United States presidential election, 1960 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
United States presidential election, 1960

← 1956 November 8, 1960 1964 →

Nominee John F. Kennedy Richard Nixon Party Democrat Republican Home state Massachusetts California Running mate Lyndon B. Johnson Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. Electoral vote 303 219 States carried 22 26 Popular vote 34,220,984 34,108,157 Percentage 49.7% 49.6%

Presidential election results map. Blue denotes states won by Kennedy/Johnson, Red denotes those won by Nixon/Lodge. Orange denotes the electoral votes for Harry F. Byrd by Alabama and Mississippi unpledged electors, and an Oklahoma "faithless elector". Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.

President before election Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican Elected President John F. Kennedy Democrat

This election was between Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon. Kennedy won the election like many people suspected, but it was a much closer election than most people thought it would be.

Incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower was not eligible to run again due to serving two terms provided by the amendment.

This was the first presidential election in American history in which both candidates debated against each other on television. On television, Kennedy appeared calm while Nixon appeared nervous. More television viewers thought that Kennedy won the debate, while more radio listeners thought that Nixon won the debate.

This election was the last to not count District of Columbia as an electoral vote until the 1964 election.

Senator John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for President on January 2, 1960. Vice President Richard Nixon announced his candidacy on January 9, 1960.

Candidates

Democratic Party

Democratic candidates

• John F. Kennedy, U.S. senator from Massachusetts.
• Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. Senate Majority Leader from Texas.
• Stuart Symington, U.S. senator from Missouri.
• Adlai Stevenson, former governor of Illinois.
• Hubert Humphrey, U.S. senator from Minnesota.
• Wayne Morse, U.S. senator from Oregon.
• Pat Brown, Former governor of California.

Candidates gallery

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  Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts

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  Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas

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  Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri

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  Former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois

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  Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota

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  Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon

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  Governor Pat Brown of California

Republican Party

Republican candidates

• Richard Nixon, U.S. vice president from California.
• Nelson Rockefeller, governor of New York.
• Barry Goldwater, U.S. senator from Arizona.

Candidates gallery

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  Vice President Richard Nixon of California

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  Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York

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  Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona

Images for kids

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  Kennedy campaigning in LaGrange, Georgia, October 1960

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  Second of the four Kennedy and Nixon debates, which took place at WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. on October 7, 1960

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  Kennedy cast his ballot at his polling place at a branch of the Boston Public Library.

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  Results by county explicitly indicating the percentage for the winning candidate. Shades of blue are for Kennedy (Democratic), shades of red are for Nixon (Republican), and shades of green are for Unpledged Electors (Democratic/States' Rights).

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  Presidential election results by county

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  Democratic presidential election results by county

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  Republican presidential election results by county

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  Unpledged Electors presidential election results by county

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  "Other" presidential election results by county

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  Cartogram of presidential election results by county

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  Cartogram of Democratic presidential election results by county

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  Cartogram of Republican presidential election results by county

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  Cartogram of Unpledged Electors presidential election results by county

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  Cartogram of "Other" presidential election results by county

See also

In Spanish: Elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 1960 para niños