1968 United States presidential election

===Primaries===

[[File:NIXONcampaigns.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Richard Nixon campaign rally, July 1968]]
The [[front-runner]] for the Republican nomination was former Vice President Richard Nixon, who formally began campaigning in January 1968.<ref name="N&O">{{cite news|title=Another Race To the Finish |newspaper=[[The News & Observer]] |date=November 2, 2008 |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/1278451.html |access-date=November 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115040630/http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/1278451.html |archive-date=January 15, 2009 }}</ref> Nixon had worked behind the scenes and was instrumental in Republican gains in Congress and governorships in the 1966 midterm elections. Thus, the party machinery and many of the new congressmen and governors supported him. Still, there was caution in the Republican ranks over Nixon, who had lost the [[1960 United States presidential election|1960]] election to [[John F. Kennedy]] and then lost the [[1962 California gubernatorial election]]. Some hoped a more "electable" candidate would emerge. The story of the 1968 Republican primary campaign and nomination may be seen as one Nixon opponent after another entering the race and then dropping out. Nixon was the front runner throughout the contest because of his superior organization, and he easily defeated the rest of the field.

Nixon's first challenger was Michigan Governor [[George W. Romney]]. A Gallup poll in mid-1967 showed Nixon with 39%, followed by Romney with 25%. After a fact-finding trip to Vietnam, Romney told Detroit talk show host [[Lou Gordon (journalist)|Lou Gordon]] that he had been "brainwashed" by the military and the diplomatic corps into supporting the Vietnam War; the remark led to weeks of ridicule in the national news media. Turning against American involvement in Vietnam, Romney planned to run as the anti-war Republican version of [[Eugene McCarthy]].<ref>''The New York Times'', February 18, 1968</ref> But, following his "[[brainwashing]]" comment, Romney's support faded steadily; with polls showing him far behind Nixon, he withdrew from the race on February 28, 1968.<ref>''The New York Times'', February 29, 1968</ref>

Senator [[Charles H. Percy|Charles Percy]] was considered another potential threat to Nixon, and had planned on waging an active campaign after securing a role as Illinois's favorite son. Later, however, Percy declined to have his name listed on the ballot for the Illinois presidential primary. He no longer sought the presidential nomination.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/26/archives/percy-shunning-active-68-role-wants-to-stay-off-ballot-in.html |title=PERCY SHUNNING ACTIVE '68 ROLE – Wants to Stay Off Ballot in Presidential Primaries |access-date=August 25, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times |date=1967-09-26 }}</ref>

Nixon won a resounding victory in the important New Hampshire primary on March 12, with 78% of the vote. Anti-war Republicans wrote in the name of New York governor [[Nelson Rockefeller]], the leader of the Republican Party's liberal wing, who received 11% of the vote and became Nixon's new challenger. Rockefeller had not originally intended to run, having discounted a campaign for the nomination in 1965, and planned to make [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] [[Jacob K. Javits|Jacob Javits]], the [[favorite son]], either in preparation of a presidential campaign or to secure him the second spot on the ticket. As Rockefeller warmed to the idea of entering the race, Javits shifted his effort to seeking a third term in the Senate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/29/archives/javits-says-favoriteson-choice-for-68-is-still-an-open-matter.html |title=Javits Says Favorite-Son Choice For '68 Is Still an Open Matter |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 29, 1967 |access-date=August 25, 2015}}</ref> Nixon led Rockefeller in the polls throughout the primary campaign, and though Rockefeller defeated Nixon and [[Governor of Massachusetts|Governor]] [[John A. Volpe|John Volpe]] from [[Massachusetts]] primary on April 30, he otherwise fared poorly in state primaries and conventions. He had declared too late to get his name placed on state primary ballots.

By early spring, [[Governor of California|California governor]] [[Ronald Reagan]] the leader of the Republican Party's conservative wing, had become Nixon's chief rival. In the Nebraska primary on May 14, Nixon won with 70% of the vote to 21% for Reagan and 5% for Rockefeller. While this was a wide margin for Nixon, Reagan remained Nixon's leading challenger. Nixon won the next primary of importance, Oregon, on May 15 with 65% of the vote, and won all the following primaries except for California (June 4), where only Reagan appeared on the ballot. Reagan's victory in California gave him a plurality of the nationwide primary vote, but his poor showing in most other state primaries left him far behind Nixon in the delegate count.

Total popular vote:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break|width=50%}}
* [[Ronald Reagan]]: 1,696,632 (37.93%)
* [[Richard Nixon]]: 1,679,443 (37.54%)
* [[James A. Rhodes]]: 614,492 (13.74%)
* [[Nelson Rockefeller]]: 164,340 (3.67%)
* Unpledged: 140,639 (3.14%)
* [[Eugene McCarthy]] (write-in): 44,520 (1.00%)
* [[Harold Stassen]]: 31,655 (0.71%)
* [[John Volpe]]: 31,465 (0.70%)
* Others: 21,456 (0.51%)
* [[George Wallace]] (write-in): 15,291 (0.34%)
{{col-break}}
* [[Robert F. Kennedy]] (write-in): 14,524 (0.33%)
* [[Hubert Humphrey]] (write-in): 5,698 (0.13)
* [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] (write-in): 4,824 (0.11%)
* [[George W. Romney]]: 4,447 (0.10%)
* [[Raymond P. Shafer]]: 1,223 (0.03%)
* [[William Scranton]]: 724 (0.02%)
* [[Charles H. Percy]]: 689 (0.02%)
* [[Barry Goldwater]]: 598 (0.01%)
* [[John Lindsay]]: 591 (0.01%)
{{col-end}}