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| Turnout | 85.75% (of registered voters) 2.63pp62.34% (of eligible voters) 3.66pp[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County Results
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The1968 United States presidential election in California took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the1968 United States presidential election. State voters chose 40 representatives, or electors, to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
California narrowly voted for theRepublican nominee, formerVice PresidentRichard Nixon of New York, over theDemocratic nominee, Vice PresidentHubert Humphrey of Minnesota. TheAmerican Independent Party candidate, formerAlabama governorGeorge Wallace, performed rather well in California despite being thousands of miles away from his base in theDeep South.
Although Nixon was born and raised in California, he had moved toNew York, following his failed1962 gubernatorial bid, and thus identifiedNew York as his home state in this election. After he won the election, Nixon moved his residency back to California. Nixon had previously defeatedJohn F. Kennedy in California in1960, and would later win the state again againstGeorge McGovern in1972. HadHumphrey come out victorious inCalifornia, Nixon would have earned only 261 electoral votes, and thus, the election would have been sent to theUnited States House of Representatives.
As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time California had less electoral votes thanNew York, or that a Democrat had wonKings County.[2]
Nixon also became the first-ever Republican to win the White House without carryingAlameda County, as well as the first to do so without carryingSanta Clara County sinceUlysses Grant in1868, and the first to do so without carryingNapa orSan Mateo Counties sinceAbraham Lincoln in1860.
Nixon's victory was the first of six consecutive Republican victories in the state, as California would not vote for a Democratic candidate again untilBill Clinton in1992. Since then it has become a safe Democratic state. This is also the last election where California did not have the highest number of electoral votes.
During the 1968 California Democratic primary, Robert F. Kennedy won the primary "narrowly" but wasassassinated after giving a victory speech.[3]
| Poll Source | Date Published | Richard Nixon | Hubert Humphrey | George Wallace | Other/ Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mervin Field | October 28, 1968 | 50% | 34% | 8% | 8% |
| Don Muchmore | October 20, 1968 | 45% | 35% | 7% | 13% |
| Don Muchmore | October 6, 1968 | 44% | 33% | 7% | 16% |
| Mervin Field | September 29, 1968 | 51% | 28% | 11% | 10% |
| Mervin Field | September 23, 1968 | 47% | 30% | 8% | 15% |
| Don Muchmore | September 15, 1968 | 43% | 34% | 7% | 16% |
The primary election was held on June 4, 1968 with Robert F. Kennedy winning. The "no preference" option was initially meant to be Lyndon B. Johnson's position on the ballot.[3]
| Candidate[5] | # votes |
|---|---|
| Robert F. Kennedy | 1,472,166 |
| Eugene McCarthy | 1,329,301 |
| No preference | 380,286 |
| Total | 3,181,753 |
The primary election was held on June 4, 1968.[3] Ronald Reagan was the only candidate in the primary and won the primary as he was the only candidate and got the most number of votes.[5]
| Candidate[5] | # votes |
|---|---|
| Ronald Reagan | 1,525,091 |
| Total | 1,525,091 |
| 1968 United States presidential election in California[6] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Richard Nixon | 3,467,664 | 47.82% | 40 | |
| Democratic | Hubert Humphrey | 3,244,318 | 44.74% | 0 | |
| American Independent | George Wallace | 487,270 | 6.72% | 0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Eldridge Cleaver | 27,707 | 0.38% | 0 | |
| No party | Eugene McCarthy (write-in) | 20,721 | 0.29% | 0 | |
| No party | Dick Gregory (write-in) | 3,230 | 0.04% | 0 | |
| No party | Henning A. Blomen (write-in) | 341 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| No party | Charlene Mitchell (write-in) | 260 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| No party | E. Harold Munn (write-in) | 59 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| No party | Write-ins | 17 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Invalid or blank votes | — | ||||
| Totals | 7,251,587 | 100.00% | 40 | ||
| Voter turnout | — | ||||
| County | Richard Nixon Republican | Hubert Humphrey Democratic | George Wallace American Independent | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 153,285 | 37.63% | 219,545 | 53.90% | 28,426 | 6.98% | 6,093 | 1.50% | -66,260 | -16.27% | 407,349 |
| Alpine | 150 | 59.29% | 83 | 32.81% | 20 | 7.91% | 0 | 0.00% | 67 | 26.48% | 253 |
| Amador | 2,269 | 42.10% | 2,440 | 45.27% | 660 | 12.24% | 21 | 0.39% | -171 | -3.17% | 5,390 |
| Butte | 22,225 | 56.68% | 12,887 | 32.87% | 3,891 | 9.92% | 208 | 0.53% | 9,338 | 23.81% | 39,211 |
| Calaveras | 3,042 | 52.16% | 2,134 | 36.59% | 643 | 11.03% | 13 | 0.22% | 908 | 15.57% | 5,832 |
| Colusa | 2,361 | 51.58% | 1,858 | 40.59% | 344 | 7.52% | 14 | 0.31% | 503 | 10.99% | 4,577 |
| Contra Costa | 97,486 | 44.53% | 101,668 | 46.44% | 18,330 | 8.37% | 1,433 | 0.65% | -4,182 | -1.91% | 218,917 |
| Del Norte | 2,387 | 46.19% | 2,236 | 43.27% | 495 | 9.58% | 50 | 0.97% | 151 | 2.92% | 5,168 |
| El Dorado | 7,468 | 49.00% | 6,054 | 39.72% | 1,676 | 11.00% | 43 | 0.28% | 1,414 | 9.28% | 15,241 |
| Fresno | 59,901 | 43.60% | 65,153 | 47.42% | 11,292 | 8.22% | 1,050 | 0.76% | -5,252 | -3.82% | 137,396 |
| Glenn | 3,848 | 53.91% | 2,466 | 34.55% | 808 | 11.32% | 16 | 0.22% | 1,382 | 19.36% | 7,138 |
| Humboldt | 16,719 | 46.17% | 16,476 | 45.50% | 2,759 | 7.62% | 260 | 0.72% | 243 | 0.67% | 36,214 |
| Imperial | 10,818 | 52.91% | 7,481 | 36.59% | 2,100 | 10.27% | 47 | 0.23% | 3,337 | 16.32% | 20,446 |
| Inyo | 3,641 | 54.45% | 2,314 | 34.60% | 714 | 10.68% | 18 | 0.27% | 1,327 | 19.85% | 6,687 |
| Kern | 53,990 | 46.61% | 49,284 | 42.55% | 12,309 | 10.63% | 249 | 0.21% | 4,706 | 4.06% | 115,832 |
| Kings | 7,796 | 43.07% | 8,643 | 47.75% | 1,640 | 9.06% | 22 | 0.12% | -847 | -4.68% | 18,101 |
| Lake | 4,464 | 49.00% | 3,777 | 41.46% | 838 | 9.20% | 32 | 0.35% | 687 | 7.54% | 9,111 |
| Lassen | 2,553 | 41.06% | 2,930 | 47.12% | 712 | 11.45% | 23 | 0.37% | -377 | -6.06% | 6,218 |
| Los Angeles | 1,266,480 | 47.65% | 1,223,251 | 46.02% | 151,050 | 5.68% | 17,201 | 0.65% | 43,229 | 1.63% | 2,657,982 |
| Madera | 6,229 | 43.55% | 6,932 | 48.47% | 1,120 | 7.83% | 22 | 0.15% | -703 | -4.92% | 14,303 |
| Marin | 41,422 | 50.05% | 36,278 | 43.84% | 3,801 | 4.59% | 1,254 | 1.52% | 5,144 | 6.21% | 82,755 |
| Mariposa | 1,496 | 49.92% | 1,187 | 39.61% | 302 | 10.08% | 12 | 0.40% | 309 | 10.31% | 2,997 |
| Mendocino | 8,305 | 46.39% | 7,935 | 44.32% | 1,554 | 8.68% | 110 | 0.61% | 370 | 2.07% | 17,904 |
| Merced | 11,595 | 40.90% | 14,453 | 50.98% | 2,248 | 7.93% | 53 | 0.19% | -2,858 | -10.08% | 28,349 |
| Modoc | 1,713 | 52.43% | 1,264 | 38.69% | 284 | 8.69% | 6 | 0.18% | 449 | 13.74% | 3,267 |
| Mono | 1,130 | 64.28% | 465 | 26.45% | 156 | 8.87% | 7 | 0.40% | 665 | 37.83% | 1,758 |
| Monterey | 33,670 | 50.16% | 28,261 | 42.10% | 4,800 | 7.15% | 393 | 0.59% | 5,409 | 8.06% | 67,124 |
| Napa | 14,270 | 43.76% | 14,762 | 45.27% | 3,476 | 10.66% | 104 | 0.32% | -492 | -1.51% | 32,612 |
| Nevada | 6,061 | 51.39% | 4,607 | 39.06% | 1,078 | 9.14% | 48 | 0.41% | 1,454 | 12.33% | 11,794 |
| Orange | 314,905 | 63.14% | 148,869 | 29.85% | 33,034 | 6.62% | 1,899 | 0.38% | 166,036 | 33.29% | 498,707 |
| Placer | 12,427 | 42.64% | 14,050 | 48.21% | 2,574 | 8.83% | 93 | 0.32% | -1,623 | -5.57% | 29,144 |
| Plumas | 2,097 | 37.37% | 2,961 | 52.77% | 529 | 9.43% | 24 | 0.43% | -864 | -15.40% | 5,611 |
| Riverside | 83,414 | 52.90% | 61,146 | 38.78% | 12,432 | 7.88% | 678 | 0.43% | 22,268 | 14.12% | 157,670 |
| Sacramento | 97,177 | 41.66% | 118,769 | 50.92% | 16,269 | 6.98% | 1,031 | 0.44% | -21,592 | -9.26% | 233,246 |
| San Benito | 2,961 | 47.54% | 2,809 | 45.10% | 447 | 7.18% | 12 | 0.19% | 152 | 2.44% | 6,229 |
| San Bernardino | 111,974 | 50.07% | 89,418 | 39.99% | 21,187 | 9.47% | 1,037 | 0.46% | 22,556 | 10.08% | 223,616 |
| San Diego | 261,540 | 56.26% | 167,669 | 36.07% | 33,340 | 7.17% | 2,314 | 0.50% | 93,871 | 20.19% | 464,863 |
| San Francisco | 100,970 | 33.66% | 177,509 | 59.18% | 17,332 | 5.78% | 4,136 | 1.38% | -76,539 | -25.52% | 299,947 |
| San Joaquin | 47,293 | 47.97% | 42,073 | 42.68% | 8,923 | 9.05% | 300 | 0.30% | 5,220 | 5.29% | 98,589 |
| San Luis Obispo | 19,420 | 51.27% | 15,828 | 41.78% | 2,416 | 6.38% | 217 | 0.57% | 3,592 | 9.49% | 37,881 |
| San Mateo | 98,654 | 43.72% | 106,519 | 47.20% | 14,720 | 6.52% | 5,775 | 2.56% | -7,865 | -3.48% | 225,668 |
| Santa Barbara | 50,068 | 53.59% | 37,565 | 40.21% | 5,083 | 5.44% | 704 | 0.75% | 12,503 | 13.38% | 93,420 |
| Santa Clara | 163,446 | 45.61% | 173,511 | 48.42% | 18,754 | 5.23% | 2,656 | 0.74% | -10,065 | -2.81% | 358,367 |
| Santa Cruz | 25,365 | 50.79% | 20,492 | 41.03% | 3,465 | 6.94% | 622 | 1.25% | 4,873 | 9.76% | 49,944 |
| Shasta | 11,821 | 40.44% | 14,510 | 49.64% | 2,815 | 9.63% | 84 | 0.29% | -2,689 | -9.20% | 29,230 |
| Sierra | 548 | 45.93% | 559 | 46.86% | 85 | 7.12% | 1 | 0.08% | -11 | -0.93% | 1,193 |
| Siskiyou | 6,334 | 46.13% | 6,260 | 45.59% | 1,088 | 7.92% | 50 | 0.36% | 74 | 0.54% | 13,732 |
| Solano | 17,683 | 34.71% | 27,271 | 53.52% | 5,810 | 11.40% | 188 | 0.37% | -9,588 | -18.81% | 50,952 |
| Sonoma | 38,088 | 48.79% | 33,587 | 43.03% | 5,875 | 7.53% | 509 | 0.65% | 4,501 | 5.76% | 78,059 |
| Stanislaus | 29,573 | 45.45% | 31,316 | 48.13% | 3,973 | 6.11% | 201 | 0.31% | -1,743 | -2.68% | 65,063 |
| Sutter | 8,665 | 59.57% | 4,624 | 31.79% | 1,228 | 8.44% | 28 | 0.19% | 4,041 | 27.78% | 14,545 |
| Tehama | 5,198 | 47.26% | 4,565 | 41.50% | 1,216 | 11.06% | 20 | 0.18% | 633 | 5.76% | 10,999 |
| Trinity | 1,426 | 43.12% | 1,433 | 43.33% | 432 | 13.06% | 16 | 0.48% | -7 | -0.21% | 3,307 |
| Tulare | 29,314 | 52.17% | 22,180 | 39.47% | 4,580 | 8.15% | 115 | 0.20% | 7,134 | 12.70% | 56,189 |
| Tuolumne | 4,330 | 47.48% | 3,913 | 42.91% | 865 | 9.49% | 11 | 0.12% | 417 | 4.57% | 9,119 |
| Ventura | 59,705 | 51.35% | 47,794 | 41.11% | 8,234 | 7.08% | 528 | 0.45% | 11,911 | 10.24% | 116,261 |
| Yolo | 11,123 | 38.41% | 15,833 | 54.67% | 1,742 | 6.02% | 262 | 0.90% | -4,710 | -16.26% | 28,960 |
| Yuba | 5,371 | 48.17% | 4,461 | 40.01% | 1,296 | 11.62% | 22 | 0.20% | 910 | 8.16% | 11,150 |
| Total | 3,467,664 | 47.82% | 3,244,318 | 44.74% | 487,270 | 6.72% | 52,335 | 0.72% | 223,346 | 3.08% | 7,251,587 |
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)State and district results of the1968 United States presidential election | ||
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