United States presidential election, 1968
From Conservapedia
President Lyndon B. Johnson was highly unpopular because of the Vietnam War. Nevertheless, most people thought that he would run for another term. However, with the growing opposition of Senators Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy, he decided to not run for another term. Kennedy won the important California Primary on June 5, 1968, but later that evening he was shot by an Arab called Sirhan Sirhan. Senator Eugene McCarthy lost the nomination to Vice President Hubert Humphrey while riots were occurring in the Chicago Streets. Meanwhile, the Republicans nominated former Vice President Richard Nixon as their candidate. [1] The race was very close. Independent candidate Wallace ran in opposition to the Democratic policy of Civil Rights. 1968 was the first change in the political map of the United States; the 1964 Civil Rights act drove many white southerners into the arms of the Republican party but also created a loyal voting block among African-Americans, who have polled over 90% with the Democratic candidate for president in most elections since 1968.
| candidates | popular vote | electoral vote |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Nixon | 31, 770, 237 | 301 |
| Hubert Humphrey | 31, 270, 533 | 191 |
| George C. Wallace | 9, 906, 141 | 46 |
| Henning Blomen | 52, 588 | 0 |
| Dick Gregory | 47, 097 | 0 |
| Fred Halstead | 41, 300 | 0 |
| Eldridge Cleaver | 36, 385 | 0 |
References
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Presidents, Lyndon B. Johnson, by Jim Hargrove, Children's Press, 1987, pp. 77-80.
- ↑ A Pictoral History of the U.S. Presidents, by Clare Gibson, Gramercy Books, 2001, p. 126.
