1960 United States presidential election in Oregon

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1960 United States presidential election in Oregon
Flag of Oregon.svg
  1956 November 8, 1960 [1] 1964  
  Richard Nixon official portrait as Vice President (cropped).tiff Jfk2 (3x4).jpg
Nominee Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California Massachusetts
Running mate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Lyndon B. Johnson
Electoral vote60
Popular vote408,060367,402
Percentage52.56%47.32%

Oregon Presidential Election Results 1960.svg
County Results

President before election

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican

Elected President

John F. Kennedy
Democratic

The 1960 United States presidential election in Oregon took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. Voters chose six [2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Contents

Oregon was won by incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon (RCalifornia), running with former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., with 52.56% of the popular vote, against Senator John F. Kennedy (DMassachusetts), running with Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, with 47.32% of the popular vote. [3] [4] As of the 2020 presidential election , this is the last election in which Multnomah County voted for a Republican presidential candidate. [5]

Background

Oregon had not voted for the Democratic presidential nominee since the 1944 election. [6]

Legislation was passed in 1959 that created a primary system for the president. [7] Candidates had no choice as to whether or not they would run in the Oregon primaries. [8] Oregon had a unique law in which all individuals believed to be candidates (by the Attorney General) would be listed, whether or not they wanted to compete in the state's primary. [8]

Primaries

Democratic primary

Since at least 1957, Kennedy had been anticipating running in Oregon's primary due to the state's unique election laws, which would give him no choice as to whether or not he would be listed on the ballot. [8]

Oregon's primary came late, just prior to California's. [8] Kennedy had made several appearances in Oregon in the spring of 1959, and was leading according to his campaign's internal polling against a plethora of prospective opponents. [8] He garnered the support of figures such as Edith Green. [8] By late 1959, however, Senator Wayne Morse launched a favorite son campaign, which posed a viable challenge to Kennedy's prospects of winning Oregon. [8]

Hubert Humphrey had been seen as having a realistic chance of winning the strongly liberal state electorate if he were to remain a viable candidate through late-May (when the primary was scheduled). [8] However, Humphrey ultimately withdrew earlier on after losing the West Virginia primary. [8]

Kennedy's campaign worried about a potential active campaign effort by Adlai Stevenson II in the state, where many voters were still enamored with the two-time Democratic standard bearer. In a January 26, 1960 memo, campaign manager Robert Kennedy stated that it was important for the Kennedy campaign to try and stop Stevenson from becoming an active factor in the Oregon primary. [8] Congressman Charles O. Porter was seen as being likely to lead any potential effort to support a Stevenson candidacy in Oregon, therefore, Robert considered persuading him that such an effort would hand the primary to Morse, whom Porter despised. [8] However, by May this proved to be unneeded, as Kennedy had already cleared the field. [8]

While names of several other contenders appeared on the Oregon Democratic primary ballot, the only active opponent which Kennedy faced in the primary was Morse. [8] Oregon was the only state in which Kennedy directly challenged a favorite son candidate. [8] The Kennedy campaign saw the fiercely independent and progressive state electorate as challenging for them to maneuver. [8] He defeated Morse 51 to 32%. [8]

1960 Oregon Democratic Presidential Primary Results [9]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentage
Democratic John F. Kennedy 146,33251.0%
Democratic Wayne Morse 91,71531.9%
Democratic Hubert Humphrey 16,3195.7%
Democratic Stuart Symington 12,4964.4%
Democratic Lyndon B. Johnson 11,1013.9%
Democratic Adlai Stevenson II (write-ins)7,9242.8%
Democratic Others1,2100.4%
Totals287,097100.00%

Republican primary

Richard Nixon was the only candidate placed onto the Republican primary ballot by the secretary of state. Nelson Rockefeller, who withdrew from the race, received a large number of write-in votes. [7]

1960 Oregon Republican Presidential Primary Results [9]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentage
Republican Richard Nixon 211,27693.1%
Republican Nelson Rockefeller (write-ins)9,3074.1%
Democratic John F. Kennedy (write-ins)2,8641.3%
Republican Barry Goldwater (write-ins)1,5710.7%
Republican Others2,0150.9%
Totals227,033100.00%

Campaign

Nixon placed first in all four congressional districts. Crook County, a bellwether county since the 1884 election, incorrectly supported Kennedy. Oregon had one of the lowest Catholic and highest fundamentalist Protestant populations in the United States. [10]

Results

1960 United States presidential election in Oregon
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Richard Nixon 408,060 52.56%
Democratic John F. Kennedy 367,40247.32%
Write-in9590.12%
Total votes776,421 100%

Results by county

CountyRichard Nixon
Republican
John F. Kennedy
Democratic
Various candidates
Write-ins
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %
Baker 3,51448.46%3,73451.50%30.04%-220-3.04%7,251
Benton 9,73464.36%5,39135.64%4,34328.72%15,125
Clackamas 28,53154.53%23,67945.26%1090.21%4,8529.27%52,319
Clatsop 6,28648.86%6,53050.75%500.39%-244-1.89%12,866
Columbia 4,35643.96%5,54655.97%60.06%-1,190-12.01%9,908
Coos 8,75140.32%12,89359.40%610.28%-4,142-19.08%21,705
Crook 1,73246.35%2,00553.65%-273-7.30%3,737
Curry 2,38246.23%2,76753.70%40.08%-385-7.47%5,153
Deschutes 5,14551.74%4,77648.03%230.23%3693.71%9,944
Douglas 12,49348.39%13,32251.61%-829-3.22%25,815
Gilliam 71254.02%60645.98%1068.04%1,318
Grant 1,69754.13%1,43845.87%2598.26%3,135
Harney 1,46454.40%1,22045.34%70.26%2449.06%2,691
Hood River 3,10355.86%2,45044.10%20.04%65311.76%5,555
Jackson 17,55454.59%14,53145.19%720.22%3,0239.40%32,157
Jefferson 1,41353.75%1,21446.18%20.08%1997.57%2,629
Josephine 7,38757.57%5,41942.23%250.19%1,96815.34%12,831
Klamath 9,09550.46%8,92849.54%1670.92%18,023
Lake 1,55551.90%1,44148.10%1143.80%2,996
Lane 36,14852.49%32,59647.34%1180.17%3,5525.15%68,862
Lincoln 5,23149.90%5,24350.01%90.09%-12-0.11%10,483
Linn 12,89953.89%11,03546.11%1,8647.78%23,934
Malheur 5,04359.86%3,38140.14%1,66219.72%8,424
Marion 29,12458.28%20,79141.61%550.11%8,33316.67%49,970
Morrow 1,00349.12%1,03950.88%-36-1.76%2,042
Multnomah 127,27150.53%124,27349.34%3380.13%2,9981.19%251,882
Polk 6,70959.38%4,57840.52%110.10%2,13118.86%11,298
Sherman 65956.57%50643.43%15313.14%1,165
Tillamook 3,93548.92%4,09850.94%110.14%-163-2.02%8,044
Umatilla 9,37453.77%8,05346.19%60.03%1,3217.58%17,433
Union 3,68947.48%4,08152.52%-392-5.04%7,770
Wallowa 1,44046.08%1,68253.82%30.10%-242-7.74%3,125
Wasco 4,35549.58%4,42650.39%30.03%-71-0.81%8,784
Washington 25,41558.85%17,73641.07%350.08%7,67917.78%43,186
Wheeler 56654.84%46645.16%1009.68%1,032
Yamhill 8,29559.98%5,52839.97%60.04%2,76720.01%13,829
Totals408,06052.56%367,40247.32%9590.12%40,6585.24%776,421

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

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References

  1. "United States Presidential election of 1960 - Encyclopædia Britannica" . Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  2. "1960 Election for the Forty-Fourth Term (1961-65)" . Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  3. "1960 Presidential General Election Results - Oregon" . Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  4. "The American Presidency Project - Election of 1960" . Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  5. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  6. Swarthout 1961, p. 356.
  7. 1 2 Swarthout 1961, p. 358-359.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Oliphant, Thomas; Wilkie, Curtis (2017). The road to Camelot: Inside JFK's Five-Year Campaign. Simon & Schuster.
  9. 1 2 "RESULTS OF 1960 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PRIMARIES". John F. Kennedy presidential library. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  10. Swarthout 1961, p. 357-358.

Works cited