Past Campaigns: The 1968 Democratic Party Race
After completing John F. Kennedy's unexpired term as President, and then winning election to the office in his own right in 1964, Lyndon Johnson planned to serve another term. But that was before what he derisively called "that bitch of a war".
Johnson was not precluded from serving another term under the 22nd Amendment to the constitution. It prohibited a president from being "elected to the office of the President more than twice" and also said that "no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once." Johnson had served less than two years of Kennedy's term, so he was eligible to run for the office again because he had only served 14 months following John F. Kennedy's assassination before being sworn in for his full term in January 1965. It was assumed when 1968 began that Johnson would be the Democratic nominee for President in 1968, and that he would have little trouble in winning his party's nomination.
But when the 1968 presidential primaries began, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota challenged Johnson for the nomination, running on an anti-war platform. What McCarthy really wanted was to open his party's eyes up to the widespread opposition to the war that existed and he hoped to pressure the Democrats into publicly opposing the Vietnam War. National polls weren't with McCarthy at the start of the year, and he decided to pour most of his resources into the New Hampshire Primary, the first primary election. His supporters included thousands of young college students who volunteered throughout the state, many of whom shaved their beards and cut their hair, pledging to be "Clean for Gene."
On March 12, although Johnson won the primary with 49% of the vote, McCarthy finished a very strong second place with 42% of the primary vote, much more than expected. It was an extremely strong showing under the circumstances and it gave McCarthy's campaign legitimacy and momentum.
McCarthy's strong finish emboldened another of Johnson's critics within his party. In a move that caught many by surprise, on March 16, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, an outspoken critic of Johnson's policies, renounced his earlier support for Johnson and proclaimed his own candidacy for President. McCarthy and his supporters called Kennedy an opportunist, and there was a schism within the anti-war wing of the party. But despite this split, Kennedy was seen as a very formidable candidate, in part because of the strong public affection that existed for Kennedy's late brother and for the Kennedy family in general.
The opposition to the war became very real for Johnson, who now faced with two strong primary challenges. Johnson surveyed the situation and came to the conclusion that he could not win his party's nomination without a major political struggle which would adversely affect his chances for re-election. On March 31, 1968, Johnson surprised many in the nation by ending a televised address about the War by announcing that he would not seek re-election.
With Johnson's withdrawal, the establishment candidate became Hubert Humphrey, Johnson's Vice-President. Humphrey had once had a reputation for being a strong liberal within the party and he had the support of labor unions and other segments of the Democratic Party's primary power. But as the establishment candidate, he also had the stigma of the war and of not being vocal in his opposition to it.
There was another segment of the party unlikely to support Kennedy, McCarthy or Humphrey. These were conservative white Southern Democrats, or "Dixiecrats" as they were known, although their influence had been in decline in recent years. Many of these were supporting Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, who was running a third-party campaign in the general election.
Humphrey announced his candidacy on April 27. He chose not to run against Kennedy and McCarthy in subsequent primary states. Kennedy was successful in four state primaries (Indiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and California) and McCarthy won six (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, and Illinois). In primaries where Kennedy and McCarthy campaigned directly against one another, Kennedy won three (Indiana, Nebraska, and California) and McCarthy won one (Oregon). Humphrey did not compete in the primaries, choosing instead to have "favorite son" candidates (local politicians) to win delegates there. Senator George A. Smathers from Florida, Senator Stephen M. Young from Ohio, and Governor Roger D. Branigin of Indiana all ran as Humphrey's surrogates. Instead Humphrey campaigned for the delegates in non-primary states, where party leaders controlled the delegate votes.
After Kennedy's defeat in Oregon, the California primary was seen as crucial to both Kennedy and McCarthy. The two battled fiercely for the state's delegates. McCarthy stumped the state's many colleges and universities, where he was warmly received for being the first presidential candidate to oppose the war. Kennedy campaigned in the ghettos and barrios of the state's larger cities, where he was mobbed by enthusiastic supporters. Kennedy and McCarthy engaged in a television debate a few days before the election. It was generally considered to be a draw.
On June 4, Kennedy defeated McCarthy in California, 46% to 42%, and also won the South Dakota primary held the same day. McCarthy refused to withdraw from the presidential race and made it clear that he would contest Kennedy in the upcoming New York primary. But this never happened. After giving his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Kennedy was shot in the kitchen by Palestinian militant Sirhan Sirhan in the early morning of June 5, 1968 (48 years ago today). He died twenty-six hours later.
Kennedy's death threw the Democratic Party race into disarray. It left Humphrey as the likely nominee. Some of Kennedy's support went to McCarthy, but many of Kennedy's delegates refused to support McCarthy because of the bitterness between the two campaigns during the primary battles. Some of Kennedy's supporters rallied around the late-starting candidacy of Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, who had been a Kennedy supporter. In the final result however, dividing the antiwar votes at the Democratic Convention made it easier for Humphrey to win the nomination.
When the 1968 Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago, thousands of young antiwar activists from around the nation gathered in the city to protest the Vietnam War. In a clash which was covered on live television, Americans watching on their television screens were shocked to see Chicago police brutally beating anti-war protesters in the streets of Chicago. While the protesters chanted "the whole world is watching", the police used clubs and tear gas to beat back the protesters, leaving many of them bloody and injured. The tear gas wafted into numerous hotel suites, including one in which Humphrey was watching the proceedings on television. The convention received further bad press by the bullying tactics of Chicago's mayor Richard J. Daley (who was seen on television angrily swearing at Connecticut Senator Abraham Ribicoff, who made a speech at the convention denouncing the excesses of the Chicago police in the riots).
The nomination contest, in which Humphrey soundly defeated McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot, was secondary to the media coverage of the violence. . The convention then chose Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine as Humphrey's running mate. However, the coverage of the riots hamstrung the Humphrey campaign, and despite a late surge in support, it never fully recovered. Humphrey lost the election to Republican Richard Nixon by less than a percentage in the popular vote (31,783,783 votes or 43.4% for Nixon, compared to 31,271,839 or 42.7% for Humphrey) but Nixon won with 301 electoral votes, compared to 191 for Humphrey and 46 for third party candidate George Wallace.
Johnson was not precluded from serving another term under the 22nd Amendment to the constitution. It prohibited a president from being "elected to the office of the President more than twice" and also said that "no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once." Johnson had served less than two years of Kennedy's term, so he was eligible to run for the office again because he had only served 14 months following John F. Kennedy's assassination before being sworn in for his full term in January 1965. It was assumed when 1968 began that Johnson would be the Democratic nominee for President in 1968, and that he would have little trouble in winning his party's nomination.
But when the 1968 presidential primaries began, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota challenged Johnson for the nomination, running on an anti-war platform. What McCarthy really wanted was to open his party's eyes up to the widespread opposition to the war that existed and he hoped to pressure the Democrats into publicly opposing the Vietnam War. National polls weren't with McCarthy at the start of the year, and he decided to pour most of his resources into the New Hampshire Primary, the first primary election. His supporters included thousands of young college students who volunteered throughout the state, many of whom shaved their beards and cut their hair, pledging to be "Clean for Gene."
On March 12, although Johnson won the primary with 49% of the vote, McCarthy finished a very strong second place with 42% of the primary vote, much more than expected. It was an extremely strong showing under the circumstances and it gave McCarthy's campaign legitimacy and momentum.
McCarthy's strong finish emboldened another of Johnson's critics within his party. In a move that caught many by surprise, on March 16, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, an outspoken critic of Johnson's policies, renounced his earlier support for Johnson and proclaimed his own candidacy for President. McCarthy and his supporters called Kennedy an opportunist, and there was a schism within the anti-war wing of the party. But despite this split, Kennedy was seen as a very formidable candidate, in part because of the strong public affection that existed for Kennedy's late brother and for the Kennedy family in general.
The opposition to the war became very real for Johnson, who now faced with two strong primary challenges. Johnson surveyed the situation and came to the conclusion that he could not win his party's nomination without a major political struggle which would adversely affect his chances for re-election. On March 31, 1968, Johnson surprised many in the nation by ending a televised address about the War by announcing that he would not seek re-election.
With Johnson's withdrawal, the establishment candidate became Hubert Humphrey, Johnson's Vice-President. Humphrey had once had a reputation for being a strong liberal within the party and he had the support of labor unions and other segments of the Democratic Party's primary power. But as the establishment candidate, he also had the stigma of the war and of not being vocal in his opposition to it.
There was another segment of the party unlikely to support Kennedy, McCarthy or Humphrey. These were conservative white Southern Democrats, or "Dixiecrats" as they were known, although their influence had been in decline in recent years. Many of these were supporting Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, who was running a third-party campaign in the general election.
Humphrey announced his candidacy on April 27. He chose not to run against Kennedy and McCarthy in subsequent primary states. Kennedy was successful in four state primaries (Indiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and California) and McCarthy won six (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, and Illinois). In primaries where Kennedy and McCarthy campaigned directly against one another, Kennedy won three (Indiana, Nebraska, and California) and McCarthy won one (Oregon). Humphrey did not compete in the primaries, choosing instead to have "favorite son" candidates (local politicians) to win delegates there. Senator George A. Smathers from Florida, Senator Stephen M. Young from Ohio, and Governor Roger D. Branigin of Indiana all ran as Humphrey's surrogates. Instead Humphrey campaigned for the delegates in non-primary states, where party leaders controlled the delegate votes.
After Kennedy's defeat in Oregon, the California primary was seen as crucial to both Kennedy and McCarthy. The two battled fiercely for the state's delegates. McCarthy stumped the state's many colleges and universities, where he was warmly received for being the first presidential candidate to oppose the war. Kennedy campaigned in the ghettos and barrios of the state's larger cities, where he was mobbed by enthusiastic supporters. Kennedy and McCarthy engaged in a television debate a few days before the election. It was generally considered to be a draw.
On June 4, Kennedy defeated McCarthy in California, 46% to 42%, and also won the South Dakota primary held the same day. McCarthy refused to withdraw from the presidential race and made it clear that he would contest Kennedy in the upcoming New York primary. But this never happened. After giving his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Kennedy was shot in the kitchen by Palestinian militant Sirhan Sirhan in the early morning of June 5, 1968 (48 years ago today). He died twenty-six hours later.
Kennedy's death threw the Democratic Party race into disarray. It left Humphrey as the likely nominee. Some of Kennedy's support went to McCarthy, but many of Kennedy's delegates refused to support McCarthy because of the bitterness between the two campaigns during the primary battles. Some of Kennedy's supporters rallied around the late-starting candidacy of Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, who had been a Kennedy supporter. In the final result however, dividing the antiwar votes at the Democratic Convention made it easier for Humphrey to win the nomination.
When the 1968 Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago, thousands of young antiwar activists from around the nation gathered in the city to protest the Vietnam War. In a clash which was covered on live television, Americans watching on their television screens were shocked to see Chicago police brutally beating anti-war protesters in the streets of Chicago. While the protesters chanted "the whole world is watching", the police used clubs and tear gas to beat back the protesters, leaving many of them bloody and injured. The tear gas wafted into numerous hotel suites, including one in which Humphrey was watching the proceedings on television. The convention received further bad press by the bullying tactics of Chicago's mayor Richard J. Daley (who was seen on television angrily swearing at Connecticut Senator Abraham Ribicoff, who made a speech at the convention denouncing the excesses of the Chicago police in the riots).
The nomination contest, in which Humphrey soundly defeated McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot, was secondary to the media coverage of the violence. . The convention then chose Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine as Humphrey's running mate. However, the coverage of the riots hamstrung the Humphrey campaign, and despite a late surge in support, it never fully recovered. Humphrey lost the election to Republican Richard Nixon by less than a percentage in the popular vote (31,783,783 votes or 43.4% for Nixon, compared to 31,271,839 or 42.7% for Humphrey) but Nixon won with 301 electoral votes, compared to 191 for Humphrey and 46 for third party candidate George Wallace.