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1968 presidential election | |
  Nominees Nixon and Agnew | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | August 5–8, 1968 |
| City | Miami Beach, Florida |
| Venue | Miami Beach Convention Center |
| Keynote speaker | Daniel J. Evans |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Richard Nixon ofNew York |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Spiro Agnew ofMaryland |
| Voting | |
| Total delegates | 1,333 |
| Votes needed for nomination | 667 (majority) |
| Results (president) | Nixon (NY): 1,238 (92.87%) Rockefeller (NY): 93 (6.98%) Reagan: (CA): 2 (0.15%) |
| Results (vice president) | Agnew (MD): 1,119 (83.95%) Romney (MI): 186 (13.95%) Lindsay (NY): 10 (0.75%) Others: 2 (0.15%) Not Voting: 16 (1.20%) |
| ‹ 1964 · 1972 › | |
The1968 Republican National Convention was held at theMiami Beach Convention Center inMiami Beach, Florida, USA, from August 5 to August 8, 1968, to select the party's nominee in thegeneral election. It nominated formerVice President of the United StatesRichard Nixon forPresident of the United States and thenGovernor of MarylandSpiro Agnew for vice president. It was the fourth time Nixon had been nominated on the Republican ticket as either its vice presidential (1952 United States presidential election and1956 United States presidential election) or presidential candidate (1960 United States presidential election). Symbolic of the South's changing political affiliation, this was the first Republican National Convention held in a prior Confederate State.
Former Vice PresidentRichard Nixon, emerged as the frontrunner again for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination. Nixon had been theRepublican Party nominee in the1960 presidential election, and lost toDemocratic Party candidateJohn F. Kennedy.
The so-called "New Nixon" in the1968 presidential election devised a "Southern strategy," taking advantage of the region's opposition to racial integration and other progressive/liberal policies of theDemocratic Party and PresidentLyndon B. Johnson.
Nixon was nominated on the first ballot with 692 votes to 277 votes forNelson Rockefeller, 182 votes for California GovernorRonald Reagan and the rest scattered. He was able to secure the nomination to the support of many Southern delegates, after he and his subordinates made concessions toStrom Thurmond andHarry Dent on civil rights, the Supreme Court, and the selection of a vice presidential candidate.[1]
Nixon decided not to re-select his 1960 running mateHenry Cabot Lodge Jr., andHouse Minority LeaderGerald Ford ofMichigan proposedNew York CityMayorJohn Lindsay for vice president. Nixon turned instead to another perceived moderate,Maryland GovernorSpiro Agnew. Agnew, formerBaltimore County Executive in theBaltimore City suburbs (1963–1967), and sinceGovernor of Maryland, had come to Republican leaders and Nixon's attention when he summoned several Black civic, religious, and political leaders in Baltimore to the local State Office Building complex, following the disastrousApril 1968 riots which enveloped Black sections of East and West Baltimore in the wake of theassassination of Martin Luther King Jr. inMemphis, Tennessee. Agnew complained of the Black leaders' lack of support after a number of what he perceived to be positive projects, programs and support by his Republican administration for the minority communities in the city. Agnew's biting comments caused many in the audience to walk out. Agnew was seen as a candidate who could appeal to Rockefeller Republicans, was acceptable to Southern Conservatives, and had a solid law-and-order record.[2]
In his acceptance speech, Nixon deplored the state of the union and urged a return to law and order both at home and abroad:
When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down for four years inVietnam with no end in sight, when the richest nation in the world can't manage its own economy, when the nation with the greatest tradition of therule of law is plagued by unprecedented racial violence, when the President of the United States cannot travel abroad or to any major city at home, then it's time for new leadership for the United States of America.[3]
Nixon also said that he had "a good teacher", referring to Eisenhower, and made the delegates happy with the statement "Let's win this one for Ike!" Eisenhower was not present during Nixon's speech nor during any part of the convention. Due to failing health, he was under doctor's orders not to travel, but addressed the convention by telephone. He died the following March.
The following were placed into nomination:
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This was the last time during the 20th Century that two siblings (the Rockefeller brothers) received votes at a convention.
| President | (before switches) | (after switches) | Vice President | Vice-Presidential votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard M. Nixon | 692 | 1238 | Spiro T. Agnew | 1119 |
| Nelson Rockefeller | 277 | 93 | George Romney | 186 |
| Ronald Reagan | 182 | 2 | John V. Lindsay | 10 |
| Ohio GovernorJames A. Rhodes | 55 | — | Massachusetts SenatorEdward Brooke | 1 |
| Michigan GovernorGeorge Romney | 50 | — | James A. Rhodes | 1 |
| New Jersey SenatorClifford Case | 22 | — | Not Voting | 16 |
| Kansas SenatorFrank Carlson | 20 | — | — | |
| Arkansas GovernorWinthrop Rockefeller | 18 | — | — | |
| Hawaii SenatorHiram Fong | 14 | — | — | |
| Harold Stassen | 2 | — | — | |
| New York City MayorJohn V. Lindsay | 1 | — | — |
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The balloting by state was as follows:[5][6][7]
| State | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 14 | 12 | |||||||||
| Alaska | 11 | 1 | |||||||||
| Arizona | 16 | ||||||||||
| Arkansas | 18 | ||||||||||
| California | 86 | ||||||||||
| Colorado | 14 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||
| Connecticut | 4 | 12 | |||||||||
| Delaware | 9 | 3 | |||||||||
| Florida | 32 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Georgia | 21 | 2 | 7 | ||||||||
| Hawaii | 14 | ||||||||||
| Idaho | 9 | 5 | |||||||||
| Illinois | 50 | 5 | 3 | ||||||||
| Indiana | 26 | ||||||||||
| Iowa | 13 | 8 | 3 | ||||||||
| Kansas | 20 | ||||||||||
| Kentucky | 22 | 2 | |||||||||
| Louisiana | 19 | 7 | |||||||||
| Maine | 7 | 7 | |||||||||
| Maryland | 18 | 8 | |||||||||
| Massachusetts | 34 | ||||||||||
| Michigan | 4 | 44 | |||||||||
| Minnesota | 9 | 15 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Mississippi | 20 | ||||||||||
| Missouri | 16 | 5 | 3 | ||||||||
| Montana | 11 | 3 | |||||||||
| Nebraska | 16 | ||||||||||
| Nevada | 9 | 3 | |||||||||
| New Hampshire | 8 | ||||||||||
| New Jersey | 18 | 22 | |||||||||
| New Mexico | 8 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
| New York | 4 | 88 | |||||||||
| North Carolina | 9 | 1 | 16 | ||||||||
| North Dakota | 5 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| Ohio | 2 | 55 | 1 | ||||||||
| Oklahoma | 14 | 1 | 7 | ||||||||
| Oregon | 18 | ||||||||||
| Pennsylvania | 22 | 41 | 1 | ||||||||
| Rhode Island | 14 | ||||||||||
| South Carolina | 22 | ||||||||||
| South Dakota | 14 | ||||||||||
| Tennessee | 28 | ||||||||||
| Texas | 41 | 15 | |||||||||
| Utah | 2 | 6 | |||||||||
| Vermont | 9 | 3 | |||||||||
| Virginia | 22 | 2 | |||||||||
| Washington | 15 | 3 | 6 | ||||||||
| West Virginia | 11 | 3 | |||||||||
| Wisconsin | 30 | ||||||||||
| Wyoming | 12 | ||||||||||
| District of Columbia | 6 | 3 | |||||||||
| Puerto Rico | 5 | ||||||||||
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| Total | 692 | 277 | 182 | 55 | 50 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| Preceded by 1964 Daly City, California | Republican National Conventions | Succeeded by 1972 Miami Beach, Florida |
