1968 United States presidential election in Florida
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County Results
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Elections in Florida |
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Government |
The 1968 United States presidential election in Florida was held on November 5, 1968. Florida voters chose fourteen electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Background[]
Between the imposition of a poll tax in 1889 and the migration of numerous northerners seeking a hotter climate in the 1940s,[1] Florida had been a one-party Democratic state, lacking any traditional white Republicanism due to the absence of mountains or German "Forty-Eighter" settlements. So late as the landmark court case of Smith v. Allwright, half of Florida's registered Republicans were still black,[2] although very few blacks in Florida had ever voted within the previous fifty-five years. When new migrants from traditionally Republican northern states in Central Florida took their Republican voting habits with them at the presidential level,[3] the GOP restricted Harry Truman to under half the statewide vote in 1948 and under Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon carried the state in the following three elections.
1964 saw a complete reversal of the 1950s voting pattern of a largely Republican south and central Florida and continuing Democratic loyalty in the North, with almost zero correlation between 1960 and 1964 county returns.[4] Incumbent Lyndon Johnson narrowly carried the state with black[5] and retiree votes but lost most Panhandle Kennedy support to Goldwater.
Following his landslide sweep of the northern states, Lyndon Johnson's Great Society at first appeared to be helping him in Florida;[6] however the relationship soured quickly as the Democratic Party factionalized. In 1966, via a campaign portraying his opponent as a dangerous liberal, Claude R. Kirk defeated Miami Mayor Robert King Hugh to become (alongside Winthrop Rockefeller) the first GOP Governor of any Confederate State since Alfred A. Taylor in 1922.[7]
Further political unrest, including a major teacher's strike in the winter of 1967–1968, along with the stalemate in Vietnam,[8] further cut into the Democratic Party's local popularity, which was further affected by Alabama Governor George Wallace entering the race under the "American Independent" banner.
Along with political unrest, the state would face civil unrest as well. During the Long, hot summer of 1967, the state saw several riots take place in it with the largest being in Tampa lasting four days in total. Clearwater, Lakeland, Riviera Beach and West Palm Beach also saw riots that were smaller in scale.[9] During the Martin Luther King assassination riots in 1968, several riots were known to have taken place in state such as in: Tallahassee,[10] Jacksonville and Fort Pierce.[11]
Vote[]
After contentious primaries, Florida was initially considered a state which all three candidates had a chance to carry.
Republican candidate Richard Nixon won the state of Florida by a margin of 9.60% or 210,010 votes.[12]
Nixon obtained his support in Central Florida, Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey got his support from Southern Florida, and third-party candidate George Wallace got his support from the Florida Panhandle, or Northern Florida. This was one of the better states for George Wallace, due to the Northern part of the state being against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which Lyndon Johnson had signed into law. This led to Democratic party gains in support from black voters. The party simultaneously lost the great majority of white voters. One exception to this abandonment by white voters came in the Jewish sections of Miami.[13] It is estimated that over 80% of the non-Hispanic white electorate backed Nixon or Wallace, with Wallace being the choice among those whites in the northern counties with larger numbers of proximate black voters, and Nixon in those areas with few or no blacks.
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Escambia County, Clay County, Okaloosa County, and Santa Rosa County did not support the Republican candidate.[14]
Results[]
Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Electoral vote |
Running mate | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | Percentage | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote | ||||
Richard Nixon | Republican | New York | 886,804 | 40.53% | 14 | Spiro Agnew | Maryland | 14 |
Hubert Humphrey | Democrat | Minnesota | 676,794 | 30.93% | 0 | Edmund Muskie | Maine | 0 |
George Wallace | George Wallace Party | Alabama | 624,207 | 28.53% | 0 | Curtis LeMay | California | 0 |
Total | 2,187,805 | 100% | 14 | 14 | ||||
Needed to win | 270 | 270 |
Results by county[]
County | Richard M. Nixon Republican |
Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic |
George C. Wallace George Wallace Party |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Alachua | 9,670 | 34.02% | 10,060 | 35.39% | 8,696 | 30.59% | -390 | -1.37% | 28,426 |
Baker | 294 | 10.72% | 487 | 17.75% | 1,962 | 71.53% | -1,475[b] | -53.78% | 2,743 |
Bay | 5,121 | 21.07% | 4,020 | 16.54% | 15,161 | 62.39% | -10,040[c] | -41.32% | 24,302 |
Bradford | 718 | 15.18% | 1,173 | 24.79% | 2,840 | 60.03% | -1,667[b] | -35.24% | 4,731 |
Brevard | 37,124 | 48.02% | 18,281 | 23.65% | 21,909 | 28.34% | 15,215[c] | 19.68% | 77,314 |
Broward | 106,122 | 54.50% | 56,613 | 29.07% | 31,992 | 16.43% | 49,509 | 25.43% | 194,727 |
Calhoun | 356 | 11.38% | 398 | 12.72% | 2,375 | 75.90% | -1,977[b] | -63.18% | 3,129 |
Charlotte | 6,056 | 50.58% | 3,647 | 30.46% | 2,270 | 18.96% | 2,409 | 20.12% | 11,973 |
Citrus | 2,767 | 38.71% | 1,775 | 24.83% | 2,606 | 36.46% | 161[c] | 2.25% | 7,148 |
Clay | 3,251 | 35.14% | 1,954 | 21.12% | 4,046 | 43.74% | -795[c] | -8.60% | 9,251 |
Collier | 5,362 | 50.85% | 2,230 | 21.15% | 2,952 | 28.00% | 2,410[c] | 22.85% | 10,544 |
Columbia | 1,553 | 21.13% | 1,750 | 23.81% | 4,046 | 55.06% | -2,296[b] | -31.25% | 7,349 |
Dade | 135,222 | 37.02% | 176,689 | 48.37% | 53,391 | 14.62% | -41,467 | -11.35% | 365,302 |
DeSoto | 1,103 | 26.94% | 937 | 22.89% | 2,054 | 50.17% | -951[c] | -23.23% | 4,094 |
Dixie | 217 | 10.39% | 325 | 15.57% | 1,546 | 74.04% | -1,221[b] | -58.47% | 2,088 |
Duval | 51,585 | 30.89% | 54,834 | 32.84% | 60,559 | 36.27% | -5,725[b] | -3.43% | 166,978 |
Escambia | 15,089 | 22.07% | 16,281 | 23.81% | 37,000 | 54.12% | -20,719[b] | -30.31% | 68,370 |
Flagler | 360 | 20.25% | 601 | 33.80% | 817 | 45.95% | -216[b] | -12.15% | 1,778 |
Franklin | 529 | 16.86% | 699 | 22.28% | 1,909 | 60.85% | -1,210[b] | -38.57% | 3,137 |
Gadsden | 1,337 | 14.76% | 3,274 | 36.15% | 4,446 | 49.09% | -1,172[b] | -12.94% | 9,057 |
Gilchrist | 183 | 12.12% | 208 | 13.77% | 1,119 | 74.11% | -911[b] | -60.34% | 1,510 |
Glades | 261 | 23.92% | 230 | 21.08% | 600 | 55.00% | -339[c] | -31.08% | 1,091 |
Gulf | 364 | 9.58% | 711 | 18.71% | 2,725 | 71.71% | -2,014[b] | -53.00% | 3,800 |
Hamilton | 337 | 12.34% | 820 | 30.03% | 1,574 | 57.63% | -754[b] | -27.60% | 2,731 |
Hardee | 1,278 | 28.34% | 703 | 15.59% | 2,529 | 56.08% | -1,251[c] | -27.74% | 4,510 |
Hendry | 900 | 27.04% | 791 | 23.76% | 1,638 | 49.20% | -738[c] | -22.16% | 3,329 |
Hernando | 2,053 | 34.42% | 1,524 | 25.55% | 2,387 | 40.02% | -334[c] | -5.60% | 5,964 |
Highlands | 4,560 | 42.95% | 2,582 | 24.32% | 3,475 | 32.73% | 1,085[c] | 10.22% | 10,617 |
Hillsborough | 49,441 | 34.77% | 45,848 | 32.24% | 46,913 | 32.99% | 2,528[c] | 1.78% | 142,202 |
Holmes | 377 | 7.00% | 312 | 5.79% | 4,700 | 87.21% | -4,323[c] | -80.21% | 5,389 |
Indian River | 6,518 | 51.25% | 3,179 | 24.99% | 3,022 | 23.76% | 3,339 | 26.26% | 12,719 |
Jackson | 1,236 | 10.02% | 2,472 | 20.05% | 8,622 | 69.93% | -6,150[b] | -49.88% | 12,330 |
Jefferson | 459 | 14.84% | 1,066 | 34.48% | 1,567 | 50.68% | -501[b] | -16.20% | 3,092 |
Lafayette | 137 | 9.28% | 215 | 14.56% | 1,125 | 76.17% | -910[b] | -61.61% | 1,477 |
Lake | 11,763 | 47.42% | 4,599 | 18.54% | 8,442 | 34.03% | 3,321[c] | 13.39% | 24,804 |
Lee | 14,376 | 46.23% | 7,978 | 25.66% | 8,741 | 28.11% | 5,635[c] | 18.12% | 31,095 |
Leon | 9,288 | 28.49% | 10,440 | 32.02% | 12,878 | 39.50% | -2,438[b] | -7.48% | 32,606 |
Levy | 745 | 18.81% | 767 | 19.36% | 2,449 | 61.83% | -1,682[b] | -42.47% | 3,961 |
Liberty | 154 | 8.96% | 242 | 14.09% | 1,322 | 76.95% | -1,080[b] | -62.86% | 1,718 |
Madison | 654 | 13.81% | 1,378 | 29.10% | 2,703 | 57.09% | -1,325[b] | -27.99% | 4,735 |
Manatee | 18,247 | 52.51% | 8,286 | 23.85% | 8,214 | 23.64% | 9,961 | 28.66% | 34,747 |
Marion | 7,468 | 32.66% | 5,798 | 25.36% | 9,600 | 41.98% | -2,132[c] | -9.32% | 22,866 |
Martin | 5,179 | 50.63% | 2,580 | 25.22% | 2,471 | 24.15% | 2,599 | 25.41% | 10,230 |
Monroe | 5,094 | 34.19% | 5,534 | 37.14% | 4,271 | 28.67% | -440 | -2.95% | 14,899 |
Nassau | 1,301 | 19.91% | 1,598 | 24.46% | 3,634 | 55.63% | -2,036[b] | -31.17% | 6,533 |
Okaloosa | 5,525 | 26.54% | 3,059 | 14.69% | 12,237 | 58.77% | -6,712[c] | -32.23% | 20,821 |
Okeechobee | 862 | 28.66% | 542 | 18.02% | 1,604 | 53.32% | -742[c] | -24.66% | 3,008 |
Orange | 50,874 | 50.54% | 22,548 | 22.40% | 27,247 | 27.07% | 23,627[c] | 23.47% | 100,669 |
Osceola | 4,172 | 43.90% | 1,870 | 19.68% | 3,462 | 36.43% | 710[c] | 7.47% | 9,504 |
Palm Beach | 62,191 | 53.19% | 32,837 | 28.08% | 21,894 | 18.73% | 29,354 | 25.11% | 116,922 |
Pasco | 9,743 | 42.36% | 6,292 | 27.36% | 6,966 | 30.29% | 2,777[c] | 12.07% | 23,001 |
Pinellas | 109,235 | 51.71% | 68,209 | 32.29% | 33,814 | 16.01% | 41,026 | 19.42% | 211,258 |
Polk | 27,839 | 36.98% | 15,898 | 21.12% | 31,540 | 41.90% | -3,701[c] | -4.92% | 75,277 |
Putnam | 2,955 | 26.80% | 2,920 | 26.49% | 5,150 | 46.71% | -2,195[c] | -19.91% | 11,025 |
St. Johns | 3,880 | 34.31% | 2,748 | 24.30% | 4,682 | 41.40% | -802[c] | -7.09% | 11,310 |
St. Lucie | 7,281 | 43.02% | 5,232 | 30.92% | 4,410 | 26.06% | 2,049 | 12.10% | 16,923 |
Santa Rosa | 2,567 | 20.19% | 1,600 | 12.58% | 8,549 | 67.23% | -5,982[c] | -47.04% | 12,716 |
Sarasota | 30,160 | 63.73% | 10,127 | 21.40% | 7,041 | 14.88% | 20,033 | 42.33% | 47,328 |
Seminole | 10,821 | 44.69% | 6,120 | 25.27% | 7,275 | 30.04% | 3,546[c] | 14.65% | 24,216 |
Sumter | 910 | 17.96% | 1,277 | 25.21% | 2,879 | 56.83% | -1,602[b] | -31.62% | 5,066 |
Suwannee | 845 | 14.13% | 1,182 | 19.76% | 3,955 | 66.12% | -2,773[b] | -46.36% | 5,982 |
Taylor | 794 | 15.71% | 941 | 18.62% | 3,318 | 65.66% | -2,377[b] | -47.04% | 5,053 |
Union | 179 | 10.78% | 290 | 17.46% | 1,192 | 71.76% | -902[b] | -54.30% | 1,661 |
Volusia | 28,024 | 39.91% | 24,987 | 35.58% | 17,209 | 24.51% | 3,037 | 4.33% | 70,220 |
Wakulla | 247 | 10.49% | 440 | 18.68% | 1,668 | 70.83% | -1,228[b] | -52.15% | 2,355 |
Walton | 963 | 13.45% | 1,064 | 14.86% | 5,135 | 71.70% | -4,071[b] | -56.84% | 7,162 |
Washington | 528 | 10.71% | 722 | 14.64% | 3,682 | 74.66% | -2,960[b] | -60.02% | 4,932 |
Totals | 886,804 | 40.53% | 676,794 | 30.93% | 624,207 | 28.53% | 210,010 | 9.60% | 2,187,805 |
Notes[]
- ^ Although he was born in California and he served as a U.S. Senator from California, in 1968 Richard Nixon's official state of residence was New York, because he moved there to practice law after his defeat in the 1962 California gubernatorial election. During his first term as president, Nixon re-established his residency in California. Consequently, most reliable reference books list Nixon's home state as New York in the 1968 election and his home state as California in the 1972 (and 1960) election.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab In this county where Nixon ran third behind Wallace, margin given is Humphrey vote minus Wallace vote and percentage margin Humphrey percentage minus Wallace percentage.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z In this county where Humphrey ran third behind Wallace, margin given is Nixon vote minus Wallace vote and percentage margin Nixon percentage minus Wallace percentage.
References[]
- ^ Silbey, Joel H. and Bogue, Allan G.; The History of American Electoral Behavior, p. 210 ISBN 140087114X
- ^ See Price, Hugh Douglas; 'The Negro and Florida Politics, 1944-1954'; The Journal of Politics, Vol. 17, No. 2 (May, 1955), pp. 198-220
- ^ Seagull, Louis M.; Southern Republicanism, p. 73 ISBN 0470768762
- ^ Lamis, Alexander P.; The Two-Party South, p. 180 ISBN 0195065794
- ^ Bullock, Charles S. and Gaddie, Ronald Keith; The Triumph of Voting Rights in the South, p. 254 ISBN 0806185309
- ^ Grantham, Dewey W.; The Life and Death of the Solid South: A Political History, pp. 172-173 ISBN 0813148723
- ^ Grantham; The Life and Death of the Solid South, p. 165
- ^ Sullivan, James; 'The Florida Teacher Walkout in the Political Transition of 1968', in Zieger, Robert H. (editor); Southern Labor in Transition, 1940-1995, pp. 205-223
- ^ "Race Troubles: 109 U.S. Cities Faced Violence in 1967". U.S. News & World Report (published July 12, 2017). August 14, 1967. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ "THE 1968 TALLAHASSEE RIOTS FOLLOWING THE ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR". Apalachee. Tallahassee Historical Society. 11. 1984.
- ^ RIOTS, CIVIL AND CRIMINAL DISORDERS: HEARINGS BEFORE THE PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE (PDF). United States Government Publishing Office. 1968. p. 2774. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "1968 Presidential General Election Results – Florida". Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- ^ Phillips, Kevin P. The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 281-282 ISBN 1400852293
- ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
- 1968 United States presidential election by state
- 1968 Florida elections
- United States presidential elections in Florida