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 County results Municipality results
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The1964 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania took place on November 3, 1964, and was part of the1964 United States presidential election. Voters chose 29 representatives to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.Pennsylvania overwhelmingly voted for theDemocratic nominee,PresidentLyndon B. Johnson, over theRepublican nominee,SenatorBarry Goldwater. Johnson won Pennsylvania by a margin of 30.22%. Apart fromWilliam Howard Taft in1912 (when third-party candidates obtained substantial minorities of the vote), Goldwater's 34.7% of the vote is easily the worst showing for a Republican in the state since the party was founded.[1] Even relative to Johnson's popular vote landslide, Pennsylvania came out as 7.64% more Democratic than the nation at-large; the only occasion under the current two-party system that the state has been more anomalously Democratic than this was inRonald Reagan's1984 landslide.[1]
During the 1960s the Republican Party was turning its attention from the declining rural Yankee counties to the growing and traditionally Democratic Catholic vote,[2] along with the conservativeSun Belt whose growth was driven by lower taxes, warm weather, and air conditioning. This growth meant that activist Republicans centered in the Sun Belt had become much more conservative than the majority of members in historic Northeastern GOP strongholds.[3]
The consequence of this was that a bitterly divided Republican Party was able to nominate the staunchly conservativeSenatorBarry Goldwater ofArizona, who ran with the equally conservative Republican National Committee chair,CongressmanWilliam E. Miller ofNew York, for president in 1964. Goldwater was widely seen in theliberalNortheastern United States as a right-wing extremist or at least an inexperienced nominee prone to gaffes;[4] he had voted against theCivil Rights Act of 1964, and the Johnson campaign portrayed him as liable to provoke a nuclear war.[5] Goldwater wrote Pennsylvania off from the very beginning of his campaign.[6] Pennsylvania Republicans had generally preferred moderateGovernorWilliam Scranton for the nomination, who was unsuccessfully encouraged to run byDwight D. Eisenhower.[7] Many Pennsylvania Republicans, such as RepresentativeJames G. Fulton, refused to endorse Goldwater.[8]
| 1964 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania[9] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Lyndon B. Johnson (incumbent) | 3,130,954 | 64.92% | 29 | |
| Republican | Barry Goldwater | 1,673,657 | 34.70% | 0 | |
| Militant Workers | Clifton DeBerry | 10,456 | 0.22% | 0 | |
| Socialist Labor | Eric Hass | 5,092 | 0.11% | 0 | |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 2,531 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Totals | 4,822,690 | 100.00% | 29 | ||
| Voter turnout (voting age/registered) | 68%/84% | ||||
| County | Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic | Barry Goldwater Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 11,148 | 56.13% | 8,617 | 43.39% | 95 | 0.48% | 2,531 | 12.74% | 19,860 |
| Allegheny | 475,207 | 66.03% | 241,707 | 33.58% | 2,811 | 0.39% | 233,500 | 32.45% | 719,725 |
| Armstrong | 21,098 | 66.37% | 10,618 | 33.40% | 74 | 0.23% | 10,480 | 32.97% | 31,790 |
| Beaver | 60,492 | 72.02% | 23,174 | 27.59% | 327 | 0.39% | 37,318 | 44.43% | 83,993 |
| Bedford | 9,165 | 53.45% | 7,968 | 46.47% | 14 | 0.08% | 1,197 | 6.98% | 17,147 |
| Berks | 73,444 | 66.38% | 36,726 | 33.19% | 476 | 0.43% | 36,718 | 33.19% | 110,646 |
| Blair | 26,157 | 51.76% | 24,301 | 48.09% | 73 | 0.14% | 1,856 | 3.67% | 50,531 |
| Bradford | 10,714 | 50.63% | 10,434 | 49.31% | 14 | 0.07% | 280 | 1.32% | 21,162 |
| Bucks | 78,287 | 60.60% | 50,243 | 38.89% | 646 | 0.50% | 28,044 | 21.71% | 129,176 |
| Butler | 27,267 | 60.97% | 17,360 | 38.82% | 95 | 0.21% | 9,907 | 22.15% | 44,722 |
| Cambria | 55,183 | 67.63% | 26,281 | 32.21% | 134 | 0.16% | 28,902 | 35.42% | 81,598 |
| Cameron | 1,904 | 57.96% | 1,376 | 41.89% | 5 | 0.15% | 528 | 16.07% | 3,285 |
| Carbon | 15,416 | 67.49% | 7,309 | 32.00% | 116 | 0.51% | 8,107 | 35.49% | 22,841 |
| Centre | 16,556 | 63.20% | 9,481 | 36.19% | 158 | 0.60% | 7,075 | 27.01% | 26,195 |
| Chester | 47,940 | 54.10% | 40,280 | 45.46% | 390 | 0.44% | 7,660 | 8.64% | 88,610 |
| Clarion | 9,235 | 60.01% | 6,143 | 39.92% | 11 | 0.07% | 3,092 | 20.09% | 15,389 |
| Clearfield | 19,211 | 62.67% | 11,338 | 36.99% | 103 | 0.34% | 7,873 | 25.68% | 30,652 |
| Clinton | 10,038 | 69.84% | 4,298 | 29.91% | 36 | 0.25% | 5,740 | 39.93% | 14,372 |
| Columbia | 13,885 | 60.63% | 8,982 | 39.22% | 36 | 0.16% | 4,903 | 21.41% | 22,903 |
| Crawford | 18,212 | 62.82% | 10,664 | 36.78% | 115 | 0.40% | 7,548 | 26.04% | 28,991 |
| Cumberland | 26,633 | 52.71% | 23,685 | 46.88% | 207 | 0.41% | 2,948 | 5.83% | 50,525 |
| Dauphin | 46,119 | 51.57% | 42,718 | 47.77% | 594 | 0.66% | 3,401 | 3.80% | 89,431 |
| Delaware | 147,189 | 56.81% | 111,189 | 42.91% | 717 | 0.28% | 36,000 | 13.90% | 259,095 |
| Elk | 10,455 | 70.51% | 4,354 | 29.36% | 19 | 0.13% | 6,101 | 41.15% | 14,828 |
| Erie | 72,944 | 69.55% | 31,393 | 29.93% | 549 | 0.52% | 41,551 | 39.62% | 104,886 |
| Fayette | 45,155 | 73.35% | 16,127 | 26.20% | 276 | 0.45% | 29,028 | 47.15% | 61,558 |
| Forest | 1,249 | 57.99% | 900 | 41.78% | 5 | 0.23% | 349 | 16.21% | 2,154 |
| Franklin | 19,332 | 58.68% | 13,525 | 41.06% | 85 | 0.26% | 5,807 | 17.62% | 32,942 |
| Fulton | 2,180 | 55.37% | 1,747 | 44.37% | 10 | 0.25% | 433 | 11.00% | 3,937 |
| Greene | 11,412 | 74.46% | 3,896 | 25.42% | 19 | 0.12% | 7,516 | 49.04% | 15,327 |
| Huntingdon | 7,435 | 52.96% | 6,571 | 46.81% | 33 | 0.24% | 864 | 6.15% | 14,039 |
| Indiana | 17,568 | 59.92% | 11,706 | 39.92% | 46 | 0.16% | 5,862 | 20.00% | 29,320 |
| Jefferson | 10,851 | 56.34% | 8,373 | 43.47% | 37 | 0.19% | 2,478 | 12.87% | 19,261 |
| Juniata | 4,138 | 57.19% | 3,087 | 42.67% | 10 | 0.14% | 1,051 | 14.52% | 7,235 |
| Lackawanna | 88,131 | 73.73% | 31,272 | 26.16% | 137 | 0.11% | 56,859 | 47.57% | 119,540 |
| Lancaster | 53,041 | 50.27% | 52,243 | 49.52% | 224 | 0.21% | 798 | 0.75% | 105,508 |
| Lawrence | 29,092 | 64.35% | 15,998 | 35.39% | 117 | 0.26% | 13,094 | 28.96% | 45,207 |
| Lebanon | 15,882 | 46.93% | 17,891 | 52.86% | 72 | 0.21% | −2,009 | −5.93% | 33,845 |
| Lehigh | 60,377 | 64.86% | 32,245 | 34.64% | 471 | 0.51% | 28,132 | 30.22% | 93,093 |
| Luzerne | 106,397 | 69.97% | 43,895 | 28.86% | 1,779 | 1.17% | 62,502 | 41.11% | 152,071 |
| Lycoming | 25,879 | 57.58% | 19,011 | 42.30% | 55 | 0.12% | 6,868 | 15.28% | 44,945 |
| McKean | 10,950 | 57.61% | 7,948 | 41.82% | 109 | 0.57% | 3,002 | 15.79% | 19,007 |
| Mercer | 32,199 | 63.68% | 18,153 | 35.90% | 211 | 0.42% | 14,046 | 27.78% | 50,563 |
| Mifflin | 8,811 | 59.31% | 6,006 | 40.43% | 39 | 0.26% | 2,805 | 18.88% | 14,856 |
| Monroe | 10,622 | 62.41% | 6,281 | 36.91% | 116 | 0.68% | 4,341 | 25.50% | 17,019 |
| Montgomery | 135,657 | 56.74% | 102,714 | 42.96% | 704 | 0.29% | 32,943 | 13.78% | 239,075 |
| Montour | 3,683 | 59.27% | 2,527 | 40.67% | 4 | 0.06% | 1,156 | 18.60% | 6,214 |
| Northampton | 58,818 | 73.08% | 21,048 | 26.15% | 619 | 0.77% | 37,770 | 46.93% | 80,485 |
| Northumberland | 28,082 | 62.07% | 17,046 | 37.68% | 116 | 0.26% | 11,036 | 24.39% | 45,244 |
| Perry | 6,054 | 52.86% | 5,364 | 46.84% | 34 | 0.30% | 690 | 6.02% | 11,452 |
| Philadelphia | 670,645 | 73.42% | 239,733 | 26.24% | 3,094 | 0.34% | 430,912 | 47.18% | 913,472 |
| Pike | 2,753 | 50.74% | 2,651 | 48.86% | 22 | 0.41% | 102 | 1.88% | 5,426 |
| Potter | 3,652 | 52.86% | 3,232 | 46.78% | 25 | 0.36% | 420 | 6.08% | 6,909 |
| Schuylkill | 50,560 | 65.63% | 26,386 | 34.25% | 96 | 0.12% | 24,174 | 31.38% | 77,042 |
| Snyder | 4,199 | 44.59% | 5,195 | 55.17% | 22 | 0.23% | −996 | −10.58% | 9,416 |
| Somerset | 17,934 | 54.65% | 14,817 | 45.15% | 63 | 0.19% | 3,117 | 9.50% | 32,814 |
| Sullivan | 1,690 | 55.63% | 1,344 | 44.24% | 4 | 0.13% | 346 | 11.39% | 3,038 |
| Susquehanna | 7,838 | 54.37% | 6,567 | 45.55% | 12 | 0.08% | 1,271 | 8.82% | 14,417 |
| Tioga | 7,415 | 51.16% | 7,064 | 48.73% | 16 | 0.11% | 351 | 2.43% | 14,495 |
| Union | 4,262 | 46.25% | 4,944 | 53.65% | 10 | 0.11% | −682 | −7.40% | 9,216 |
| Venango | 13,065 | 56.75% | 9,873 | 42.89% | 84 | 0.36% | 3,192 | 13.86% | 23,022 |
| Warren | 10,598 | 63.62% | 5,965 | 35.81% | 94 | 0.56% | 4,633 | 27.81% | 16,657 |
| Washington | 63,482 | 72.34% | 24,127 | 27.49% | 147 | 0.17% | 39,355 | 44.85% | 87,756 |
| Wayne | 5,781 | 46.89% | 6,512 | 52.82% | 35 | 0.28% | −731 | −5.93% | 12,328 |
| Westmoreland | 107,131 | 71.70% | 41,493 | 27.77% | 792 | 0.53% | 65,638 | 43.93% | 149,416 |
| Wyoming | 4,268 | 52.41% | 3,864 | 47.45% | 12 | 0.15% | 404 | 4.96% | 8,144 |
| York | 58,787 | 63.30% | 33,677 | 36.26% | 408 | 0.44% | 25,110 | 27.04% | 92,872 |
| Totals | 3,130,954 | 64.92% | 1,673,657 | 34.70% | 18,079 | 0.37% | 1,457,297 | 30.22% | 4,822,690 |
Johnson won all but four counties in Pennsylvania: the central Pennsylvania counties ofSnyder andUnion, which have not voted Democratic sincethe Civil War;[10] northeasternWayne County, which has never voted Democratic sinceGrover Cleveland won it in1892; andLebanon County, which has only once voted Democratic since1856 (whenFranklin D. Roosevelt narrowly won it in his1936 landslide).[11] This was the last presidential election in which Philadelphia was not the most Democratic county in Pennsylvania. This is also the only occasion since 1856 whenSomerset,Lancaster, andHuntingdon counties have not voted for the Republican presidential candidate, and marked the first time since that election when suburbanDelaware County had not voted Republican.[12]
Six other counties includingButler,Bradford,Tioga,Potter,Cameron andMcKean cast their solitary vote for a Democratic presidential candidate since at leastthe Civil War in this election. In addition, much of theSusquehanna Valley andAppalachia (comprisingYork County,Cumberland County,Franklin County,Adams County,Blair County,Lycoming County,Northumberland County,Bedford County,Butler County,Clarion County,Crawford County,Fulton County,Pike County,Venango County,Mifflin County,Perry County,Jefferson County,Susquehanna County,Wyoming County,Juniata County,Montour County, andSullivan County) has never voted for a Democratic candidate since.[10]
This was the last occasion until2008 that the Democrats wonDauphin County,Berks County,Monroe County, orChester County.[13]
State and district results of the1964 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
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