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1,521 delegates to theDemocratic National Convention 761 (majority) votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||
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 First place by popular vote First place by convention roll call | |||||||||||||||||||
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From March 8 to June 7, 1960, voters and members of theDemocratic Party elected delegates to the1960 Democratic National Convention through a series of caucuses, conventions, and primaries, partly for the purpose of nominating a candidate forPresident of the United States in the1960 election. Thepresidential primaries were inconclusive, as several of the leading contenders did not enter them, but U.S. SenatorJohn F. Kennedy ofMassachusetts emerged as the strongest candidate and won the nomination overLyndon B. Johnson at the convention, held from July 11 to 15 at theLos Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
Recalling the experience of 1928 Democratic nomineeAl Smith (who wasCatholic), many wondered ifanti-Catholic prejudice would affect Kennedy's chances of winning the nomination and the election in November.[1] To prove his vote-getting ability, Kennedy challenged U.S. senatorHubert Humphrey ofMinnesota, a liberal, in the Wisconsin primary. Although Kennedy defeated Humphrey in Wisconsin, his reliance on heavily Catholic areas left many party bosses unconvinced. Kennedy thus faced Humphrey in the heavilyProtestant state of West Virginia. Humphrey's campaign was low on money and could not compete with the well-organized, well-financed Kennedy team. Kennedy's siblings combed the state looking for votes, leading Humphrey to complain that he "felt like an independent merchant running against a chain store."[2] On primary day, Kennedy crushed Humphrey with over 60% of the vote, and Humphrey withdrew from the race.
Although Kennedy won the popular contests by comfortable margin, his main opponent,Senate Majority LeaderLyndon B. Johnson, did not participate (except as a write-in candidate). Johnson had a very strong base in the party establishment and gained the support of many delegates chosen through caucus and convention selection processes.[3] In the months leading up to the Democratic Convention, Kennedy traveled around the nation persuading delegates from various states to support him. However, as the Convention opened, Kennedy was still a few dozen votes short of victory.[citation needed]
Several major candidates served as Democratic Party nominees, withJohn F. Kennedy serving as the nominee for 1960, Johnson in 1964, and Humphrey in 1968.
After controlling theWhite House for five consecutive terms from 1933 through 1953, theDemocratic Party had been defeated in two consecutive elections. Both times, popularWorld War II generalDwight D. Eisenhower defeatedAdlai Stevenson II.[4]
At the1956 Democratic National Convention, Stevenson surprisingly left the choice of his vice-presidential running mate to the delegates.[5] Following his nomination in Chicago, Stevenson made a brief appearance before the convention. He told the delegates he had decided "to depart from the precedents of the past" and that "the selection of the Vice Presidential nominee should be made through the free processes of this convention."[6] With one day's notice, the candidates scrambled to assemble campaigns for delegate support. The leaders wereEstes Kefauver, who had run two populist campaigns for the presidency but lost the nomination each time to Stevenson, andJohn F. Kennedy, a relatively unknown 39-year-oldUnited States Senator fromMassachusetts but a scion of the powerfulKennedy family. Kennedy surprised observers by surging into the lead on the second ballot and falling only 39 votes short of the nomination, but on the third ballot, severalfavorite son candidates threw their delegations' support to Kefauver, and he prevailed. Kennedy gave a gracious concession speech, raising his national profile within the party.[7]
In the 1958 elections, the Republican Party suffered heavy losses due toa nationwide economic recession, the launch ofSputnik by the Soviet Union, and the galvanized opposition of organized labor following the passage of strengthened labor restrictions. Kennedy was re-elected in a historic landslide; the gain of ten Senate seats also buttressed the political power of Senate Majority LeaderLyndon B. Johnson, who had won the regional support of some Southern delegations in 1956.[8]
"Democrats won seats in the Senate in California, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming." Democrats conceded no seats they had obtained in previous years.[8]
The following political leaders were candidates for the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination:
| Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign Withdrawal date | Popular vote | Contests won | Running mate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John F. Kennedy | .jpg) | United States Senator fromMassachusetts (1953–1960) |  Massachusetts |  (Campaign) Secured nomination:July 15, 1960 | 1,847,259 (31.4%) | 10 | Lyndon B. Johnson | |
These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.
| Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign Withdrawal date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyndon B. Johnson | .jpg) | United States Senator fromTexas (1949–1961) |  Texas |  Announced: July 1960 (Campaign) | |
| Hubert Humphrey | _in_1953.jpg) | United States Senator fromMinnesota (1949–1964, 1971–1978) |  Minnesota |  Announced: December 30, 1959 Withdrew: May 10, 1960 (Campaign) | |
| Adlai Stevenson II |  | Governor ofIllinois (1949–1953) |  Illinois | (Campaign) | |
| Stuart Symington |  | U.S. Senator fromMissouri (1953–1976) |  Missouri | (Campaign) | |
| Robert B. Meyner[9] | .jpg) | Governor ofNew Jersey (1954–1962) |  New Jersey | (Campaign) | |
| Wayne Morse |  | United States Senator fromOregon (1945–1969) |  Oregon | (Campaign) | |
The following candidates ran only in their home state's primary or caucus for the purpose of controlling its delegate slate at the convention and did not appear to be considered national candidates by the media.
The following persons were listed in two or more major national polls or were the subject of media speculation surrounding their potential candidacy, but declined to actively seek the nomination.
| Poll source | Publication | Pat Brown | Hubert Humphrey | Estes Kefauver | John F. Kennedy | Lyndon Johnson | Adlai Stevenson | Stuart Symington | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup[10] | Aug. 11, 1957 | – | 5% | 29% | 23% | 8% | – | 5% | 14%[b] | 16% |
| Gallup[11] | Nov. 16, 1957 | – | 3% | 26% | 19% | 11% | – | 5% | 15%[c] | 21% |
| Gallup[12] | June 11, 1958 | – | 3% | 16% | 19% | 12% | 23% | 4% | 8%[d] | 15% |
| Gallup[13] | Nov. 30, 1958 | – | 1% | 11% | 23% | 6% | 29% | 5% | 11%[e] | 14% |
| Gallup[14] | Jan. 25, 1959 | – | 4% | 10% | 25% | 7% | 29% | 4% | 12%[f] | 9% |
| Gallup[15] | April 5, 1959 | – | – | 12% | 28% | 9% | 27% | 5% | 11%[g] | 9% |
| Gallup[16] | May 18, 1959 | – | 5% | 10% | 25% | 13% | 26% | 7% | 6%[h] | 8% |
| Gallup[17] | June 10, 1959 | – | 6% | – | 26% | 12% | 29% | 4% | 6%[i] | 8% |
| Gallup[18] | July 9, 1959 | – | 4% | 11% | 29% | 14% | 25% | 6% | 4%[j] | 7% |
| Gallup[19] | Aug. 14, 1959 | 2% | 5% | 9% | 26% | 12% | 26% | 7% | 6%[k] | 7% |
| Gallup[20] | Sep. 27, 1959 | 1% | 5% | 9% | 30% | 10% | 26% | 6% | 8% | 5% |
| Gallup[21] | Nov. 18, 1959 | 3% | 4% | 10% | 27% | 11% | 26% | 6% | 5%[l] | 8% |
| Gallup[22] | Dec. 18, 1959 | 3% | 4% | 10% | 24% | 14% | 26% | 5% | 4%[m] | 10% |
| Gallup[23] | Jan. 29, 1960 | 2% | 5% | 6% | 32% | 12% | 28% | 6% | 3%[n] | 6% |
| Gallup[24] | Feb. 26, 1960 | – | 6% | 6% | 35% | 13% | 23% | 5% | 5%[o] | 7% |
| Gallup[25] | March 27, 1960 | 3% | 5% | – | 34% | 15% | 23% | 6% | 6% | 8% |
| Gallup[26] | April 20, 1960 | 3% | 7% | – | 39% | 11% | 21% | 6% | 5% | 8% |
| Gallup[27] | May 27, 1960 | – | 7% | – | 41% | 11% | 21% | 7% | 9% | 4% |
Kennedy v. Kefauver
| Poll source | Date(s) | Estes Kefauver | John F. Kennedy | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup[28] | Feb. 7, 1958 | 35% | 56% | 9% |
Kennedy v. Johnson
| Poll source | Date(s) | Lyndon Johnson | John F. Kennedy | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup[29] | Feb. 28, 1960 | 32% | 58% | 10% |
Kennedy v. Stevenson
| Poll source | Date(s) | John F. Kennedy | Adlai Stevenson | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup[30] | Dec. 3, 1958 | 42% | 42% | 16% |
| Gallup[31] | Feb. 6, 1959 | 44% | 45% | 1% |
| Gallup[32] | June 12, 1959 | 45% | 44% | 11% |
| Gallup[29] | Feb. 28, 1960 | 50% | 43% | 7% |
| Look magazine[33] | June 21, 1960 | 59% | 20% | 21% |
Johnson v. Symington
| Poll source | Date(s) | Lyndon Johnson | Stuart Symington | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup[29] | February 28, 1960 | 47% | 28% | 25% |
| Poll source | Date(s) | Sample size[a] | Hubert Humphrey | John F. Kennedy | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TheFayette Tribune[34] | May 6, 1960 | 181 A inFayette County | 24% | 38% | – | 39% |
| Poll source | Date(s) | Sample size[a] | Hubert Humphrey | John F. Kennedy | Lyndon Johnson | Adlai Stevenson | Stuart Symington | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sen.William Proxmire[35] | Aug 5, 1959 | 1,311 A | 17% | 43% | 4% | 29% | 7% | – | – |
| Date | Contest | Pledged delegates | John F. Kennedy | Lyndon Johnson | Pat Brown | Hubert Humphrey | George Smathers | Michael DiSalle | George H. McLain | Unpledged | Others | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 8 | New Hampshire primary | 11 | 11 43,372 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7,527 | 50,899 | |
| April 5 | Wisconsin primary | 31 | 23 476,024 | – | – | 8 366,753 | – | – | – | 842,777 | ||
| April 12 | Illinois preference primary | 0 | 34,332 | – | – | 4,283 | – | – | – | 14,552 | 53,167 | |
| Illinois delegate primary | 69 | [data missing] | ||||||||||
| April 19 | New Jersey primary | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 217,608 | 217,608 | ||
| April 26 | Massachusetts primary | 41 | 41 91,607 | – | – | 794 | – | – | – | 6,762 | 99,163 | |
| Pennsylvania primary | 83 | 183,073 | – | – | 13,860 | – | – | – | 59,880 | 256,813 | ||
| May 3 | Indiana primary | 34 | 353,832 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 82,937 | 436,769 | |
| Ohio primary | 64 | – | – | – | – | – | 315,312 | – | 315,312 | |||
| Washington D.C. primary | 9 | – | – | – | 8,239 | – | – | – | 6,127 | 14,366 | ||
| May 8 | Texas caucuses[36] | 61 | – | 61 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| May 10 | Nebraska primary | 16 | 80,408 | – | – | 3,202 | – | – | – | 7,082 | 90,692 | |
| West Virginia primary | 25 | 236,510 | – | – | 152,187 | – | – | – | 388,697 | |||
| May 17 | Maryland primary | 24 | 201,769 | – | – | – | – | – | 24,350 | 49,420 | 275,539 | |
| May 20 | Oregon primary | 17 | 146,663 | – | – | 16,319 | – | – | – | 162,982 | ||
| May 24 | Florida primary | 29 | – | – | – | – | 322,235 | – | – | 322,235 | ||
| June 7 | California primary | 81 | – | – | 1,354,031 | – | – | – | 646,387 | – | 2,000,418 | |
| South Dakota primary | 11 | – | – | – | 24,773 | – | – | – | 24,773 | |||
| TOTALS | 1,847,259 | 1,354,031 | 590,410 | 322,235 | 315,312 | 646,387 | 241,958 | 369,072 | 5,686,664 | |||
From the outset of the campaign, Kennedy's religion played a major role.Happy Chandler, the governor ofKentucky and a major power broker in the party, emphatically stated that Kennedy could not winKentucky due to his Catholicism.[37]
Kennedy faced trivial opposition in the neighboring state ofNew Hampshire and won overwhelmingly.[38] While campaigning inMadison, Wisconsin, Kennedy expressed enthusiasm about the New Hampshire results: "I'm very happy about it; we did better than I thought we would."[39]
The first sharply contested popular primary was in Wisconsin, where Kennedy faced Humphrey on April 5.
Kennedy had begun building campaign operations in the state as early as June 1959, when he hired Jerry Bruno, the organizer behindWilliam Proxmire's election to the Senate, and laid the groundwork for a campaign headquarters inMilwaukee.[40] Kennedy formally announced his intention to run in Wisconsin on January 21, intending to show popular support for his campaign.[41] The wealthy Kennedy was far better funded than Humphrey, a man of relatively modest means.[42] Kennedy was also supported by his wealthy and glamorous extended family and friends; in his memoirs, Humphrey later lamented that "Muriel and I and our 'plain folks' entourage were no match for the glamour ofJackie Kennedy and the other Kennedy women, forPeter Lawford ... andFrank Sinatra singing their commercial 'High Hopes'. Jack Kennedy brought family and Hollywood to Wisconsin. The people loved it and the press ate it up."[43] Humphrey nevertheless believed that by beating Kennedy in Wisconsin, he could blunt the latter's momentum and overtake him in later primaries.
In Wisconsin, Kennedy won with the support of Catholic voters, including some Republican Catholics who voted in the Democratic primary.[44][45] Days before the primary, Kennedy said it had been the "toughest, closest, most meaningful".[46] However, some observers found his margin of victory unexpectedly narrow and attributed it solely to Catholic support, while Protestants had backed Humphrey, leaving questions about Kennedy's ability to carry the convention or the election in the fall.[47] Humphrey remained in the race, setting up a second popular showdown in the more heavily Protestant state ofWest Virginia.
The Wisconsin race was covered in the documentary filmPrimary.
In West Virginia, Kennedy sought to show that he could win the support of Protestant voters and to remove Humphrey from the race, securing the party's liberal wing and setting up a showdown with Johnson for the nomination. Humphrey had high expectations, given that the state's population was rural, working class, ninety-five percent Protestant, and its delegates had backed him against Kennedy in the vice presidential contest four years prior.[48]
Kennedy met the religious issue head-on, hoping to redefine the race as one of "tolerance against intolerance," rather than Catholic against Protestant. His father also broughtFranklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. to campaign in the state;[49] Roosevelt then raised the issue of Humphrey's failure to serve inWorld War II. Though Humphrey had tried and failed to serve due to physical disability,[50] Roosevelt attacked his lack of service record, publicly telling audiences, "I don't know where [Humphrey] was in World War Two," and distributing flyers that accused him ofdraft dodging.[51] After the primary was over, Roosevelt apologized to Humphrey and retracted the claims,[48] which he later called his greatest political regret.[52]
Kennedy continued to outspend Humphrey heavily in West Virginia; though he publicly claimed expenditures of $100,000, later estimates placed his family's overall spending at $1.5 million, dwarfing Humphrey's $23,000.[53] Humphrey traveled the state in a rented bus, while the Kennedys used a family-owned airplane.[54] Humphrey later wrote of the West Virginia campaign, "as a professional politician I was able to accept and indeed respect the efficacy of the Kennedy campaign. But underneath the beautiful exterior, there was an element of ruthlessness and toughness that I had trouble either accepting or forgetting."[55]
On May 4, 1960, Humphrey and Kennedy took part in a televised one-on-one debate atWCHS-TV inCharleston,West Virginia, ahead of the state's primary.[56]
Kennedy defeated Humphrey soundly in West Virginia, and Humphrey announced his withdrawal from the race that night.
Presidential tally:[57]
Kennedy announced Lyndon B. Johnson as his choice of running-mate on the afternoon following his nomination.[58] Johnson was nominated by acclamation that evening.[59]
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38thVice President of the United States (1965–1969) •U.S. Senator from Minnesota (1949–1964, 1971–1978) | |||||||
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