Nixon: The Elections

LUCAS FOSTER
1968 Campaign
Having already run for President in 1960, Nixon decided to run for President for a second time in
1968.
Given the rift in the Democratic party over the Vietnam War, Nixon believed that a Republican
had a chance to eek out a victory in a close election. (Parmet, 502)
The primary season was chaotic. The Tet Offensive was launched as the campaign began, Lyndon
B. Johnson withdrew from the race after a disappointing performance in the New Hampshire
primary, and Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated after winning the California primary.
1968 Campaign Contd
In the Republican Primary, Nixon was faced with fending off three powerful governors: Michigan
Governor George Romney, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and California Governor
Ronald Reagan. (https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/thelife/apolitician/thepresident/)
Nixon won the Republican primary on the first ballot and selected Maryland Governor Spiro
Agnew as his running mate.
Nixon believed that choosing Agnew would unite the party as it would satisfy Southerners (who
he hoped to steal away from the Democrats) and Northern Republicans. (Parmet, 509)
1968 Campaign Contd
In the general election, Nixon faced then Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who was nominated
by the Democrats after a chaotic DNC convention.
In the face of violent protests at the DNC convention and increasing social unrest and upheaval,
Nixon successfully presented himself as a figure of stability. (Nixon Library)
Nixon stressed that the countrys crime rate was too high and hammered his Democratic
predecessors for giving away Americas nuclear superiority in the Cold War (Black, 550)
The Silent Majority
Nixon also presented himself as the antithesis to anti-war demonstrators and hippie
counterculture, serving as the leader of the silent majority.
Nixon used this term to refer to the majority of Americans who were socially conservative and
opposed these groups and movements, but were less vocal than their liberal opponents.
Nixons posturing as the head of the silent majority was bolstered by his running mate Spiro
Agnew, who was an outspoken critic of both the anti-war demonstrators and hippie
counterculture.
Nixon, the Campaign, and Vietnam
Nixons representatives told the South Vietnamese ambassador Bui Diem not to agree to a truce
while LBJ was president, claiming that Nixon would offer the South Vietnamese a better deal if
elected. (BBC)
LBJ was aware of this (and was furious) and had both Nixons representative and the South
Vietnamese ambassador bugged. (BBC)
The ambassador refused to attend peace talks and Nixon denied any involvement. (BBC)
1968: The Results
The general election was a three way race between Nixon, Democrat Hubert Humphrey, and
former Alabama Governor George Wallace, who ran as an independent. (270towin)
Nixon won the presidency with 301 electoral votes to Humphreys 191 and Wallaces 46.
(270towin)
1968: The Results Contd
http://www.270towin.com/1968_Election/
1972: The Results
http://www.270towin.com/1972_Election/
1972: What Happened
As you can see, 1972 provided Nixon with a substantially larger electoral victory. (270towin)
He had 520 electoral votes, while the Democratic challenger George McGovern had only 17.
(270towin)
Moreover, Nixon crushed McGovern in the popular vote, winning 46,740,323 to 28,901,598.
(270towin)
1972: What Happened Contd
Nixon was able to win the election in a landslide in large part because he was able to capitalize
on a good economy and his successes in foreign affairs, namely ending American involvement
in Vietnam and establishing relations with China (270towin)
McGovern was handicapped by his outsider status as well as the scandal and subsequent firing
of vice presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton (270towin)
Nixons winning margin of 23.2% in the popular vote was the fourth largest presidential victory
in US history. (270towin)
Additionally, his margin of victory in the popular vote (18 million votes) is the widest margin of
any US presidential election. (270towin)
Watergate
Interestingly, Nixon was able to achieve this enormous victory despite the fact that the
Washington Post broke the story of the break-in at the Democratic party headquarters at the
Watergate complex on June 17, 1972.
While it would become clear that the men were linked to the Nixon administration and that the
Committee to Re-elect President Nixon and the White House were involved in attempts to
sabotage the Democratic campaign, the unfolding story did not prevent Nixon from winning by
an enormous margin.
Bibliography
1968 Presidential Election. Presidential Election of 1968, 270towin.Com,
www.270towin.com/1968_Election/.
1972 Presidential Election. Presidential Election of 1972, 270towin.Com,
www.270towin.com/1972_Election/.
Black, Conrad. Richard M. Nixon: a Life in Full. PublicAffairs, 2008.
Parmet, Herbert S. Richard Nixon and His America. Smithmark, 1995.
The President. Nixonlibrary.gov, Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum,
www.nixonlibrary.gov/thelife/apolitician/thepresident/.
Taylor, David. The Lyndon Johnson Tapes: Richard Nixon's 'Treason'. BBC News, BBC, 22 Mar. 2013,
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21768668.