Election of 1968

Who were the candidates? → What were the issues? → Vote! → Who won? → What happened?

Who won?

Nixon won.

Nixon won with a plurality of popular votes and a solid electoral college majority.  In the South, Wallace won Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, but Nixon took the rest of the region except for Texas which went to Humphrey.  It was the first time since the Civil War that only one southern state supported the Democratic ticket.  Humphrey won most of the electoral votes in the Northeast but could not overcome Nixon’s lead in the South, Midwest, and West.

The 1968 election was the first one after the enactment of the Voting Rights Act.  With federal officials guaranteeing minority voters access to the ballot box, turnout increased dramatically among African-Americans.  A large majority supported Humphrey and the Democrats, recognizing their support of civil rights legislation and social programs that began during the New Deal and continued under Johnson's administration.

Nixon won by balancing conservative and liberal opposition, making significant inroads in the South, and holding the Republican areas of the Midwest and the West.

Candidates	Popular Vote	Electoral College Vote
Nixon/Agnew	43.4%	55.9% (301)
Humphrey/Muskie	42.7%	35.5% (191)
Wallace/LeMay	13.5%	8.6% (46)

What happened during or as a result of Nixon's presidency?