U.S. Presidential Election 1960 Introduction Republican

Presidential Candidate	Electoral Vote	Popular Vote	Pct	Party	Running Mate (Electoral Votes)
John Fitzgerald Kennedy of Massachusetts(W)	303	34,227,096	49.72%	Democrat	Lyndon Baines Johnson of Texas (303)
Richard Milhous Nixon of California	219	34,107,646	49.55%	Republican	Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. of Massachusetts (219)
Harry Flood Byrd of Virginia	15			Independent	James Strom Thurmond of South Carolina (14) Barry Morris Goldwater of Arizona (1)
Other
Total	537	68,828,960	100.0%
Source: U.S. Office of the Federal Register

After eight years of Eisenhower's presidency, voters were generally happy with the Eisenhower administration, but many continued to have concerns about the Cold WarThe Cold War (c. 1945- 1991) was the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between groups of nations practicing different ideologies and political systems. On one side was the Soviet Union and its allies, often referred to as the E.

The election was held on November 8November 8 is the 312nd day of the year (313rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. Events 1519 Hernan Cortes enters Tenochtitlan and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great pomp as would befit a returning god. 1520 Stoc, 1960Events January-February January 1 Independence of Cameroon January 9 Aswan High Dam construction begins in Egypt January 11 Chad declares its independence. January 14 Ralph Chubb, the gay poet and printer, dies at Fair Oak Cottage in Hampshire. January 23.

2 Republican nomination

Vice President Richard M. Nixon faced little opposition for the Republican nomination. He chose former Senator and Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. as vice presidential candidate. Barry Goldwater was nominated, but declined the nomination and supported Richard Nixon.

3 Democratic nomination

Kennedy's Catholic religion was raised as an issue by some factions, but in the end Kennedy's youth and war record impressed delegates, and his popularity and campaign spending carried the day. Kennedy chose Johnson as vice presidential candidate to balance the ticket and secure Southern votes.

4 Other candidates

Independent candidate Harry F. Byrd, a maverick segregationist Democrat, received 15 electoral votes; 14 from unpledged Democratic electors and one from an elector pledged to Nixon.

5 General election

A crucial factor in this election was the first televised presidential debate. Nixon refused television makeup and was feeling sick, having injured his knee on the way to the studio. He expected to win voters with his foreign-policy expertise, but people only saw a sickly man sweating profusely and wearing a gray suit that blended into the scenery while his rival, Kennedy, looked great. Later research showed that those who had listened to the debate on radio thought Nixon had won, but the television audience gave the win to Kennedy. Nixon's negative experience in the debates caused him to shun debates in his 1968 and 1972 campaigns, and the next presidential debates would not be held until 1976.

The main economic issue during the election was the USSR's high economic growth rate in comparison to the United States'. According to analyses at the time, the Soviet economy was expected to overtake the American economy by 1984. Kennedy also attacked the Republican administration for allowing a missile gap by not matching Soviet defense spending and allowing the military to weaken.

Still, the election was close and Kennedy only defeated Nixon by two tenths of a percentage point (0.2%.) Some speculate that Kennedy used his political connections to buy out votes in certain states. The Republican party urged Nixon to pursue recounts and challenge the validity of some of the votes for Kennedy. However, Nixon refused, saying that to do so would cause a constitutional crisis.

Byrd received electoral votes for President from Alabama (6), Mississippi (8) and Oklahoma (1). Thurmond received electoral votes for Vice President from Alabama (6) and Mississippi (8). Goldwater received one electoral vote for Vice President from Oklahoma.

U.S. presidential elections

6 See also

Canada and the 1960 U.S. presidential election
Other close U.S. presidential elections: 1800, 1844, 1876, 1884, 1888, 1916, 1968, 1976, 2000, 2004

7 Other elections

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Home > U.S. presidential election, 1960

1 Introduction