1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

← 1964 November 5, 1968 1972 →

Nominee Richard Nixon Hubert Humphrey George Wallace Party Republican Democratic Independent Home state New York[a] Minnesota Alabama Running mate Spiro Agnew Edmund Muskie S. Marvin Griffin Electoral vote 12 0 0 Popular vote 809,997 748,804 127,835 Percentage 47.89% 44.27% 7.56%

County results Municipality results Nixon   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Humphrey   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Wallace   40–50% Other   Tie

President before election Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

The1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 5, 1968, as part of the1968 United States presidential election. State voters chose 12 electors to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.

The 1958 midterm elections saw a major change in Wisconsin politics, asGaylord A. Nelson became only the state's second Democratic governor since 1895. The state also elected Democrats to the position of treasurer and senator, and that party gained a majority inthe State Assembly for only the second time since the middle 1890s. They maintained a close balance in the early 1960s, signaling the state's transition to aswing state. The predicted racial backlash from urbanPolish-Americans, seen in the 1964 primaries when George Wallace received over 30 percent of Wisconsin's vote,^[1] did not affectLyndon B. Johnson's big victory in the state in 1964, but had severe effects when racial unrest began in 1966.

Anti-warMinnesota SenatorEugene McCarthy easily won Wisconsin's1968 Democratic presidential primary against incumbent President Johnson, who soon announced he would not run for re-election in 1968.^[2] Former vice president and 1960 Republican nomineeRichard Nixon won eighty percent of the vote in the state'sRepublican primary.^[2]

At the beginning of the campaign, the deep divisions within the Democratic Party were worrisome for political scientists and for the party itself.^[3] The first poll said that Nixon was certain to carry Wisconsin,^[4] and this opinion was repeated early in October.^[5]

Hopes remained dim as the election neared despite the belief by local RepresentativeClement J. Zablocki that the independent candidacy of George Wallace was losing its impact in the racial-unrest-stricken southern urban counties aroundMilwaukee,Racine andKenosha,^[6] where Wallace had campaigned extensively in September in his effort to put the election intothe House of Representatives.^[7] Although the gap narrowed in the last polls,^[8] Wisconsin was carried by Nixon with 47.89 percent of the vote, over Humphrey with 44.27 percent and Wallace with 7.56 percent. Wallace fared best in rural northern areas away fromLake Superior and in southern suburbs affected by racial conflict.

Wisconsin weighed in for this election as 2.92% more Republican than the nation at large. This was the last election until1996 that Wisconsin was the most Republican of the threeRust Belt swing states (also consisting of Michigan and Pennsylvania). Wisconsin would vote more Democratic than both Michigan and Pennsylvania in all butone election from1972 to1988.

Rusk County was one of only three counties that Nixon won in 1968 but lost in both 1960 and 1972 (Davison andHanson counties inSouth Dakota were the other two).

Both major parties had state-run preferential primaries held on April 2 included on the ballot of the state's spring elections. The state's spring elections also included nonpartisan general elections forthe state's circuit courts,a nonpartisan general election forthe state's supreme court, and a binding public vote on whether to ratify three amendments to theConstitution of Wisconsin.^[9]

1968Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary

← 1964 April 2, 1968 (1968-04-02) 1972 →
59 delegates (57 pledged, 2 unpledged) to theDemocratic National Convention.[b]
Candidate Eugene McCarthy Lyndon B. Johnson (withdrawn) Robert F. Kennedy (write-in) Home state Minnesota Texas New York Delegate count 49 8 0 Popular vote 412,160 253,696 46,507 Percentage 56.23% 34.61% 6.34%

The1968 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary was held on April 2, 1968 in the U.S. state ofWisconsin as one of theDemocratic Party's state primaries ahead of the 1968 presidential election.

While he still received votes, incumbent presidentLyndon B. Johnson had already ruled himself out for the nomination.

1968Wisconsin Republican presidential primary

← 1964 April 2, 1968 (1968-04-02) 1972 →
30 pledged delegates to theRepublican National Convention[e]
Candidate Richard Nixon Ronald Reagan Harold Stassen[f] Home state California California Pennsylvania Delegate count 30 0 0 Popular vote 390,368 50,727 28,531 Percentage 79.69% 10.36% 5.82%

The1968 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary was held on April 2, 1968 in the U.S. state ofWisconsin as one of theRepublican Party's state primaries ahead of the 1968 presidential election.

• Adams
• Barron
• Brown
• Buffalo
• Burnett
• Calumet
• Chippewa
• Clark
• Columbia
• Crawford
• Door
• Dodge
• Dunn
• Florence
• Fond du Lac
• Grant
• Green
• Green Lake
• Iowa
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Juneau
• Kewaunee
• La Crosse
• Lafayette
• Langlade
• Lincoln
• Marinette
• Marquette
• Monroe
• Oconto
• Oneida
• Outagamie
• Ozaukee
• Pepin
• Pierce
• Polk
• Price
• Racine
• Richland
• Rock
• Rusk
• Sauk
• Sawyer
• Shawano
• Taylor
• Trempealeau
• Vernon
• Vilas
• Washburn
• Washington
• Waukesha
• Winnebago
• Wood

These were the names of the electors on each ticket.^[12]

• United States presidential elections in Wisconsin

• 1968 United States presidential election by state
• United States presidential elections in Wisconsin
• 1968 Wisconsin elections

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