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United States presidential election, 1968 facts for kids

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United States presidential election, 1968
← 1964 November 5, 1968 1972 →
  Richard M. Nixon, ca. 1935 - 1982 - NARA - 530679.jpg HubertHumphrey.png George C Wallace (Alabama Governor).png
Nominee Richard Nixon Hubert Humphrey George Wallace
Party Republican Democrat American Independent
Home state California Minnesota Alabama
Running mate Spiro Agnew Edmund Muskie Curtis LeMay
Electoral vote 301 191 46
States carried 32 13 + D.C. 5
Popular vote 31,783,783 31,271,839 9,901,118
Percentage 43.4% 42.7% 13.5%
ElectoralCollege1968.svg
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Nixon/Agnew. Blue denotes states won by Humphrey/Muskie. Orange denotes states won by Wallace/LeMay, as well as a faithless elector in North Carolina who casted his electoral vote for Wallace/LeMay instead of Nixon/Agnew. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
President before election

Lyndon B. Johnson
Democrat

 Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

The 1968 United States presidential election was a big event. It was a race between three main candidates. These were former Vice President Richard Nixon, who was a Republican. The current Vice President, Hubert Humphrey, ran for the Democrats. Also, George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, ran for the American Independent Party.

Richard Nixon won the election. He received 301 electoral votes. Hubert Humphrey got 191 electoral votes. George Wallace received 46 electoral votes.

The 1968 Presidential Election

Why President Johnson Did Not Run

The President at the time was Lyndon B. Johnson. He could have run for another term. He had served for part of a term after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Then he was elected for one full term.

However, on March 31, 1968, President Johnson made a surprise announcement. He said he would not seek or accept his party's nomination. This meant he would not run for President again.

A Sad Event: Robert F. Kennedy

Robert F. Kennedy was the brother of former President John F. Kennedy. He was a U.S. Senator from New York. He was also running to become the Democratic candidate for President.

Sadly, on June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles. This happened after he won important primary elections in California and South Dakota. His death was a very difficult moment during the election year.

Who Ran for President?

Democratic Party Candidates

Many people wanted to be the Democratic candidate for President. Here are some of the main ones:

Democratic Candidates Gallery

Republican Party Candidates

Several people also wanted to be the Republican candidate for President.

  • Richard Nixon: He was a former Vice President. He had also run for President in 1960. He was from New York.
  • Nelson Rockefeller: He was the Governor of New York. He had tried to get the nomination in 1960 and 1964.
  • Ronald Reagan: He was the Governor of California.
  • George Romney: He was the Governor of Michigan. He had also sought the nomination in 1964.
  • Harold Stassen: He was a former Governor of Minnesota. He had run for President many times before.

Republican Candidates Gallery

Images for kids

  • Hubert Humphrey, half-length portrait, facing front cropped

    A portrait of Hubert Humphrey.

  • George C Wallace

    A portrait of George Wallace.

  • Hubert Humphrey, half-length portrait, facing front

    Hubert Humphrey.

  • Edmund Muskie

    Edmund Muskie, Humphrey's running mate.

  • Hubert Humphrey and Lyndon Johnson

    Vice President Hubert Humphrey, President Lyndon Johnson, and General Creighton Abrams in a Cabinet Room meeting in March 1968.

  • 1968DemocraticPresidentialPrimaries

    Statewide contest by winner: Red = Kennedy, Orange = Smathers, Yellow = Young, Green = Johnson, Blue = McCarthy, Grey = No primary.

  • Spiro Agnew

    Spiro Agnew, Nixon's running mate.

  • NIXONcampaigns

    Richard Nixon campaign rally, July 1968.

  • 1968 Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District

    1968 Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District.

  • 1968 Electoral Map

    Map showing the 1968 Electoral College results.

  • PresidentialCounty1968Colorbrewer

    Presidential election results by county.

  • RepublicanPresidentialCounty1968Colorbrewer

    Republican presidential election results by county.

  • DemocraticPresidentialCounty1968Colorbrewer

    Democratic presidential election results by county.

  • AmericanIndependentPresidentialCounty1968Colorbrewer

    American Independent presidential election results by county.

  • OtherPresidentialCounty1968Colorbrewer

    "Other" presidential election results by county.

  • CartogramPresidentialCounty1968Colorbrewer

    Cartogram of presidential election results by county.

  • CartogramRepublicanPresidentialCounty1968Colorbrewer

    Cartogram of Republican presidential election results by county.

  • CartogramDemocraticPresidentialCounty1968Colorbrewer

    Cartogram of Democratic presidential election results by county.

  • CartogramAmericanIndependentPresidentialCounty1968Colorbrewer

    Cartogram of American Independent presidential election results by county.

  • CartogramOtherPresidentialCounty1968Colorbrewer

    Cartogram of "Other" presidential election results by county.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 1968 para niños

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