The Election of 1964
Fifty years ago today, on November 3, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, who became President less than a year earlier following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, was elected President in his own right, soundly defeating his Republican opponent, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. Johnson won 61.1% of the popular vote, the highest by a candidate since James Monroe's re-election in 1820. No candidate for president since has matched or bettered Johnson's percentage of the popular vote. Johnson won in 44 of the 50 states and in the District of Columbia.
Goldwater won his party's nomination by rallying conservatives, but in the general election he was unable to broaden his base of support. Shortly before the Republican Convention, he had alienated many moderate Republicans by voting against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Goldwater claimed that he voted against the bill on constitutional grounds. He believed that civil rights was an issue for the states, not for the federal government. But the Johnson campaign portrayed Goldwater as a racist, even though Goldwater had supported the civil rights cause in general, and voted in favor of the 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights acts.
Goldwater also failed to gain support from a number of establishment Republicans. Speaking "off-the-cuff" earlier, he had called the Eisenhower administration "a dime store New Deal", and Eisenhower and those loyal to the former president never fully forgave Goldwater or offered him much support in the election. Goldwater had also said, in a December 1961 news conference, that "sometimes I think this country would be better off if we could just saw off the Eastern Seaboard and let it float out to sea." That comment came back to haunt him, in a Johnson television commercial that also mentioned Goldwater's flippant remarks about making Social Security voluntary and selling the Tennessee Valley Authority. In his most famous verbal gaffe, Goldwater had once joked that the U.S. military should "lob one [a nuclear bomb] into the men's room of the Kremlin" in the Soviet Union. Johnson's spin doctors used this to paint Goldwater as someone likely to cause a nuclear war.
Many prominent moderate Republicans did not give Goldwater much support. Governors Nelson Rockefeller of New York and George Romney of Michigan refused to endorse Goldwater and did not campaign for him. Former Vice-President Richard Nixon and Governor Scranton of Pennsylvania loyally supported the GOP ticket and campaigned for Goldwater, even though Nixon did not entirely agree with Goldwater's political stances. The New York Herald-Tribune, traditionally a Republican paper, supported Johnson in the general election. Some moderates even formed a "Republicans for Johnson" organization, although most prominent GOP politicians avoided being associated with it. The absence of Eisenhower's support was clearly noticed. Goldwater was critical of Milton S. Eisenhower, Ike's brother, stating, "One Eisenhower in a generation is enough." In spite of this, Eisenhower made a television commercial for Goldwater's campaign.
A prominent Hollywood celebrity who vigorously supported Goldwater was actor and future president Ronald Reagan. Reagan gave a well-received televised speech supporting Goldwater. It was so popular that Goldwater's advisors had it played on local television stations around the nation. Many historians consider this speech to mark the beginning of Reagan's transformation from an actor to a political leader. In 1966, Reagan would be elected Governor of California in a landslide.
Fact magazine published an article polling psychiatrists around the country as to Goldwater's sanity. 1,189 psychiatrists allegedly agreed that Goldwater was "emotionally unstable" and unfit for office, though none of the members had actually interviewed Goldwater. The article received heavy publicity. In a libel suit, Goldwater was later awarded $75 000 in compensation.
Johnson positioned himself as a moderate and succeeded in portraying Goldwater as an extremist. To emphasize this impression, the Johnson campaign broadcast a television commercial on September 7 dubbed the "Daisy Girl" ad, which featured a little girl picking petals from a daisy in a field, counting the petals, which then segued into a launch countdown and a nuclear explosion. "Confessions of a Republican" was another Johnson ad, featuring a monologue from a man who claimed that he had previously voted for Eisenhower and Nixon, but now worried about the "men with strange ideas", "weird groups" and "the head of the Ku Klux Klan" who were supporting Goldwater. The man concluded that "either they're not Republicans, or I'm not". Goldwater's slogan "In your heart, you know he's right" was successfully parodied by the Johnson campaign into "In your guts, you know he's nuts", or "In your heart, you know he might" (push the nuclear button).
The election campaign was disrupted for a week by the death of former president Herbert Hoover on October 20, 1964, because it was considered disrespectful to be campaigning during a time of mourning. Both major candidates attended Hoover's funeral.
Johnson led in all opinion polls by huge margins throughout the entire campaign.
The election was held on November 3, 1964. Johnson beat Goldwater in the general election, winning over 61 percent of the popular vote. In the end, Goldwater won only his native state of Arizona and five southern states: Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. This was seen as a response to the Democratic civil rights policies, and it was the best showing in the South for a Republican candidate since Reconstruction. The 1964 election was a time of major transition for the South. In the north, Johnson was the first Democrat ever to carry the state of Vermont in a Presidential election, and only the second Democrat to carry Maine in the 20th century. Maine and Vermont had been the only states that FDR had failed to carry during any of his four successful presidential bids.
This is the first election to have participation of the District of Columbia under the 23rd Amendment to the US Constitution.
Lyndon Johnson still holds the record for winning the highest percentage of the popular vote in a presidential election to date.
Goldwater won his party's nomination by rallying conservatives, but in the general election he was unable to broaden his base of support. Shortly before the Republican Convention, he had alienated many moderate Republicans by voting against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Goldwater claimed that he voted against the bill on constitutional grounds. He believed that civil rights was an issue for the states, not for the federal government. But the Johnson campaign portrayed Goldwater as a racist, even though Goldwater had supported the civil rights cause in general, and voted in favor of the 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights acts.
Goldwater also failed to gain support from a number of establishment Republicans. Speaking "off-the-cuff" earlier, he had called the Eisenhower administration "a dime store New Deal", and Eisenhower and those loyal to the former president never fully forgave Goldwater or offered him much support in the election. Goldwater had also said, in a December 1961 news conference, that "sometimes I think this country would be better off if we could just saw off the Eastern Seaboard and let it float out to sea." That comment came back to haunt him, in a Johnson television commercial that also mentioned Goldwater's flippant remarks about making Social Security voluntary and selling the Tennessee Valley Authority. In his most famous verbal gaffe, Goldwater had once joked that the U.S. military should "lob one [a nuclear bomb] into the men's room of the Kremlin" in the Soviet Union. Johnson's spin doctors used this to paint Goldwater as someone likely to cause a nuclear war.
Many prominent moderate Republicans did not give Goldwater much support. Governors Nelson Rockefeller of New York and George Romney of Michigan refused to endorse Goldwater and did not campaign for him. Former Vice-President Richard Nixon and Governor Scranton of Pennsylvania loyally supported the GOP ticket and campaigned for Goldwater, even though Nixon did not entirely agree with Goldwater's political stances. The New York Herald-Tribune, traditionally a Republican paper, supported Johnson in the general election. Some moderates even formed a "Republicans for Johnson" organization, although most prominent GOP politicians avoided being associated with it. The absence of Eisenhower's support was clearly noticed. Goldwater was critical of Milton S. Eisenhower, Ike's brother, stating, "One Eisenhower in a generation is enough." In spite of this, Eisenhower made a television commercial for Goldwater's campaign.
A prominent Hollywood celebrity who vigorously supported Goldwater was actor and future president Ronald Reagan. Reagan gave a well-received televised speech supporting Goldwater. It was so popular that Goldwater's advisors had it played on local television stations around the nation. Many historians consider this speech to mark the beginning of Reagan's transformation from an actor to a political leader. In 1966, Reagan would be elected Governor of California in a landslide.
Fact magazine published an article polling psychiatrists around the country as to Goldwater's sanity. 1,189 psychiatrists allegedly agreed that Goldwater was "emotionally unstable" and unfit for office, though none of the members had actually interviewed Goldwater. The article received heavy publicity. In a libel suit, Goldwater was later awarded $75 000 in compensation.
Johnson positioned himself as a moderate and succeeded in portraying Goldwater as an extremist. To emphasize this impression, the Johnson campaign broadcast a television commercial on September 7 dubbed the "Daisy Girl" ad, which featured a little girl picking petals from a daisy in a field, counting the petals, which then segued into a launch countdown and a nuclear explosion. "Confessions of a Republican" was another Johnson ad, featuring a monologue from a man who claimed that he had previously voted for Eisenhower and Nixon, but now worried about the "men with strange ideas", "weird groups" and "the head of the Ku Klux Klan" who were supporting Goldwater. The man concluded that "either they're not Republicans, or I'm not". Goldwater's slogan "In your heart, you know he's right" was successfully parodied by the Johnson campaign into "In your guts, you know he's nuts", or "In your heart, you know he might" (push the nuclear button).
The election campaign was disrupted for a week by the death of former president Herbert Hoover on October 20, 1964, because it was considered disrespectful to be campaigning during a time of mourning. Both major candidates attended Hoover's funeral.
Johnson led in all opinion polls by huge margins throughout the entire campaign.
The election was held on November 3, 1964. Johnson beat Goldwater in the general election, winning over 61 percent of the popular vote. In the end, Goldwater won only his native state of Arizona and five southern states: Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. This was seen as a response to the Democratic civil rights policies, and it was the best showing in the South for a Republican candidate since Reconstruction. The 1964 election was a time of major transition for the South. In the north, Johnson was the first Democrat ever to carry the state of Vermont in a Presidential election, and only the second Democrat to carry Maine in the 20th century. Maine and Vermont had been the only states that FDR had failed to carry during any of his four successful presidential bids.
This is the first election to have participation of the District of Columbia under the 23rd Amendment to the US Constitution.
Lyndon Johnson still holds the record for winning the highest percentage of the popular vote in a presidential election to date.