1968 Republican National Convention

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1968 Republican National Convention
1968 presidential election
1968 RNC.png
RP1972.png RV1972.png
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 of New York
Vice-presidential nominee Spiro Agnew of Maryland
Voting
Total delegates1,333
Votes needed for nomination667 (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  

The 1968 Republican National Convention was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, USA, from August 5 to August 8, 1968, to select the party's nominee in the general election. It nominated former Vice President Richard Nixon for president and Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew for vice president. It was the fourth time Nixon had been nominated on the Republican ticket as either its vice presidential (1952 and 1956) or presidential candidate (1960). Symbolic of the South's changing political affiliation, this was the first Republican National Convention held in a prior Confederate State.

Contents

Political context

The Miami Beach Convention Center was the site of the 1968 Republican National Convention. Miami Beach FL Convention Center01.jpg
The Miami Beach Convention Center was the site of the 1968 Republican National Convention.

Former Vice President Richard Nixon, emerged as the frontrunner again for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination. Nixon had been the Republican Party nominee in the 1960 presidential election, and lost to Democratic Party candidate John F. Kennedy.

The so-called "New Nixon" in the 1968 presidential election devised a "Southern strategy," taking advantage of the region's opposition to racial integration and other progressive/liberal policies of the Democratic Party and President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Nixon was nominated on the first ballot with 692 votes to 277 votes for Nelson Rockefeller, 182 votes for California Governor Ronald 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 to Strom Thurmond and Harry 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 mate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and House Minority Leader Gerald Ford of Michigan proposed New York City Mayor John Lindsay for vice president. Nixon turned instead to another perceived moderate, Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew. Agnew, former Baltimore County Executive in the Baltimore City suburbs (1963–1967), and since Governor 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 disastrous April 1968 riots which enveloped Black sections of East and West Baltimore in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, 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 in Vietnam 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 the rule 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.

Balloting

The following were placed into nomination:

Nominated for President

Nominated for Vice President

The Republican Convention Tally results

This was the last time during the 20th Century that two siblings (the Rockefeller brothers) received votes at a convention.

The Republican Convention Tally [4]
President(before switches)(after switches)Vice PresidentVice-Presidential votes
Richard M. Nixon 6921238 Spiro T. Agnew 1119
Nelson Rockefeller 27793 George Romney 186
Ronald Reagan 1822 John V. Lindsay 10
Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes 55 Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke 1
Michigan Governor George Romney 50 James A. Rhodes 1
New Jersey Senator Clifford Case 22Not Voting16
Kansas Senator Frank Carlson 20
Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller 18
Hawaii Senator Hiram Fong 14
Harold Stassen 2
New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay 1

Results by state

Results of the convention by state
Nixon Rockefeller Reagan Romney Various Results of the 1968 Republican National Convention.svg
Results of the convention by state
     Nixon     Rockefeller     Reagan     Romney     Various
Nixon supporters at the convention Supporters of Richard Nixon at the 1968 Republican National Convention Miami Beach, Florida.jpg
Nixon supporters at the convention
Rockefeller supporters at the convention View showing posters supporting Nelson "Rocky" Rockefeller at the 1968 Republican National Convention - Miami Beach, Florida.jpg
Rockefeller supporters at the convention
Reagan supporters at the convention Supporters of California Governor Ronald Reagan at the 1968 Republican National Convention- Miami Beach, Florida (8073773812).jpg
Reagan supporters at the convention

The balloting by state was as follows: [5] [6] [7]

State
Nixon
Alabama 1412
Alaska 111
Arizona 16
Arkansas 18
California 86
Colorado 1431
Connecticut 412
Delaware 93
Florida 3211
Georgia 2127
Hawaii 14
Idaho 95
Illinois 5053
Indiana 26
Iowa 1383
Kansas 20
Kentucky 222
Louisiana 197
Maine 77
Maryland 188
Massachusetts 34
Michigan 444
Minnesota 91511
Mississippi 20
Missouri 1653
Montana 113
Nebraska 16
Nevada 93
New Hampshire 8
New Jersey 1822
New Mexico 815
New York 488
North Carolina 9116
North Dakota 521
Ohio 2551
Oklahoma 1417
Oregon 18
Pennsylvania 22411
Rhode Island 14
South Carolina 22
South Dakota 14
Tennessee 28
Texas 4115
Utah 26
Vermont 93
Virginia 222
Washington 1536
West Virginia 113
Wisconsin 30
Wyoming 12
District of Columbia 63
Puerto Rico 5
U.S. Virgin Islands 21
Total69227718255502220181421

See also

Notes

  1. Favorite sons received support from Ohio (Jim Rhodes), Hawaii (Hiram Fong), New Jersey (Clifford Case), Kansas (Frank Carlson), and Arkansas (Winthrop Rockefeller).

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References

  1. Perlstein, Rick (2008). Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America. New York: Scribner. pp. 295–303. ISBN   978-0-7432-4302-5.
  2. Perlstein, pp. 299-304
  3. "Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  4. Troy, Schlesinger & Israel 2012, pp. 1318–1319.
  5. "Lebanon Daily News". Lebanon, PA. August 8, 1968. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  6. "The News-Herald". Franklin, PA. August 8, 1968. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  7. "1968 Republican Convention Roll Call". CBS Radio News. August 1968. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.

Bibliography

Preceded by
1964
Daly City, California
Republican National Conventions Succeeded by
1972
Miami Beach, Florida