NIXON DEFEATS HUMPHREY & WALLACE, WILL BECOME 37TH POTUS JAN 20 1969
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 5, 1968, Richard M. Nixon was elected 37th President of the United States. The former Vice-President, who narrowly lost the Election of 1960 to John F. Kennedy, defeated Hubert Humphrey and George C. Wallace.
The final electoral vote was Nixon 301, Humphrey 191, Wallace 46.
In his victory message to supporters, the President-elect said...
"I congratulated (the Vice-President) for his gallant and courageous fight. I told him him...I know...how it feels to lose a close one."
The increasing unpopularity of the Vietnam War along with rising inflation and high crime burdened Mr. Humphrey. The assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy as well as unrest on college campuses were major concerns of the electorate.
While Mr. Nixon was bolstered by support of the so-called "silent majority," and even with so many things going for him, the election was still close*.
The Bill of Rights Institute describes the Election of 1968 "transformative" because the Democratic Party shifted to the left and the formerly Democratic "Solid South" turned to the Republicans.
*Popular Vote
Nixon (R) 31,710,470
Humphrey (D) 30,898,055
Wallace (I) 9,906,473
SOURCE
"The Election of 1968," Bill of Rights Institute, www.billofrightsinstitute.org/
