1968: Richard Nixon and the GOP Nomination
In 1962, after losing the Presidency in 1960 and the race to become Governor of California two years later, Richard Milhous Nixon wrote his own political obituary when he told reporters at a post-election press conference that the wouldn't "have Nixon to kick around any more." The pronouncement of his political death was premature. In the next six years Nixon would engineer a political comeback that would see him finally achieve his goal of winning the Presidency.
On January 7, 1967, Nixon held a secret meeting with his closest political advisers. The topic was whether or not Nixon would seek the Presidency in 1968. The group discussed Nixon's potential campaign, and plotted how to gain the support of enough delegates to win the Republican nomination. He swore the attendees to silence and in February, during an interview with the Saturday Evening Post, Nixon denied he was running for president. Nevertheless, polls taken at that time suggested that Nixon was the front-runner for the Republican Party's nomination. The Gallup poll from February 1967 showed Nixon leading Governor George Romney, who placed second in the poll, by a lead of 52% to 40%. Nixon quietly began efforts to organize in Indiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Wisconsin, laying the groundwork and building an organization needed to win those states' primaries the following year. In March, he obtained the support of the 1964 Republican nominee, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. A "Nixon for President Committee" formed that month, and headquarters for the organization opened in Washington D.C. in late May, 1967.
During the spring and summer of 1967, Nixon traveled to Eastern Europe and Latin America to bolster his foreign policy credentials. When he returned in August, he met with his advisers to build a campaign strategy. Nixon's campaign manager, Gaylord Parkinson, quit the job in order to care for his ailing wife. Former Oklahoma Governor Henry Bellmon replaced Parkinson. The following week, five Nixon staff members were fired after private investigators determined that information had been leaked to the campaigns of potential primary rivals Governors Rockefeller and Reagan. Lawyer Leonard Garment of the firm of Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander assembled an advertising team that included CBS Television president Frank Shakespeare. By mid-September 1967, the Nixon campaign had organized headquarters in four critical states and Nixon told the media that his decision on whether to run for president would be formally announced sometime between early December of 1967 and February of 1968. Nixon and his staff discussed how the candidate would address the subject of the Vietnam War. Nixon was advised to soften his stance on the war, and to shift his focus from foreign affairs to domestic policy.
In October, internal polling showed Nixon having support in the important primary states of New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Nebraska. In the other critical state of Oregon, Ronald Reagan had an advantage due to the proximity of his home state. George Romney had officially announced his candidacy in November, prompting Nixon to work harder on his own campaign. He spent most of this period on the campaign trail in New Hampshire. According to media reports, Nixon seemed more relaxed and easygoing than in his past political career. In his adopted home state of New York, Nixon helped to raise $300,000 for the re-election campaign of Senator Jacob K. Javits. At the end of December, Time magazine considered Nixon as the "man to beat."
Nixon entered 1968 as the front-runner for the Republican nomination. But polls suggested that in a head-to-head match up with incumbent President Lyndon Johnson, Nixon trailed 50% to 41%. In January, Nixon embarked on a tour of Texas, where was critical of Johnson in the President's home state.
On February 1 in New Hampshire, formally Nixon announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination. His media team prepared an advertising campaign and analyzed video of Nixon in order to improve his speaking style. Nixon campaigned in the state, but when polls suggested that he would easily win the primary, he began campaigning in Wisconsin where the second primary would be held. When asked about Vietnam, Nixon that the United States "must prevent confrontations and help people in the free world fight against aggression, but not do their fighting for them." As military operations increased in Vietnam in mid-February, Nixon's standing against President Johnson improved.
Near the end of the month, George Romney dropped out of the race, mainly due to comments he made about being "brainwashed" during a visit to Vietnam. This left Nixon nearly unopposed for the upcoming primaries. His likely opponents would be Nelson Rockefeller and Ronald Reagan, but neither of them had announced their candidacy. Nixon could now focus his political attacks solely on President Johnson. As other candidates considered their options, Nixon continued. He pledged to end the war in Vietnam, but would not go into detail as to how he would accomplish this. He easily won the New Hampshire primary on March 12, pulling in 80% of the vote with a write-in campaign for Rockefeller receiving 11%. At the end of March, Rockefeller announced that he would not campaign for the presidency, but would be open to being drafted. Nixon told an aide that a draft of Rockefeller would only happen "if I make some rather serious mistake." Polling by Gallup at this time revealed that Nixon led President Johnson 41% to 39% in a three-way race with American Independent Party candidate and former Governor George Wallace of Alabama.
Johnson announced that he would not seek re-election on March 31st. Meanwhile Governor Ronald Reagan's name was placed on the ballot in Wisconsin, but he did not campaign in the state and was still not a declared candidate. Nixon won the Wisconsin primary with 80% followed by Reagan with 11% and Harold Stassen with 6%. With Johnson out of the race, Nixon fell behind a number of Democratic candidates in polls. Eugene McCarthy, Hubert Humphrey and Robert Kennedy all bettered Nixon's poll numbers in head-to-head match-ups.
At the end of April, Nixon called for a moratorium on criticism of the Johnson regarding Vietnam. He pointed out that negotiations were underway and told the media, "The one man who can do anything about peace is Lyndon Johnson, and I'm not going to do anything to undercut him." Instead he attacked the Democratic candidates for president, stating that "A divided Democratic Party cannot unite a divided country; a united Republican Party can." He announced his plans to cut spending while criticizing the Democrats' policy of raising taxes.
On April 30, Rockefeller announced that he would campaign for the presidency, despite his previous statements to the contrary.[42] Rockefeller defeated Nixon in the Massachusetts primary 30% to 26% and Harris suggested that Rockefeller would do better against Democratic candidates than Nixon. Despite this, Nicon won the Indiana primary over Rockefeller.Nixon continued to level criticism at the three leading Democratic candidates, calling them "three peas in a pod, prisoners of the policies of the past." The issue he most addressed was crime that and proposed legislation to reverse previous Supreme Court decisions, and the formation of a congressional committee targeting reforms to the criminal justice system. Nixon won the primary in Nebraska, defeating the undeclared Reagan 71% to 22%. In Oregon, Nixon won with 72%, fifty points ahead of Reagan.
In early June, Nixon continued to be regarded as the favorite to win the nomination. But he was not on the ballot in California, where Reagan won a large slate of delegates. After the assassination of Robert Kennedy, Nixon took a break from campaigning. When the campaign resumed, Rockefeller had begun attacking Nixon, calling him "a man of the old politics who has great natural capacity not to do the right thing, especially under pressure." Nixon ignored his opponent, stating that he would not participate in attacks.
As the convention neared, discussions about who his running mate might be arose. The possible running mates included Mayor John Lindsay of New York City, Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon, Congressman George Bush of Texas, and Senator Charles Percy of Illinois. On July 1, Nixon received the endorsement of Senator John G. Tower of Texas, giving him over 40 delegates. With his nomination all but assured, Nixon's ad team began preparing for the general election. Ads were run in the swing states of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio, giving Nixon the advantage of advertising long before the Democratic Party had picked a candidate. Nixon decided that "crime and disorder" would be presented as the number one issue in the campaign. Nixon also publicly announced his opposition to the military draft, proposing to replace the current system with a volunteer army encouraged with higher pay. Former President Dwight Eisenhower endorsed Nixon in mid-July, and reports circulated that Nixon had 691 probable delegates for the convention, placing him over the 667 delegate threshold. But Rockefeller disputed these numbers.
The 1968 Republican National Convention was held from August 5 to 9 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. At the convention, Nixon won the nomination for President on the first ballot with 692 delegates. Rockefeller finished second with 277 delegates, followed by Ronald Reagan in third place with 182 delegates. Nixon's nomination occurred with help fro, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Following nomination, Nixon held his hands in the air with his trademark "V" sign of victory. In his acceptance speech he told the delegates:
"Tonight I do not promise the millennium in the morning. I don't promise that we can eradicate poverty and end discrimination in the space of four or even eight years. But I do promise action. And a new policy for peace abroad, a new policy for peace and progress and justice at home."
Nixon called for a new era of negotiation with communist nations, and a strengthening of the criminal justice system to restore law and order. At the end of his address, he said, "the long dark night for America is about to end."
Following the speech, Nixon formally selected Governor Spiro Agnew of Maryland as his running mate, who received 1119 delegate votes. Placing a distant second was Governor Romney with 186. Now Nixon focused on the general election and his race for the White House.
On January 7, 1967, Nixon held a secret meeting with his closest political advisers. The topic was whether or not Nixon would seek the Presidency in 1968. The group discussed Nixon's potential campaign, and plotted how to gain the support of enough delegates to win the Republican nomination. He swore the attendees to silence and in February, during an interview with the Saturday Evening Post, Nixon denied he was running for president. Nevertheless, polls taken at that time suggested that Nixon was the front-runner for the Republican Party's nomination. The Gallup poll from February 1967 showed Nixon leading Governor George Romney, who placed second in the poll, by a lead of 52% to 40%. Nixon quietly began efforts to organize in Indiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Wisconsin, laying the groundwork and building an organization needed to win those states' primaries the following year. In March, he obtained the support of the 1964 Republican nominee, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. A "Nixon for President Committee" formed that month, and headquarters for the organization opened in Washington D.C. in late May, 1967.
During the spring and summer of 1967, Nixon traveled to Eastern Europe and Latin America to bolster his foreign policy credentials. When he returned in August, he met with his advisers to build a campaign strategy. Nixon's campaign manager, Gaylord Parkinson, quit the job in order to care for his ailing wife. Former Oklahoma Governor Henry Bellmon replaced Parkinson. The following week, five Nixon staff members were fired after private investigators determined that information had been leaked to the campaigns of potential primary rivals Governors Rockefeller and Reagan. Lawyer Leonard Garment of the firm of Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander assembled an advertising team that included CBS Television president Frank Shakespeare. By mid-September 1967, the Nixon campaign had organized headquarters in four critical states and Nixon told the media that his decision on whether to run for president would be formally announced sometime between early December of 1967 and February of 1968. Nixon and his staff discussed how the candidate would address the subject of the Vietnam War. Nixon was advised to soften his stance on the war, and to shift his focus from foreign affairs to domestic policy.
In October, internal polling showed Nixon having support in the important primary states of New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Nebraska. In the other critical state of Oregon, Ronald Reagan had an advantage due to the proximity of his home state. George Romney had officially announced his candidacy in November, prompting Nixon to work harder on his own campaign. He spent most of this period on the campaign trail in New Hampshire. According to media reports, Nixon seemed more relaxed and easygoing than in his past political career. In his adopted home state of New York, Nixon helped to raise $300,000 for the re-election campaign of Senator Jacob K. Javits. At the end of December, Time magazine considered Nixon as the "man to beat."
Nixon entered 1968 as the front-runner for the Republican nomination. But polls suggested that in a head-to-head match up with incumbent President Lyndon Johnson, Nixon trailed 50% to 41%. In January, Nixon embarked on a tour of Texas, where was critical of Johnson in the President's home state.
On February 1 in New Hampshire, formally Nixon announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination. His media team prepared an advertising campaign and analyzed video of Nixon in order to improve his speaking style. Nixon campaigned in the state, but when polls suggested that he would easily win the primary, he began campaigning in Wisconsin where the second primary would be held. When asked about Vietnam, Nixon that the United States "must prevent confrontations and help people in the free world fight against aggression, but not do their fighting for them." As military operations increased in Vietnam in mid-February, Nixon's standing against President Johnson improved.
Near the end of the month, George Romney dropped out of the race, mainly due to comments he made about being "brainwashed" during a visit to Vietnam. This left Nixon nearly unopposed for the upcoming primaries. His likely opponents would be Nelson Rockefeller and Ronald Reagan, but neither of them had announced their candidacy. Nixon could now focus his political attacks solely on President Johnson. As other candidates considered their options, Nixon continued. He pledged to end the war in Vietnam, but would not go into detail as to how he would accomplish this. He easily won the New Hampshire primary on March 12, pulling in 80% of the vote with a write-in campaign for Rockefeller receiving 11%. At the end of March, Rockefeller announced that he would not campaign for the presidency, but would be open to being drafted. Nixon told an aide that a draft of Rockefeller would only happen "if I make some rather serious mistake." Polling by Gallup at this time revealed that Nixon led President Johnson 41% to 39% in a three-way race with American Independent Party candidate and former Governor George Wallace of Alabama.
Johnson announced that he would not seek re-election on March 31st. Meanwhile Governor Ronald Reagan's name was placed on the ballot in Wisconsin, but he did not campaign in the state and was still not a declared candidate. Nixon won the Wisconsin primary with 80% followed by Reagan with 11% and Harold Stassen with 6%. With Johnson out of the race, Nixon fell behind a number of Democratic candidates in polls. Eugene McCarthy, Hubert Humphrey and Robert Kennedy all bettered Nixon's poll numbers in head-to-head match-ups.
At the end of April, Nixon called for a moratorium on criticism of the Johnson regarding Vietnam. He pointed out that negotiations were underway and told the media, "The one man who can do anything about peace is Lyndon Johnson, and I'm not going to do anything to undercut him." Instead he attacked the Democratic candidates for president, stating that "A divided Democratic Party cannot unite a divided country; a united Republican Party can." He announced his plans to cut spending while criticizing the Democrats' policy of raising taxes.
On April 30, Rockefeller announced that he would campaign for the presidency, despite his previous statements to the contrary.[42] Rockefeller defeated Nixon in the Massachusetts primary 30% to 26% and Harris suggested that Rockefeller would do better against Democratic candidates than Nixon. Despite this, Nicon won the Indiana primary over Rockefeller.Nixon continued to level criticism at the three leading Democratic candidates, calling them "three peas in a pod, prisoners of the policies of the past." The issue he most addressed was crime that and proposed legislation to reverse previous Supreme Court decisions, and the formation of a congressional committee targeting reforms to the criminal justice system. Nixon won the primary in Nebraska, defeating the undeclared Reagan 71% to 22%. In Oregon, Nixon won with 72%, fifty points ahead of Reagan.
In early June, Nixon continued to be regarded as the favorite to win the nomination. But he was not on the ballot in California, where Reagan won a large slate of delegates. After the assassination of Robert Kennedy, Nixon took a break from campaigning. When the campaign resumed, Rockefeller had begun attacking Nixon, calling him "a man of the old politics who has great natural capacity not to do the right thing, especially under pressure." Nixon ignored his opponent, stating that he would not participate in attacks.
As the convention neared, discussions about who his running mate might be arose. The possible running mates included Mayor John Lindsay of New York City, Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon, Congressman George Bush of Texas, and Senator Charles Percy of Illinois. On July 1, Nixon received the endorsement of Senator John G. Tower of Texas, giving him over 40 delegates. With his nomination all but assured, Nixon's ad team began preparing for the general election. Ads were run in the swing states of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio, giving Nixon the advantage of advertising long before the Democratic Party had picked a candidate. Nixon decided that "crime and disorder" would be presented as the number one issue in the campaign. Nixon also publicly announced his opposition to the military draft, proposing to replace the current system with a volunteer army encouraged with higher pay. Former President Dwight Eisenhower endorsed Nixon in mid-July, and reports circulated that Nixon had 691 probable delegates for the convention, placing him over the 667 delegate threshold. But Rockefeller disputed these numbers.
The 1968 Republican National Convention was held from August 5 to 9 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. At the convention, Nixon won the nomination for President on the first ballot with 692 delegates. Rockefeller finished second with 277 delegates, followed by Ronald Reagan in third place with 182 delegates. Nixon's nomination occurred with help fro, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Following nomination, Nixon held his hands in the air with his trademark "V" sign of victory. In his acceptance speech he told the delegates:
"Tonight I do not promise the millennium in the morning. I don't promise that we can eradicate poverty and end discrimination in the space of four or even eight years. But I do promise action. And a new policy for peace abroad, a new policy for peace and progress and justice at home."
Nixon called for a new era of negotiation with communist nations, and a strengthening of the criminal justice system to restore law and order. At the end of his address, he said, "the long dark night for America is about to end."
Following the speech, Nixon formally selected Governor Spiro Agnew of Maryland as his running mate, who received 1119 delegate votes. Placing a distant second was Governor Romney with 186. Now Nixon focused on the general election and his race for the White House.