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All 8 West Virginia votes to the Electoral College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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County Results
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Elections in West Virginia |
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The 1960 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. West Virginia voters chose eight [2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
West Virginia was won by Senator John F. Kennedy (D–Massachusetts), running with Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, with 52.73 percent of the popular vote against incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon (R–California), running with United States Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., with 47.27 percent of the popular vote. [3] [4]
The 1960 West Virginia Democratic primary election on May 20 was seen as a turning point in the Democratic primaries. John F Kennedy had shown that he could win a primary election against the liberal Senator Hubert Humphrey in the Wisconsin primary. Although Kennedy defeated Humphrey in Wisconsin, his reliance on heavily Catholic areas left many party bosses unconvinced. Kennedy thus faced Humphrey in the heavily Protestant state of West Virginia. Humphrey's campaign was low on money and could not compete with the well-organized, well-financed Kennedy team. Kennedy's siblings combed the state looking for votes, leading Humphrey to complain that he "felt like an independent merchant running against a chain store." [5] On primary day, Kennedy crushed Humphrey with over 60% of the vote, and Humphrey withdrew from the race.
In West Virginia, Kennedy sought to show that he could win the support of Protestant voters and to remove Humphrey from the race, securing the party's liberal wing and setting up a showdown with Johnson for the nomination. Humphrey had high expectations, given that the state's population was rural, working class, ninety-five percent Protestant, and its delegates had backed him against Kennedy in the vice presidential contest four years prior. [6]
Kennedy met the religious issue head-on, hoping to redefine the race as one of "tolerance against intolerance," rather than Catholic against Protestant. He also brought Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. to campaign in the state; Roosevelt then raised the issue of Humphrey's failure to serve in World War II. Though Humphrey had tried and failed to serve due to physical disability, [7] Roosevelt attacked his lack of service record, publicly telling audiences, "I don't know where [Humphrey] was in World War Two," and distributing flyers that accused him of draft dodging. After the primary was over, Roosevelt apologized to Humphrey and retracted the claims, [6] which he later called his greatest political regret. [8]
Kennedy continued to outspend Humphrey heavily in West Virginia; though he publicly claimed expenditures of $100,000, later estimates placed his family's overall spending at $1.5 million, dwarfing Humphrey's $23,000. [9] Humphrey traveled the state in a rented bus, while the Kennedys used a family-owned airplane. [10] Humphrey later wrote of the West Virginia campaign, "as a professional politician I was able to accept and indeed respect the efficacy of the Kennedy campaign. But underneath the beautiful exterior, there was an element of ruthlessness and toughness that I had trouble either accepting or forgetting." [11]
On May 4, 1960, Humphrey and Kennedy took part in a televised one-on-one debate at WCHS-TV in Charleston, West Virginia, ahead of the state's primary. [12]
Kennedy defeated Humphrey soundly in West Virginia, and Humphrey announced his withdrawal from the race that night.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John F. Kennedy | 441,786 | 52.73% | |
Republican | Richard Nixon | 395,995 | 47.27% | |
Total votes | 837,781 | 100.00% |
County [13] | John F. Kennedy Democratic | Richard Nixon Republican | Margin | Total votes cast | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Barbour | 3,818 | 48.80% | 4,006 | 51.20% | -188 | -2.40% | 7,824 |
Berkeley | 7,072 | 45.80% | 8,369 | 54.20% | -1,297 | -8.40% | 15,441 |
Boone | 8,058 | 66.26% | 4,104 | 33.74% | 3,954 | 32.52% | 12,162 |
Braxton | 4,185 | 58.43% | 2,977 | 41.57% | 1,208 | 16.86% | 7,162 |
Brooke | 7,838 | 57.67% | 5,754 | 42.33% | 2,084 | 15.34% | 13,592 |
Cabell | 20,911 | 43.66% | 26,988 | 56.34% | -6,077 | -12.68% | 47,899 |
Calhoun | 1,975 | 50.37% | 1,946 | 49.63% | 29 | 0.74% | 3,921 |
Clay | 2,859 | 54.30% | 2,406 | 45.70% | 453 | 8.60% | 5,265 |
Doddridge | 1053 | 30.48% | 2,402 | 69.52% | -1,349 | -39.04% | 3,455 |
Fayette | 18,109 | 70.61% | 7,537 | 29.39% | 10,572 | 41.22% | 25,646 |
Gilmer | 2,075 | 58.93% | 1,446 | 41.07% | 629 | 17.86% | 3,521 |
Grant | 908 | 21.41% | 3,333 | 78.59% | -2,425 | -57.18% | 4,241 |
Greenbrier | 8,343 | 55.71% | 6,633 | 44.29% | 1,710 | 11.42% | 14,976 |
Hampshire | 2,849 | 52.86% | 2,541 | 47.14% | 308 | 5.72% | 5,390 |
Hancock | 11,176 | 58.19% | 8,031 | 41.81% | 3,145 | 16.38% | 19,207 |
Hardy | 2,465 | 54.69% | 2,042 | 45.31% | 423 | 9.38% | 4,507 |
Harrison | 20,727 | 53.00% | 18,378 | 47.00% | 2,349 | 6.00% | 39,105 |
Jackson | 3,615 | 39.51% | 5,535 | 60.49% | -1,920 | -20.98% | 9,150 |
Jefferson | 4,352 | 60.12% | 2,887 | 39.88% | 1,465 | 20.24% | 7,239 |
Kanawha | 54,484 | 48.81% | 57,130 | 51.19% | -2,646 | -2.38% | 111,614 |
Lewis | 3,649 | 41.44% | 5,157 | 58.56% | -1,508 | -17.12% | 8,806 |
Lincoln | 5,023 | 52.31% | 4,579 | 47.69% | 444 | 4.62% | 9,602 |
Logan | 16,360 | 67.61% | 7,836 | 32.39% | 8,524 | 35.22% | 24,196 |
Marion | 17,903 | 55.88% | 14,138 | 44.12% | 3,765 | 11.76% | 32,041 |
Marshall | 9,197 | 50.14% | 9,147 | 49.86% | 50 | 0.28% | 18,344 |
Mason | 4,522 | 41.31% | 6,424 | 58.69% | -1,902 | -17.38% | 10,946 |
McDowell | 19,501 | 74.84% | 6,555 | 25.16% | 12,946 | 49.68% | 26,056 |
Mercer | 17,289 | 59.60% | 11,719 | 40.40% | 5,570 | 19.20% | 29,008 |
Mineral | 4,164 | 39.80% | 6,299 | 60.20% | -2,135 | -20.40% | 10,463 |
Mingo | 11,259 | 69.66% | 4,903 | 30.34% | 6,356 | 39.32% | 16,162 |
Monongalia | 13,103 | 53.21% | 11,523 | 46.79% | 1,580 | 6.42% | 24,626 |
Monroe | 2,910 | 48.11% | 3,139 | 51.89% | -229 | -3.78% | 6,049 |
Morgan | 1,369 | 33.22% | 2,752 | 66.78% | -1,383 | -33.56% | 4,121 |
Nicholas | 5,774 | 57.33% | 4,297 | 42.67% | 1,477 | 14.66% | 10,071 |
Ohio | 18,423 | 51.48% | 17,367 | 48.52% | 1,056 | 2.96% | 35,790 |
Pendleton | 2,057 | 51.59% | 1,930 | 48.41% | 127 | 3.18% | 3,987 |
Pleasants | 1,742 | 46.78% | 1,982 | 53.22% | -240 | -6.44% | 3,724 |
Pocahontas | 2,822 | 53.34% | 2,469 | 46.66% | 353 | 6.68% | 5,291 |
Preston | 4,221 | 37.93% | 6,908 | 62.07% | -2,687 | -24.14% | 11,129 |
Putnam | 4,968 | 46.56% | 5,702 | 53.44% | -734 | -6.88% | 10,670 |
Raleigh | 20,448 | 62.85% | 12,088 | 37.15% | 8,360 | 25.70% | 32,536 |
Randolph | 6,989 | 58.21% | 5,018 | 41.79% | 1,971 | 16.42% | 12,007 |
Ritchie | 1,591 | 28.60% | 3,972 | 71.40% | -2,381 | -42.80% | 5,563 |
Roane | 3,280 | 42.47% | 4,443 | 57.53% | -1,163 | -15.06% | 7,723 |
Summers | 4,622 | 59.57% | 3,137 | 40.43% | 1,485 | 19.14% | 7,759 |
Taylor | 3,489 | 46.64% | 3,992 | 53.36% | -503 | -6.72% | 7,481 |
Tucker | 2,090 | 52.55% | 1,887 | 47.45% | 203 | 5.10% | 3,977 |
Tyler | 1,558 | 30.58% | 3,537 | 69.42% | -1,979 | -38.84% | 5,095 |
Upshur | 2,590 | 33.58% | 5,123 | 66.42% | -2,533 | -32.84% | 7,713 |
Wayne | 9,140 | 52.93% | 8,128 | 47.07% | 1,012 | 5.86% | 17,268 |
Webster | 3,479 | 67.32% | 1,689 | 32.68% | 1,790 | 34.64% | 5,168 |
Wetzel | 4,338 | 45.73% | 5,149 | 54.27% | -811 | -8.54% | 9,487 |
Wirt | 1,045 | 43.69% | 1,347 | 56.31% | -302 | -12.62% | 2,392 |
Wood | 15,396 | 41.03% | 22,131 | 58.97% | -6,735 | -17.94% | 37,527 |
Wyoming | 8,603 | 62.86% | 5,083 | 37.14% | 3,520 | 25.72% | 13,686 |
Totals | 441,786 | 52.73% | 395,995 | 47.27% | 45,791 | 5.46% | 837,781 |
The 1960 United States presidential election was the 44th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1960. The Democratic ticket of Senator John F. Kennedy and his running mate, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, narrowly defeated the Republican ticket of incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon and his running mate, U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. This was the first election in which 50 states participated, marking the first participation of Alaska and Hawaii, and the last in which the District of Columbia did not. This made it the only presidential election where the threshold for victory was 269 electoral votes. It was also the first election in which an incumbent president—in this case, Dwight D. Eisenhower—was ineligible to run for a third term because of the term limits established by the 22nd Amendment.
The 1964 United States presidential election was the 45th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1964. Incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Republican Senator Barry Goldwater in a landslide victory. Johnson was the fourth and most recent vice president to succeed the presidency following the death of his predecessor and win a full term in his own right. Johnson won the largest share of the popular vote for the Democratic Party in history at 61.1%. As of 2024, this remains the highest popular vote percentage of any candidate since the advent of widespread popular elections in 1824.
The 1968 United States presidential election was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated both the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, former Alabama governor George Wallace.
Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. was an American politician and statesman who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 1949 to 1964 and again from 1971 to 1978. As a senator he was a major leader of modern liberalism in the United States. As President Lyndon B. Johnson's vice president, he supported the controversial Vietnam War. An intensely divided Democratic Party nominated him in the 1968 presidential election, which he lost to Republican nominee Richard Nixon.
The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles, California, on July 11–15, 1960. It nominated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for president and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas for vice president.
The Robert F. Kennedy presidential campaign began on March 16, 1968, when Kennedy, a United States Senator from New York, mounted an unlikely challenge to incumbent Democratic United States President Lyndon B. Johnson. Following an upset in the New Hampshire primary, Johnson announced on March 31 that he would not seek re-election to a second full term. Kennedy still faced two rival candidates for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination: the leading challenger United States Senator Eugene McCarthy and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey had entered the race after Johnson's withdrawal, but Kennedy and McCarthy remained the main challengers to the policies of the Johnson administration. During the spring of 1968, Kennedy led a leading campaign in presidential primary elections throughout the United States. Kennedy's campaign was especially active in Indiana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, California, and Washington, D.C. After declaring victory in the California primary on June 4, 1968, Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He died on June 6, 1968 at Good Samaritan Hospital. Had Kennedy been elected president, he would have been the first brother of a former U.S. president to win the presidency himself.
From March 8 to June 7, 1960, voters and members of the Democratic Party elected delegates to the 1960 Democratic National Convention through a series of caucuses, conventions, and primaries, partly for the purpose of nominating a candidate for President of the United States in the 1960 election. The presidential primaries were inconclusive, as several of the leading contenders did not enter them, but U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts emerged as the strongest candidate and won the nomination over Lyndon B. Johnson at the convention, held from July 11 to 15 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
From March to July 1968, Democratic Party voters elected delegates to the 1968 Democratic National Convention for the purpose of selecting the party's nominee for president in the upcoming election. Delegates, and the nominee they were to support at the convention, were selected through a series of primary elections, caucuses, and state party conventions. This was the last time that state primary elections formed a minority of the selection process, as the McGovern–Fraser Commission, which issued its recommendations in time for the 1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries, would dramatically reform the nomination process to expand the use of popular primaries rather than caucuses.
Hubert Horatio Humphrey served as the 38th Vice President of the United States (1965–1969), as a United States senator from Minnesota, and as the 35th mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota (1945–1948).
Electoral history of Lyndon B. Johnson, who served as the 36th president of the United States (1963–1969), the 37th vice president (1961–1963); and as a United States senator (1949–1961) and United States representative (1937–1949) from Texas.
The 1968 presidential campaign of Hubert Humphrey began when Vice President of the United States Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota decided to seek the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States following President Lyndon B. Johnson's announcement ending his own bid for the nomination. Johnson withdrew after an unexpectedly strong challenge from anti-Vietnam War presidential candidate, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, in the early Democratic primaries. McCarthy, along with Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, became Humphrey's main opponents for the nomination. Their "new politics" contrasted with Humphrey's "old politics" as the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War intensified.
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