
| 4
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −20,217
| −6.84
| 295,761
| style="text-align:center;" | NH
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in New Jersey|New Jersey]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
| 1,385,415
| 49.96
| 16
| 1,363,324
| 49.16
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 4,262
| 0.15
| –
| 22,091
| 0.80
| 2,773,111
| style="text-align:center;" | NJ
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in New Mexico|New Mexico]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 156,027
| 50.15
| 4
| 153,733
| 49.41
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 570
| 0.18
| –
| 2,294
| 0.74
| 311,107
| style="text-align:center;" | NM
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in New York|New York]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 45
| 3,830,085
| 52.53
| 45
| 3,446,419
| 47.27
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 383,666
| 5.26
| 7,291,079
| style="text-align:center;" | NY
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in North Carolina|North Carolina]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 14
| 713,136
| 52.11
| 14
| 655,420
| 47.89
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 57,716
| 4.22
| 1,368,556
| style="text-align:center;" | NC
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in North Dakota|North Dakota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 123,963
| 44.52
| –
| 154,310
| 55.42
| 4
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −30,347
| −10.90
| 278,431
| style="text-align:center;" | ND
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Ohio|Ohio]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 25
| 1,944,248
| 46.72
| –
| 2,217,611
| 53.28
| 25
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −273,363
| −6.57
| 4,161,859
| style="text-align:center;" | OH
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Oklahoma|Oklahoma]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 370,111
| 40.98
| –
| 533,039
| 59.02
| 7
| 0
| 0.00
| 1
| –
| –
| –
| −162,928
| −18.04
| 903,150
| style="text-align:center;" | OK
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Oregon|Oregon]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
| 367,402
| 47.32
| –
| 408,060
| 52.56
| 6
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −40,658
| −5.24
| 776,421
| style="text-align:center;" | OR
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 32
| 2,556,282
| 51.06
| 32
| 2,439,956
| 48.74
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 7,185
| 0.14
| –
| 116,326
| 2.32
| 5,006,541
| style="text-align:center;" | PA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Rhode Island|Rhode Island]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 258,032
| 63.63
| 4
| 147,502
| 36.37
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 110,530
| 27.26
| 405,535
| style="text-align:center;" | RI
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in South Carolina|South Carolina]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 198,129
| 51.24
| 8
| 188,558
| 48.76
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 9,571
| 2.48
| 386,688
| style="text-align:center;" | SC
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in South Dakota|South Dakota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 128,070
| 41.79
| –
| 178,417
| 58.21
| 4
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −50,347
| −16.43
| 306,487
| style="text-align:center;" | SD
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Tennessee|Tennessee]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
| 481,453
| 45.77
| –
| 556,577
| 52.92
| 11
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −75,124
| −7.14
| 1,051,792
| style="text-align:center;" | TN
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Texas|Texas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 24
| 1,167,567
| 50.52
| 24
| 1,121,310
| 48.52
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 46,257
| 2.00
| 2,311,084
| style="text-align:center;" | TX
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Utah|Utah]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 169,248
| 45.17
| –
| 205,361
| 54.81
| 4
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −36,113
| −9.64
| 374,709
| style="text-align:center;" | UT
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Vermont|Vermont]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 69,186
| 41.35
| –
| 98,131
| 58.65
| 3
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −28,945
| −17.30
| 167,324
| style="text-align:center;" | VT
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Virginia|Virginia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 362,327
| 46.97
| –
| 404,521
| 52.44
| 12
| –
| –
| –
| 397
| 0.05
| –
| −42,194
| −5.47
| 771,449
| style="text-align:center;" | VA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Washington (state)|Washington]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
| 599,298
| 48.27
| –
| 629,273
| 50.68
| 9
| –
| –
| –
| 10,895
| 0.88
| –
| −29,975
| −2.41
| 1,241,572
| style="text-align:center;" | WA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in West Virginia|West Virginia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 441,786
| 52.73
| 8
| 395,995
| 47.27
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| 45,791
| 5.47
| 837,781
| style="text-align:center;" | WV
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Wisconsin|Wisconsin]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 830,805
| 48.05
| –
| 895,175
| 51.77
| 12
| –
| –
| –
| 1,310
| 0.08
| –
| −64,370
| −3.72
| 1,729,082
| style="text-align:center;" | WI
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 United States presidential election in Wyoming|Wyoming]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 63,331
| 44.99
| –
| 77,451
| 55.01
| 3
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| −14,120
| −10.03
| 140,782
| style="text-align:center;" | WY
|-
! TOTALS:
! 537
! 34,220,984
! 49.72
! 303
! 34,108,157
! 49.55
! 219
! 286,359
! 0.42
! 15
! 47,522
! 0.07
! –
! 112,827
! 0.16
! 68,832,482
| style="text-align:center;" | US
|}</div>

====States that flipped from Republican to Democratic====
*[[Connecticut]]
*[[Delaware]]
*[[Illinois]]
*[[Louisiana]]
*[[Maryland]]
*[[Massachusetts]]
*[[Michigan]]
*[[Minnesota]]
*[[Nevada]]
*[[New Jersey]]
*[[New Mexico]]
*[[New York (state)|New York]]
*[[Pennsylvania]]
*[[Rhode Island]]
*[[Texas]]
*[[West Virginia]]

====States that flipped from Democratic to Unpledged====
*[[Alabama]]
*[[Mississippi]]

===Close states===
Margin of victory less than 1% (95 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Hawaii, 0.06% (115 votes)''' </span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Illinois, 0.19% (8,858 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Missouri, 0.52% (9,980 votes)'''</span> (tipping point state for Kennedy win) 
# <span style="color:red;">'''California, 0.55% (35,623 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''New Mexico, 0.74% (2,294 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''New Jersey, 0.80% (22,091 votes)'''</span> (tipping point state if Nixon wins)

Margin of victory less than 5% (161 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Minnesota, 1.43% (22,018 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Delaware, 1.64% (3,217 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Alaska, 1.88% (1,144 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Texas, 2.00% (46,257 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Michigan, 2.01% (66,841 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Nevada, 2.32% (2,493 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Pennsylvania, 2.32% (116,326 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Washington, 2.41% (29,975 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''South Carolina, 2.48% (9,571 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Montana, 2.50% (6,950 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:orange;">'''Mississippi, 2.64% (7,886 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Florida, 3.03% (46,776 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Wisconsin, 3.72% (64,370 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''North Carolina, 4.22%''' '''(57,716 votes)'''</span>

Margin of victory over 5%, but under 10% (160 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:red;">'''Oregon, 5.24% (40,658 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''New York, 5.26% (383,666 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''West Virginia, 5.46% (45,791 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Virginia, 5.47% (42,194 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Ohio, 6.57% (273,363 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''New Hampshire, 6.84% (20,217 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Arkansas, 7.13% (30,541 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Tennessee, 7.15% (75,124 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Kentucky, 7.18% (80,752 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Maryland, 7.22% (76,270 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Connecticut, 7.46% (91,242 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Idaho, 7.56% (22,744 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Utah, 9.64% (36,113 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Colorado, 9.73% (71,613 votes)'''</span>

==== Statistics ====
<ref name="auto"/>

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Democratic)
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Seminole County, Georgia]] 95.35%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Miller County, Georgia]] 94.74%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Hart County, Georgia]] 93.51%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Starr County, Texas]] 93.49%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Madison County, Georgia]] 92.18%</span>'''

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Republican)
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Jackson County, Kentucky]] 90.35%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Johnson County, Tennessee]] 86.74%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Owsley County, Kentucky]] 86.24%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Hooker County, Nebraska]] 86.19%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Sevier County, Tennessee]] 85.05%</span>'''

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Other)
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Amite County, Mississippi]] 72.72%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Wilkinson County, Mississippi]] 68.09%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Jefferson County, Mississippi]] 66.54%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Franklin County, Mississippi]] 66.37%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Rankin County, Mississippi]] 65.12%</span>'''