1968 Indiana gubernatorial election

1968 Indiana gubernatorial election
	County results ; Whitcomb: 40-50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% ; Rock: 50–60%
Governor before election; Roger D. Branigin; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Edgar Whitcomb; Republican

The 1968 Indiana gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1968.

Incumbent Democratic Governor Roger D. Branigin was term-limited.

Republican nominee Edgar Whitcomb defeated Democratic nominee Robert L. Rock with 52.72% of the vote.

Nominations[]

Until 1976, all nominations for statewide office in Indiana were made by state conventions.^[1]^[2]

The Democratic convention was held on June 21, 1968.^[3]^[4]

Democratic convention results^[3]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert L. Rock	953	49.33
	Democratic	Richard C. Bodine	951	49.23
		Absent/not voting	28	1.45
Total votes			1,932	100.00

The Republican convention was held on June 18, 1968.^[6]^[7]

Republican convention results^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edgar Whitcomb	1,260	56.86
	Republican	Otis Bowen	527	23.78
	Republican	Earl Butz	429	19.36
Total votes			2,216	100.00

1968 Indiana gubernatorial election^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edgar Whitcomb	1,080,271	52.72%
	Democratic	Robert L. Rock	965,816	47.13%
	Prohibition	Melvin E. Hawk	2,985	0.15%
Majority			114,455	5.59%
Turnout			2,049,072	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

1968 Indiana lieutenant gubernatorial election^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard E. Folz	1,086,704	54.00%
	Democratic	James W. Beatty	922,352	45.83%
	Prohibition	James G. Harkless	3,277	0.16%
Majority			164,352	8.17%
Turnout			2,012,333	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

^ America Votes 8, p. 116.
^ Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 112.
^ ^a ^b Myers, Hortense (22 June 1968). "Rock wins Demo governor's spot". The Daily Banner. Greencastle, IN. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^ Butters, Mary Ann (22 June 1968). "Demo Women Take Active Part in Helping Favorite Candidates". Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 6. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^ Foughty, Trevor (14 June 2018). "That wild 1968 Indiana Democrat convention" (PDF). Howey Politics Indiana. Vol. 23, no. 41. Kokomo, Indiana. p. 7. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^ ^a ^b Cadou, Eugene J. (19 June 1968). "Municipal vote gives Whitcomb the GOP nod". The Daily Banner. Greencastle, IN. p. 1. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^ Foughty, Trevor (15 June 2018). "The close convention upset that history mostly forgot". Capital & Washington. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^ "IN Governor, 1968 - R Convention". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^ Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 50.
^ America Votes 8, p. 107.
^ "IN Governor, 1968". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^ "1968 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Indiana". US Election Atlas. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^ "1968 Lt. Gubernatorial General Election Results – Indiana". US Election Atlas. Retrieved 4 June 2020.

Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.
Scammon, Richard M., ed. (1970). America Votes 8: a handbook of contemporary American election statistics, 1968. Washington, D.C.: Governmental Affairs Institute.
Brown, Otis R.; Du Bois, William (2000). Doc: Memories from a Life in Public Service. Bloomington, Illinois: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-33767-4.

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