1968 United States presidential election

==General election==

=== Polling ===
<div class="floatright" style="border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; background-color: #f8f9fa; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; padding: 0.2em;">
<div style="font-size:120%;">'''Polling aggregates'''</div>
<div style="font-size:105%;">'''Candidates'''</div>
{{legend|#E81B23|Richard Nixon}}
{{legend|#3333FF|Hubert Humphrey}}
{{legend|Purple|George Wallace}}
{{legend|Silver|Undecided/Other}}
<div style="font-size:105%;">'''Events'''</div>
{{legend|LightSteelBlue|Conventions}}
</div>
{{Graph:Chart|width=950|vannotatonsline=1968/08/05, 1968/08/25|y8=<!-- 1968 --> ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 0.33 <!-- Wallace Final -->|y7=<!-- 1968 --> ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 13.53 <!-- Wallace Final -->|y6=<!-- 1968 --> ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 42.72 <!-- Humphrey Final -->|y5=<!-- 1968 --> ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 43.42 <!-- Nixon Final -->|y4=<!-- 1968 --> 19, 9, 13, 11, 8, 8, 7, 9, 11, 6, 8, 9, 7, 9, 8, 7, 7, 5, 7, 7,<!-- Undecided/Other -->|y3=<!-- 1968 --> 12, 14, 13, 14, 14, 14, 14, 16, 17, 16, 18, 17, 19, 21, 21, 20, 18, 15, 16, 14,<!-- Wallace -->|y2=<!-- 1968 --> 35, 34, 38, 36, 41, 42, 42, 40, 37, 38, 29, 34, 31, 31, 28, 29, 35, 36, 37, 40,<!-- Humphrey -->|y1=<!-- 1968 --> 34, 43, 36, 39, 37, 36, 37, 35, 35, 40, 45, 40, 43, 39, 43, 44, 40, 44, 40, 42,<!-- Nixon -->|x=<!-- 1968 Q2 --> 1968/04/06, 1968/04/26, 1968/05/06, 1968/05/12, 1968/05/23, 1968/06/12, 1968/06/23, 
<!-- 1968 Q3 --> 1968/07/11, 1968/07/20, 1968/07/31, 1968/08/21, 1968/08/27, 1968/09/11, 1968/09/23, 1968/09/29, 
<!-- 1968 Q4 --> 1968/10/10, 1968/10/18, 1968/10/24, 1968/11/01, 1968/11/04, 1968/11/05|vannotatonslabel=Republican National Convention, Democratic National Convention|height=450|linewidth=2|showSymbols=0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 3, 3, 3|symbolsShape=circle|yGrid=yes|yAxisTitle=% Support|xAxisAngle=-40|xType=date|interpolate=basis|type=line|colors=<!-- Active candidates --> #E81B23, #3333FF, #ff7f00, Silver, #E81B23, #3333FF, #ff7f00, LightSteelBlue, #808080}}
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
! Poll source
! Date
! Richard Nixon<br/><small>{{nobold|Republican}}</small>
! Hubert Humphrey<br><small>{{nobold|Democratic}}</small>
! George Wallace<br><small>{{nobold|American Ind.}}</small>
! Undecided/Other
! Leading by<br>([[percentage point|points]])
|-
! | '''Election Results'''
|November 5, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''43.42%'''
|align="center" | 42.72%
|align="center" | 13.53%
|align="center" | 0.33%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''0.70'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-11-05 |title=Nation Will Vote Today; Close Presidential Race Predicted In Late Polls |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/11/05/76902246.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-10}}</ref> <!-- 1,206 interviewed -->
|November 4, 1968
|align="center" | 40%
|align="center" {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''43%'''
|align="center" | 13%
|align="center" | 4%
| {{party shading/Democratic}} align=center|'''3'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2168}}</ref>
|November 4, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''42%'''
|align="center" | 40%
|align="center" | 14%
|align="center" | 4%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''2'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-11-02 |title=Humphrey Gains In A Harris Poll |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/11/02/76901271.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-10}}</ref> <!-- 1,899 interviewed -->
|November 1, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}| '''40%'''
|align="center" | 37%
|align="center" | 16%
|align="center" | 7%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''3'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2167}}</ref>
|October 24, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''44%'''
|align="center" | 36%
|align="center" | 15%
|align="center" | 5%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''8'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-10-19 |title=Humphrey Gains In A Harris Poll |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/10/19/76894251.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-10}}</ref> <!-- 1,899 interviewed -->
|October 18, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}| '''40%'''
|align="center" | 35%
|align="center" | 18%
|align="center" | 7%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''5'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-10-10 |title=Gallup Poll Finds Nixon Is Maintaining Large Lead |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/10/10/77182250.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-10}}</ref>
|October 9, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''44%'''
|align="center" | 29%
|align="center" | 20%
|align="center" | 7%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''8'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2162}}</ref>
|September 29, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''43%'''
|align="center" | 28%
|align="center" | 21%
|align="center" | 8%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''15'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-09-24 |title=New Harris Poll Puts Nixon On Top |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/09/24/302057962.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-10}}</ref> <!-- 1,322 interviewed -->
|September 23, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}| '''39%'''
|align="center" | 31%
|align="center" | 21%
|align="center" | 9%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''8'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2159}}</ref>
|September 11, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''43%'''
|align="center" | 31%
|align="center" | 19%
|align="center" | 7%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''12'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref name="New Harris Poll Puts Nixon On Top">{{cite news |date=1968-08-28 |title=New Harris Poll Puts Nixon On Top |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/28/76967978.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-10}}</ref> <!-- 1,536 interviewed -->
|August 27, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}| '''40%'''
|align="center" | 34%
|align="center" | 17%
|align="center" | 9%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''6'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2155}}</ref>
|August 21, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''45%'''
|align="center" | 29%
|align="center" | 18%
|align="center" | 8%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''16'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref name="The New York Times">{{cite news |date=1968-08-01 |title=Harris Poll Gives Rockefeller A Lift |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/01/79942476.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=1968-08-02 |title=Comparison of 4 Polls |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/02/91234173.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-10}}</ref> <!-- 1,350 interviewed -->
|July 31, 1968
|align="center" |36%
|align="center" {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''41%'''
|align="center" | 16%
|align="center" | 7%
| {{party shading/Democratic}} align=center|'''5'''
|-
|{{sad|Crossley}}<ref name="The New York Times"/><ref>{{cite news |date=1968-08-01 |title=Crossley Findings |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/01/79942610.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-10}}</ref> <!-- 1,976 interviewed -->
|July 31, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''39%'''
|align="center" | 36%
|align="center" | 19%
|align="center" | 6%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''3'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2150}}</ref>
|July 31, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''40%'''
|align="center" | 38%
|align="center" | 16%
|align="center" | 6%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''2'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-07-21 |title=McCarthy, Buoyed by 2 Polls, Sees 'Even Chance |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/07/21/110090197.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-09}}</ref><ref name="New Harris Poll Puts Nixon On Top"/>
|July 20, 1968
|align="center" | 35%
|align="center" {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''37%'''
|align="center" | 17%
|align="center" | 11%
| {{party shading/Democratic}} align=center|'''2'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2139}}</ref>
|July 11, 1968
|align="center" |35%
|align="center" {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''40%'''
|align="center" | 16%
|align="center" | 9%
| {{party shading/Democratic}} align=center|'''5'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-06-24 |title=Poll Finds Kennedy Would Aid Ticket |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/06/25/77309653.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-09}}</ref>
|June 24, 1968
|align="center" | -
|align="center" {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''-'''
|align="center" | -
|align="center" | -
| {{party shading/Democratic}} align=center|'''7'''<!-- Only Margin Given -->
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2134}}</ref>
|June 23, 1968
|align="center" |37%
|align="center" {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''42%'''
|align="center" | 14%
|align="center" | 7%
| {{party shading/Democratic}} align=center|'''5'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2130}}</ref>
|June 12, 1968<!-- 1,570 Likely Voters -->
|align="center" |36%
|align="center" {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''42%'''
|align="center" | 14%
|align="center" | 8%
| {{party shading/Democratic}} align=center|'''6'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-05-23 |title=Harris Poll Finds Gain By Humphrey |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/05/24/77102545.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-09}}</ref>
|May 23, 1968
|align="center" | 37%
|align="center" {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''41%'''
|align="center" | 14%
|align="center" | 8%
| {{party shading/Democratic}} align=center|'''4'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2126}}</ref>
|May 12, 1968 <!-- 1,139 Registered Voters -->
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''39%'''
|align="center" | 36%
|align="center" | 14%
|align="center" | 11%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''3'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-05-07 |title=Kennedy's Lead Fades in 2 Polls |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/05/07/79938778.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-09}}</ref>
|May 6, 1968
|align="center" | 36%
|align="center" {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''38%'''
|align="center" | 13%
|align="center" | 13%
| {{party shading/Democratic}} align=center|'''2'''
|-
|{{sad|Gallup}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallup |first=George |author-link=George Gallup |date=1972 |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 |volume=III |page=2122}}</ref>
|April 21, 1968
|align="center" {{party shading/Republican}}|'''43%'''
|align="center" | 34%
|align="center" | 14%
|align="center" | 9%
| {{party shading/Republican}} align=center|'''9'''
|-
|{{sad|Harris}}<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-04-06 |title=Harris Poll Shows Kennedy, McCarthy In Front of Nixon |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/04/06/88935855.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2020-12-09}}</ref>
|April 6, 1968
|align="center" | 34%
|align="center" {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''35%'''
|align="center" | 12%
|align="center" | 19%
| {{party shading/Democratic}} align=center|'''1'''
|-
|}

===Campaign strategies===
Nixon developed a "[[Southern strategy]]" that was designed to appeal to conservative white southerners, who had traditionally voted Democratic, but were opposed to Johnson and Humphrey's support for the [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] movement, as well as the rioting that had broken out in most large cities. Wallace, however, won over many of the voters Nixon targeted, effectively splitting that voting bloc. Wallace deliberately targeted many states he had little chance of carrying himself in the hope that by splitting as many votes with Nixon as possible he would give competitive states to Humphrey and, by extension, boost his own chances of denying both opponents an Electoral College majority.<ref>Joseph A. Aistrup, ''The southern strategy revisited: Republican top-down advancement in the South'' (2015).</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite book|author=Daniel S. Margolies|title=A Companion to Harry S. Truman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bcLeZ7MLvM0C&pg=PT264|year=2012|pages=264 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781118300756}}</ref>

===Campaign themes===
Nixon campaigned on a theme to restore "[[Law and order (politics)|law and order]]",<ref name="hnn greenberg">{{cite news |title= Civil Rights: Let 'Em Wiretap!|last= Greenberg|first= David|author-link= David Greenberg (historian)|date=October 22, 2001|publisher= History News Network|url= http://hnn.us/articles/366.html}}</ref> 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 Jr.|Martin Luther King]] in April 1968, there was [[King-assassination riots|massive rioting in inner city areas]]. The police were overwhelmed and President Johnson decided to call out the U.S. Army. Nixon also opposed [[Desegregation busing|forced busing to desegregate schools]].<ref name="'70s 265">{{cite book|title= How We Got Here: The '70s|last= Frum|first= David|author-link= David Frum|year= 2000|publisher= Basic Books|location= New York, New York|isbn= 978-0-465-04195-4|page= [https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/265 265]|url= https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/265}}</ref> 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.<ref>Conrad Black, (2007), p. 525.</ref>

During the campaign, Nixon also used as a theme his opposition to the decisions of Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]], pledging to "remake the Supreme Court."<ref>{{cite magazine| last=Hindley| first=Meredith| title=Supremely Contentious: The Transformation of "Advice and Consent"| magazine=Humanities| publisher=National Endowment for the Humanities| date=October 2009| volume=30| issue=5| url=https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2009/septemberoctober/feature/supremely-contentious| access-date=February 22, 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref name="abe fortas">{{cite book| title = Abe Fortas | author = Laura Kalman| publisher = [[Yale University Press]]| year = 1990 | url = https://archive.org/details/abefortasbiograp00kalm | url-access = registration | access-date = October 20, 2008 | isbn = 978-0-300-04669-4 }}</ref> In another campaign promise, he pledged to end the [[Conscription in the United States|draft]].<ref name="evans">{{cite web | url=http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/VolArm.html | title=The All-Volunteer Army After Twenty Years: Recruiting in the Modern Era | author=Thomas W. Evans | publisher=[[Sam Houston State University]] | date=Summer 1993 | access-date=December 31, 2007 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808222147/http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/VolArm.html | archive-date=August 8, 2013 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> During the 1960s, Nixon had been impressed by a paper he had read by Professor [[Martin Anderson (economist)|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.<ref name="aitken">{{cite book | last=Aitken | first=Jonathan | title=Nixon: A Life | publisher=[[Regnery Publishing]] | year=1996 | isbn=978-0-89526-720-7}} pp. 396–397.</ref> Nixon also saw ending the draft as an effective way to undermine the [[Opposition to the Vietnam War|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.<ref>{{cite book | last=Ambrose | first=Stephen | author-link=Stephen Ambrose | title=Nixon, Volume Two: The Triumph of a Politician 1962–1972 | publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] | year=1989}} pp. 264–266.</ref>

Humphrey, meanwhile, promised to continue and expand the [[Great Society]] welfare programs started by President Johnson, and to continue the Johnson Administration's "[[War on poverty|War on Poverty]]". He also promised to continue the efforts of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and the Supreme Court, in promoting the expansion of civil rights and civil liberties for minority groups. However, Humphrey also felt constrained for most of his campaign in voicing any opposition to the Vietnam War policies of President Johnson, due to his fear that Johnson would reject any peace proposals he made and undermine his campaign. As a result, early in his campaign Humphrey often found himself the target of anti-war protestors, some of whom heckled and disrupted his campaign rallies.

===Humphrey's comeback and the October surprise===
After the Democratic Convention in late August, Humphrey trailed Nixon by double digits in most [[Historical polling for U.S. Presidential elections#1968 United States presidential election|polls]], and his chances seemed hopeless. Many within Humphrey's campaign saw their real goal as avoiding the potential humiliation of finishing behind Wallace in the electoral college vote (if not necessarily the popular vote), rather than having any serious chance of defeating Nixon. According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, "The old Democratic coalition was disintegrating, with untold numbers of blue-collar workers responding to Wallace's blandishments, Negroes threatening to sit out the election, liberals disaffected over the Vietnam War, the South lost. The war chest was almost empty, and the party's machinery, neglected by Lyndon Johnson, creaked in disrepair."<ref>''Time'' November 15, 1968</ref> Calling for "the politics of joy", and using the still-powerful [[Trade union|labor unions]] as his base, Humphrey fought back. In order to distance himself from Johnson, and to take advantage of the Democratic plurality in voter registration, Humphrey stopped being identified in ads as "Vice-President Hubert Humphrey", instead being labelled "Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey".

Humphrey attacked Wallace as a racist bigot who appealed to the darker impulses of Americans. Wallace had been rising in the polls as a result of tailoring his message to audiences outside of his southern strongholds by using anti-establishment rhetoric and attacks on "concentrated wealth", with Wallace's polling numbers peaking at 21% nationally in late September and early October. However, Wallace's momentum went into reverse after he selected [[Curtis LeMay]] as his running mate. Curtis LeMay's suggestion of using tactical nuclear weapons in Vietnam conjured up the worst memories of the [[Barry Goldwater presidential campaign, 1964|1964 Goldwater campaign]].{{sfn|Perlstein|2008}} Labor unions also undertook a major effort to win back union members who were supporting Wallace, with some substantial success. Polling numbers that had showed Wallace winning almost one-half of union members in the summer of 1968 went increasingly into sharp decline as the election campaign progressed into the fall up to early November election day. As election day approached and Wallace's support in the North, Midwest and West began to wane, Humphrey finally began to climb in the polls.

In October, Humphrey—who was rising sharply in the polls due to the sharp decline of the Wallace polling—began to distance himself publicly from the Johnson administration on the Vietnam War, calling for a bombing halt. The key turning point for Humphrey's campaign came when President Johnson officially announced a bombing halt, and even a possible peace deal, the weekend before the election. The "Halloween Peace" gave Humphrey's campaign a badly needed boost. In addition, Senator Eugene McCarthy finally endorsed a vote for Humphrey in late October after previously refusing to do so, and by election day the polls were reporting a dead heat.<ref>Theodore H. White, ''The Making of the President, 1968'' (1970)</ref>

===Nixon campaign sabotage of peace talks===
The Nixon campaign had anticipated a possible "[[October surprise]]", a peace agreement produced by the Paris negotiations; as such an agreement would be a boost to Humphrey, Nixon thwarted any last-minute chances of a "Halloween Peace". Nixon told campaign aide and his future [[White House Chief of Staff]] [[H. R. Haldeman]] to put a "monkey wrench" into an early end to the war.<ref name=PBaker>{{cite news |last=Baker |first= Peter |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/politics/nixon-tried-to-spoil-johnsons-vietnam-peace-talks-in-68-notes-show.html?mcubz=0 |newspaper= New York Times |title= Nixon Tried to Spoil Johnson's Peace Talks in '68, Notes Show|date= January 3, 2017 }}</ref> Johnson was enraged and said that Nixon had "blood on his hands", and that [[Senate Minority Leader]] [[Everett Dirksen]] agreed with Johnson that such action was "treason".<ref>Mark Lisheron. [http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/12/05/1205lbjtapes.html "In tapes, LBJ accuses Nixon of treason"]. [[Austin American-Statesman]]. December 5, 2008. "Johnson tells Sen. Everett Dirksen, the Republican minority leader, that it will be Nixon's responsibility if the South Vietnamese don't participate in the peace talks. 'This is treason', LBJ says to Dirksen."</ref><ref>[[KC Johnson|Robert "KC" Johnson]]. [http://hnn.us/articles/60446.html "Did Nixon Commit Treason in 1968? What The New LBJ Tapes Reveal"]. [[History News Network]], January 26, 2009. Transcript from {{YouTube|ubVzX3y_yVE|audio recording}} of [[Lyndon B. Johnson|President Johnson]]: "This is treason."<br />"I know."</ref> Defense Secretary [[Clark Clifford]] considered the moves an illegal violation of the [[Logan Act]].<ref name="Clifford">{{cite book| last = Clark M. Clifford| author-link = Clark Clifford| title = Counsel to the President: A Memoir| year = 1991| edition = May 21, 1991| page = [https://archive.org/details/counseltopreside00clar/page/709 709]| publisher = Random House| isbn = 978-0-394-56995-6| url = https://archive.org/details/counseltopreside00clar/page/709}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=eeJ4AAAAMAAJ p. 582.] "The activities of the Nixon team went far beyond the bounds of justifiable political combat. It constituted direct interference in the activities of the executive branch and the responsibilities of the Chief Executive, the only people with authority to negotiate on behalf of the nation. The activities of the Nixon campaign constituted a gross, even potentially illegal, interference in the security affairs of the nation by private individuals."</ref> A former director of the Nixon Library called it a "covert action" which "laid the skulduggery of his presidency".<ref name=PBaker />

[[Bryce Harlow]], former Eisenhower White House staff member, claimed to have "a double agent working in the White House... I kept Nixon informed." Harlow and Nixon's future [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]] and [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Henry Kissinger]], who was friendly with both campaigns and guaranteed a job in either a Humphrey or Nixon administration, separately predicted Johnson's "bombing halt": "The word is out that we are making an effort to throw the election to Humphrey. Nixon has been told of it", Democratic senator George Smathers informed Johnson.<ref>[[Robert Dallek]] (2007), ''Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power'', HarperCollins, pp. 73–74.</ref>

Nixon asked [[Anna Chennault]] to be his "channel to Mr. [[Nguyễn Văn Thiệu|Thieu]]" in order to advise him to refuse participation in the talks, in what is sometimes described as the "Anna Chennault Affair".<ref name="history.state.gov">{{cite web|url= https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/ch5 |title= November 1–12, 1968: South Vietnamese Abstention From the Expanded Peace Conference; the Anna Chennault Affair |work= [[Office of the Historian]] |access-date= January 15, 2024 |archive-date= January 15, 2024 |archive-url=  https://web.archive.org/web/20240115035541/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/ch5|url-status=live}}</ref> Thieu was promised a better deal under a Nixon administration.<ref name="Chanoff">{{cite book | last = [[Bùi Diễm]] with David Chanoff| title = In the Jaws of History|edition= April 1, 1999|page= 367 | publisher = Indiana University Press| isbn= 978-0-253-21301-3| year = 1999}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=XNlnzQk2678C&dq=%22Waiting+for+me+in+the+lobby+was+Anna+Chennault%22&pg=PA237 p. 237.] ''Waiting for me in the lobby was Anna Chennault. A few minutes later I was being introduced to Nixon and John Mitchell, his law partner and adviser. (...) Nixon (...) added that his staff would be in touch with me through John Mitchell and Anna Chennault.''</ref><ref name="history.state.gov"/> Chennault agreed and periodically reported to [[John N. Mitchell|John Mitchell]] that Thieu had no intention of attending a peace conference. On November 2, Chennault informed [[Bùi Diễm]], the South Vietnamese ambassador: "I have just heard from my boss in Albuquerque who says his boss [Nixon] is going to win. And you tell your boss [Thieu] to hold on a while longer."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/d212 |title= Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume VII, Vietnam, September 1968–January 1969 |work= [[Office of the Historian]] |access-date= January 15, 2024 |archive-date= January 15, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240115035416/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/d212 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1997, Chennault admitted that, "I was constantly in touch with Nixon and Mitchell".<ref>Dallek, pp. 74–75.</ref> The effort also involved Texas Senator [[John Tower]] and Kissinger, who traveled to Paris on behalf of the Nixon campaign. [[William Bundy]] stated that Kissinger obtained "no useful inside information" from his trip to Paris, and "almost any experienced Hanoi watcher might have come to the same conclusion". While Kissinger may have "hinted that his advice was based on contacts with the Paris delegation", this sort of "self-promotion ... is at worst a minor and not uncommon practice, quite different from getting and reporting real secrets".<ref>Dallek, pp. 73–74.</ref>

Johnson learned of the Nixon-Chennault effort because the [[National Security Agency|NSA]] was intercepting communications in Vietnam.<ref>[[Thomas Powers]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Yi2GAAAAMAAJ "The Man who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms & the CIA"]. [[Alfred A. Knopf]], 1979, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Yi2GAAAAMAAJ&q=%22during+the+week+which+ended+Sunday%2C+October+27%2C+the+National+Security+Agency+intercepted+a+radio+message+from+the+South+Vietnamese+Embassy+to+Saigon+explicitly+urging+Thieu+to+stand+fast+against+an+agreement+until+after+the+election.+As+soon+as+learned+of+the+cable+he+ordered+the+FBI+to+place+Madame+under+surveillance+and+to+install+a+phone+tap+on+the+South+Vietnamese+Embassy%22 p.198.] "during the week which ended Sunday, October 27 [1968], the National Security Agency intercepted a radio message from the South Vietnamese Embassy to Saigon explicitly urging [[Nguyen Van Thieu|(Nguyen Van) Thieu]] to stand fast against an agreement until after the election. As soon as Johnson learned of the cable he ordered the FBI to place Madame (Anna) Chennault under surveillance and to install a phone tap on the South Vietnamese Embassy"</ref> In response, Johnson ordered NSA surveillance of Chennault and wire-tapped the South Vietnamese embassy and members of the Nixon campaign.<ref>Dallek, p. 75.</ref> He did not leak the information to the public because he did not want to "shock America" with the revelation,<ref>[[KC Johnson|Robert "KC" Johnson]]. [http://hnn.us/articles/60446.html "Did Nixon Commit Treason in 1968? What the New LBJ Tapes Reveal"]. [[History News Network]], January 26, 2009. Transcript from {{YouTube|ubVzX3y_yVE|audio recording}} of [[Lyndon B. Johnson|President Johnson]]: "Now, I can identify 'em, because I know who's doing this. I don't want to identify it. I think it would shock America if a principal candidate was playing with a source like this on a matter this important. (...) I don't want to do that."</ref> nor reveal that the NSA was intercepting communications in Vietnam.<ref name=BBCTreason>{{cite news |first=David|last=Taylor|title=The Lyndon Johnson tapes: Richard Nixon's 'treason'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21768668 |location = London |work=[[BBC News]] |date=March 15, 2013| access-date=March 18, 2013}}</ref> Johnson did make information available to Humphrey, but at this point Humphrey thought he was going to win the election, so he did not reveal the information to the public. Humphrey later regretted this as a mistake.<ref>[[Jules Witcover]]. "The Making of an Ink-Stained Wretch: Half a Century Pounding the Political Beat". [[Johns Hopkins University Press]], 2005, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ePRIONzLmEoC&dq=%22Johnson+had+turned+over+incriminating+evidence+about+Chennault%27s+activities+to+Humphrey+for+use+in+the+final+days+of+the+campaign%22&pg=PA131 p131.] "[[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] had turned over incriminating evidence about (Anna) Chennault's activities to [[Hubert Humphrey|(Hubert) Humphrey's]] for use in the final days of the campaign. The idea was that such an act of treason would sink Nixon and elect Humphrey. But Humphrey declined to use it, partly because he felt he could not reveal the sources of the classified material (...) Later, in his [https://books.google.com/books?id=L6u94c-7wX8C&q=The+Education+of+a+Public+Man memoir], Humphrey recounted a memo of his own at the time: "I wonder if I should have blown the whistle on Anna Chennault and Nixon. I wish [his italics] I could have been sure. Damn [[Nguyen Van Thieu|Thieu]]. Dragging his feet this past weekend hurt us. I wonder if that call did it. If Nixon knew."</ref> The South Vietnamese government withdrew from peace negotiations, and Nixon publicly offered to go to Saigon to help the negotiations.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/us/05tapes.html?_r=0 "In Tapes, Johnson Accused Nixon's Associates of Treason"]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 4, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2013.</ref> A promising "peace bump" ended up in "shambles" for the Democratic Party.<ref name=BBCTreason />

===Election===
The election on November 5, 1968, proved to be extremely close, and it was not until the following morning that the television news networks were able to declare Nixon the winner. The key states proved to be California, Ohio, and Illinois, all of which Nixon won by three percentage points or less. Had Humphrey carried all three of these states, he would have won the election. Had he carried only two of them or just California among them, George Wallace would have succeeded in his aim of preventing an electoral college majority for any candidate, and the decision would have been given to the House of Representatives, at the time controlled by the Democratic Party. Nixon won the popular vote with a plurality of 512,000 votes, or a victory margin of about one percentage point. In the electoral college Nixon's victory was larger, as he carried 32 states with 301 electoral votes, compared to Humphrey's 13 states and 191 electoral votes and Wallace's five states and 46 electoral votes.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1968|title=1968 Presidential General Election Results|last=Leip|first=David|website=David Leip's Atlas of Presidential Elections}}</ref>

Richard Nixon was able to win the Electoral College, dominating several regions in the [[Western United States]], [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], [[Upland South]], and portions of the [[Northeastern United States|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. Wallace finished last with five states in the [[Deep South]]; he is the most recent [[third party (United States)|third-party]] candidate to win any states.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.270towin.com/historical-presidential-elections/|title=Historical U.S. Presidential Elections 1789-2016|website=www.270towin.com|access-date=2021-12-20}}</ref> This is the first time that the Republican popular vote margin was under 5 points since [[1896 United States presidential election|1896]].

Out of all the states that Nixon had previously carried in 1960, Maine and Washington were the only two states that did not vote for Nixon again in 1968, although Nixon would carry them four years later during his re-election campaign in 1972. He also carried eight states that voted for John F. Kennedy in 1960: Illinois, New Jersey, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada and Delaware. This was the last time until 1988 that the state of Washington voted Democratic and until 1992 that Connecticut, Maine, and Michigan voted Democratic in the general election. Nixon was also the last Republican candidate to win a presidential election without carrying Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. This is the first time which the Republican candidate captured the White House without carrying Michigan, Minnesota, Maine and Pennsylvania. He would be the last Republican candidate to carry Minnesota (four years later, in 1972), as of 2020.<ref name=":0" /> This is also the first time since 1916 that Minnesota voted for the candidate who did not eventually win.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.270towin.com/1916_Election/?m=In+1916,+Woodrow+Wilson+won+the+election+while+losing+Minnesota|title=Presidential Election of 1916|website=www.270towin.com|access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref>

Remarkably, Nixon won the election despite winning only two of the six states ([[Arizona]] and [[South Carolina]]) won by Republican Barry Goldwater four years earlier. He remains the only presidential candidate to win in spite of defending such a low number of his own party's states. All of the remaining four States carried by Goldwater were carried by Wallace in 1968. They would be won by Nixon in 1972.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> Four of the fives states won by Wallace had voted for Goldwater.<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 3,130 counties/districts/independent cities making returns, Nixon won in 1,859 (59.39%) while Humphrey carried 693 (22.14%). Wallace was victorious in 578 counties (18.47%), all of which (with one exception of [[Pemiscot County, Missouri]]) were located in the [[Southern United States|South]].<ref name=":1" />

Nixon said that Humphrey left a gracious message congratulating him, noting, "I know exactly how he felt. I know how it feels to [[1960 United States presidential election|lose a close one]]."<ref name="1968 Year In Review, UPI.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1968/1968-Presidential-Election/12303153093431-2/ |title=1968 Year In Review |publisher=UPI|access-date=June 17, 2010}}</ref>