1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries

1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries

← 1964 March 12 to June 11, 1968 1972 →

Candidate Eugene McCarthy Robert F. Kennedy † Home state Minnesota New York Contests won 6 4 Popular vote 2,914,933 2,305,148 Percentage 38.7% 30.6%   Candidate Lyndon B. Johnson Hubert Humphrey Home state Texas Minnesota Contests won 1 0 Popular vote 383,590 166,463 Percentage 5.1% 2.2%

Gold denotes a state won by Lyndon B. Johnson. Purple denotes a state won by Robert F. Kennedy. Green denotes a state won by Eugene McCarthy. Blue denotes a state won by George Smathers. Red denotes a state won by Hubert Humphrey. Orange denotes a state won by Stephen M. Young. Grey denotes a state that did not hold a primary.

Previous Democratic nominee Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey

From March 12 to June 11, 1968, Democratic Party voters of several states elected delegates to the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey was selected as the nominee in the 1968 Democratic National Convention held from August 26 to August 29, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois.

Candidates[]

The following political leaders were candidates for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination:

Nominee[]

Candidate	Born	Most recent position	Home state	Campaign
Hubert Humphrey	May 27, 1911 (Age 57) Wallace, South Dakota	Vice President of the United States (1965–69)	Minnesota	(Campaign)

Competed in primaries[]

These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.

Candidate	Born	Most recent position	Home state	Campaign
Lyndon B. Johnson	August 27, 1908 (age 59) Stonewall, Texas	President of the United States (1963–69)	Texas	Withdrew: March 31, 1968
Robert F. Kennedy	November 20, 1925 (age 42) Brookline, Massachusetts	U.S. Senator from New York (1965–68)	New York	(Campaign) Assassinated: June 5, 1968
Eugene McCarthy	March 29, 1916 (age 52) Watkins, Minnesota	U.S. Senator from Minnesota (1959–71)	Minnesota	(Campaign)

Bypassing primaries[]

The following candidate did not place his name directly on the ballot for any state's presidential primary, but instead sought to influence selection from unelected delegates or sought the support of uncommitted delegates.

Candidate	Born	Most recent position	Home state	Campaign
George McGovern	July 19, 1922 (Age 45) Avon, South Dakota	U.S. Senator from South Dakota (1963-1981)	South Dakota	[a]

Favorite sons[]

The following candidates ran only in their home state's primary or caucus for the purpose of controlling its delegate slate at the convention and did not appear to be considered national candidates by the media.

• Governor Roger D. Branigin of Indiana (endorsed Humphrey)
• State Attorney General Thomas C. Lynch of California (endorsed Humphrey)
• Senator George Smathers of Florida (endorsed Humphrey)
• Senator Stephen M. Young of Ohio (endorsed Humphrey)

Declined to run[]

The following persons were listed in two or more major national polls or were the subject of media speculation surrounding their potential candidacy, but declined to actively seek the nomination.

• Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts
• Former Governor George Wallace of Alabama

Polling[]

Nationwide polling[]

Primary race[]

Though United States President Lyndon B. Johnson had served during two presidential terms, the 22nd Amendment did not disqualify Johnson from running for another term, because he had only served 14 months following John F. Kennedy's assassination before being sworn in for his "full" term in January 1965. As a result, it was widely assumed when 1968 began that President Johnson would be a Democratic candidate, and that he would have little trouble in winning the Democratic nomination.

Despite the growing opposition to Johnson's policies in Vietnam in both Congress and in the public, no prominent Democratic politician was prepared to run against a sitting President of his own party. Anti-war activists of the new "Dump Johnson movement" initially approached United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, an outspoken critic of Johnson's policies with a large base of support, for a candidacy, but he declined to run. They then appealed to United States Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, who was willing to openly challenge Johnson; prior to entering the race, McCarthy had hoped that Kennedy would run as well.^[2] Running as an anti-war candidate in the New Hampshire primary, McCarthy hoped to pressure the Democrats into publicly opposing the Vietnam War. Trailing badly in national polls and with little chance to influence delegate selection absent primary wins, McCarthy decided to pour most of his resources into New Hampshire, the first state to hold a primary election. He was boosted by thousands of young college students who volunteered throughout the state, who shaved their beards and cut their hair to "Get Clean for Gene."

On March 12, McCarthy won 42% of the primary vote to Johnson's 49%, an extremely strong showing for such a challenger, and one which gave McCarthy's campaign legitimacy and momentum. In a surprise move on March 16, Robert F. Kennedy renounced his earlier support for Johnson and proclaimed his own candidacy. McCarthy and his supporters viewed this as opportunism, creating a lasting enmity between the campaigns. To make matters worse, a poll in Wisconsin showed McCarthy beating the President badly, with the latter only getting 12% of the vote.^[3] Thereafter, McCarthy and Kennedy engaged in a series of state primaries. Despite Kennedy's high profile, McCarthy won most of the early primaries, including Kennedy's native state of Massachusetts and some primaries in which he and Kennedy were in direct competition.^[4][5] Following his victory in the key battleground state of Oregon, it was assumed that McCarthy was the preferred choice among the young voters.^[6]

Johnson withdraws[]

President Lyndon B. Johnson delivers a speech withdrawing from the race on March 31.

Johnson was now faced with two strong primary challenges. In declining health and facing bleak political forecasts in the upcoming primaries,^[7] Johnson concluded that he could not win the nomination without a major political and personal struggle. On March 31, 1968, at the end of a televised address regarding the War, the President shocked the nation by announcing that he would not seek re-election. By withdrawing from the race, he could avoid the stigma of defeat and could keep control of the party machinery to support Hubert Humphrey, his loyal vice president. As the year developed, it also became clear that Johnson believed he could secure his place in the history books by ending the war before the election in November, thus giving Humphrey the boost he would need to win.^[8]

With Johnson's withdrawal, the New Deal Coalition effectively dissolved into support for different candidates:

• Hubert Humphrey, Johnson's Vice President, gained the support of labor unions and big-city party bosses (such as Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley), who had been the Democratic Party's primary power base since the days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was also believed that President Johnson himself was covertly supporting Humphrey, despite public claims of neutrality.
• McCarthy rallied students and intellectuals who had been the early activists against the war in Vietnam;
• Kennedy gained some support from the poor, Catholics, African Americans, and other racial and ethnic minorities;
• Conservative white Southern Democrats, or "Dixiecrats," their influence declining swiftly in the national party, tended to support either Vice President Humphrey or George C. Wallace and the Alabama governor's third-party campaign in the general election.

Contest for the Democratic nomination and Assassination of Kennedy[]

Kennedy campaigning in Los Angeles (photo courtesy of John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, Boston)

After Johnson's withdrawal, Vice President Hubert Humphrey announced his candidacy on April 27.^[9] Kennedy was successful in four state primaries (Indiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and California) and McCarthy won six (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, and Illinois); however, in primaries where they campaigned directly against one another, Kennedy won three primaries (Indiana, Nebraska, and California) and McCarthy won one (Oregon).^[10] Humphrey did not compete in the primaries, leaving favorite sons to collect favorable surrogates, notably United States Senator George A. Smathers from Florida, United States Senator Stephen M. Young from Ohio, and Governor Roger D. Branigin of Indiana.

Humphrey's campaign concentrated on winning the delegates in non-primary states, where party leaders controlled the delegate votes. Kennedy defeated Branigin and McCarthy in the Indiana primary, and then defeated McCarthy in the Nebraska primary. However, McCarthy upset Kennedy in the Oregon primary.

After Kennedy's defeat in Oregon, the California primary was seen as crucial to both Kennedy and McCarthy. McCarthy stumped the state's many colleges and universities, where he was treated as a hero for being the first presidential candidate to oppose the war. Kennedy campaigned in the ghettos and barrios of the state's larger cities, where he was mobbed by enthusiastic supporters. Kennedy and McCarthy engaged in a television debate a few days before the election; it was generally considered a draw. On June 4, Kennedy defeated McCarthy in California, 46% to 42%, and also won the South Dakota primary held the same day. McCarthy, who defeated Kennedy in New Jersey that very same night, refused to withdraw from the presidential race and made it clear that he would contest Kennedy in the upcoming New York primary, where McCarthy had much support from antiwar activists in New York City.

After giving his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, Kennedy was assassinated in the kitchen service pantry in the early morning of June 5. A Palestinian immigrant with Jordanian citizenship named Sirhan Sirhan was arrested. Kennedy died 26 hours later at Good Samaritan Hospital.

At the moment of Kennedy's death, the delegate totals were:

• Hubert Humphrey 561
• Robert F. Kennedy 393
• Eugene McCarthy 258

Primaries[]

Only 14 states held primaries at this time (California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and West Virginia), in addition to Washington, D.C.^[11]

Results by winners:^[12]

Statewide results by winner[]

Total popular vote:^[14]

• Eugene McCarthy - 2,914,933 (38.73%)
• Robert F. Kennedy - 2,305,148 (30.63%)
• Lyndon B. Johnson - 383,590 (5.10%)
• Hubert Humphrey - 166,463 (2.21%)
• Unpledged - 161,143 (2.14%)

Johnson/Humphrey surrogates:

• Stephen M. Young - 549,140 (7.30%)
• Thomas C. Lynch - 380,286 (5.05%)
• Roger D. Branigin - 238,700 (3.17%)
• George Smathers - 236,242 (3.14%)
• Scott Kelly - 128,899 (1.71%)

Minor candidates and write-ins:

• George Wallace - 34,489 (0.46%)
• Richard Nixon - 13,610 (0.18%)
• Ronald Reagan - 5,309 (0.07%)
• Ted Kennedy - 4,052 (0.05%)
• Paul C. Fisher - 506 (0.01%)
• John G. Crommelin - 186 (0.00%)

  Primary Map By County (Massachusetts not Included)

Hubert Humphrey - Red Lyndon B. Johnson - Yellow (outside of Florida) Robert F. Kennedy - Purple Eugene McCarthy - Green George Wallace - Lime Green Roger D. Branigin - Orange George Smathers - Yellow (Florida Only) Stephen Young - Brown

Democratic Convention and antiwar protests[]

Robert Kennedy's death threw the Democratic Party into disarray. The loss of his campaign, which had relied on his popularity and charisma convincing non-primary delegates to support him at the convention, meant that the anti-war movement was effectively over, and that Humphrey would be the prohibitive favorite for the nomination. Some of Kennedy's support went to McCarthy, but many of Kennedy's delegates, remembering their bitter primary battles with McCarthy, rallied around the late-starting candidacy of Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, a Kennedy supporter in the spring primaries.

When the 1968 Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago, thousands of young antiwar activists from around the nation gathered in the city to protest the Vietnam War. In a clash which was covered on live television, Americans were shocked to see Chicago Police officers brutally beating anti-war protesters. While the protesters chanted "the whole world is watching", the police used clubs and tear gas to beat back the protesters, leaving many of them bloody and dazed. The tear gas even wafted into numerous hotel suites; in one of them Vice President Humphrey was watching the proceedings on television. Meanwhile, the convention itself was marred by the strong-arm tactics of Chicago's mayor Richard J. Daley (who was seen on television angrily cursing Connecticut senator Abraham Ribicoff, who made a speech at the convention denouncing the excesses of the Chicago police in the riots).

In the end, the nomination itself was anticlimactic, with Vice President Humphrey handily beating McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot. The convention then chose Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine as Humphrey's running mate. However, the tragedy of the antiwar riots crippled the Humphrey campaign from the start, and it never fully recovered. (White, pgs. 377-378;^[15])

Source: Keating Holland, "All the Votes... Really," CNN^[17]

Endorsements[]

Hubert Humphrey

• President Johnson
• Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago
• Former President Harry S. Truman of Missouri
• Entertainer Frank Sinatra

Robert F. Kennedy

• Senator Ralph Yarborough of Texas^[14]
• Senator Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut^[14]
• Senator George McGovern of South Dakota^[18]
• Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, the candidate's brother
• Governor Harold E. Hughes of Iowa^[19]
• Senator Vance Hartke of Indiana^[14]
• Writer Norman Mailer^[14]
• Labor Leader Cesar Chavez^[14]
• Actress Shirley MacLaine
• Actress Angie Dickinson
• Actress Stefanie Powers
• Actor Peter Lawford, the candidate's brother-in-law
• Actor Bill Cosby
• Musician Sammy Davis Jr.
• Musician Andy Williams
• Musicians Sonny & Cher
• Musicians The Byrds
• Musician Bobby Darin
• Artist Andy Warhol
• Astronaut John Glenn
• NFL football Lamar Lundy
• NFL football Rosey Grier
• NFL football Deacon Jones
• Film and television director John Frankenheimer
• Documentary film director Charles Guggenheim
• Actor Warren Beatty
• Actor Tony Curtis
• Actor Jack Lemmon
• Actor Gregory Peck
• Actor Robert Vaughn^[20]

Eugene McCarthy

• Representative Don Edwards of California^[14]
• Actor Paul Newman^[20]
• Actor Gene Wilder
• Actor Dustin Hoffman
• Musicians Simon & Garfunkel

George McGovern (during convention)

• Senator Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut^[15]
• Senator Joseph S. Clark of Pennsylvania^[21]
• Governor Harold E. Hughes of Iowa^[15]

See also[]

• Republican Party presidential primaries, 1968

References[]

Further reading[]

• Alterman, Eric. The Cause: The Fight for American Liberalism from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama (Penguin, 2013).
• Boomhower, Ray E. "Fighting the Good Fight: John Bartlow Martin and Hubert Humphrey's 1968 Presidential Campaign." Indiana Magazine of History (2020) 116#1 pp 1-29.
• Chester, Lewis, Hodgson, Godfrey, Page, Bruce. An American Melodrama: The Presidential Campaign of 1968. (The Viking Press, 1969).
• Johns, Andrew L. The Price of Loyalty: Hubert Humphrey's Vietnam Conflict (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).
• Nelson, Justin A. "Drafting Lyndon Johnson: The President's Secret Role in the 1968 Democratic Convention." Presidential Studies Quarterly 30.4 (2000): 688-713.
• Nelson, Michael. "The Historical Presidency: Lost Confidence: The Democratic Party, the Vietnam War, and the 1968 Election." Presidential Studies Quarterly 48.3 (2018): 570-585.
• Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. Robert Kennedy and His Times (1996).
• Small, Melvin. "The Doves Ascendant: The American Antiwar Movement in 1968." South Central Review 16 (1999): 43-52 online.
• Solberg, Carl. Hubert Humphrey: A Biography. (Norton, 1984).
• White, Theodore H. The Making of the President 1968. (1969)