1968 United States presidential election in Alabama

Main article: 1968 United States presidential election

1968 United States presidential election in Alabama

←  1964 November 5, 1968 1972  →
All 10 Alabama electoral votes to the Electoral College
Nominee George Wallace Hubert Humphrey Richard Nixon Party Democratic (Alabama) National Democratic (Alabama) Republican Alliance American Independent Democratic Home state Alabama Minnesota New York [lower-alpha 1] Running mate Curtis LeMay Edmund Muskie Spiro Agnew Electoral vote 10 0 0 Popular vote 691,425 196,579 146,923 Percentage 65.86% 18.72% 13.99%
County Results Wallace   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Humphrey   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%
President before election Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

The 1968 United States presidential election in Alabama was held on November 5, 1968.

In Alabama, voters voted for electors individually instead of as a slate, as in the other 49 states.

The 1960s had seen Alabama as the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement, highlighted by numerous bombings by the Ku Klux Klan in "Bombingham", ^[1] Birmingham police commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor's use of attack dogs against civil rights protesters, attacks on the Freedom Riders and Selma to Montgomery marchers, and first-term Governor George Wallace's "stand in the door" against the desegregation of the University of Alabama. ^[2] The state Democratic Party, which had remained closed to African-Americans two decades after Smith v. Allwright outlawed the white primary, ^[3] had by a five-to-one margin refused to pledge its 1964 electors to incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson, ^[4] and no attempt was made to challenge this Wallace-sponsored Democratic slate with one loyal to the national party. ^[5] Despite sponsoring the state Democratic slate, in the 1964 general election Wallace would back Republican nominee Barry Goldwater, ^[6] who won almost seventy percent of Alabama's ballots against the state Democratic electors, for his opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

George Wallace would build a third party candidacy with his right-wing populist American Independent Party during the following two years, campaigning on opposition to desegregation, race riots, and the counterculture. However, with the state Democratic Party still refusing to integrate, ^[3] the national party made efforts to place its own electors on the Alabama ballot during 1967. ^[7] As expected, Wallace won the state Democratic primary in May, and was listed as the “Democratic” candidate on the Alabama ballot. ^[8] National Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey was able, ^[9] unlike Harry S. Truman and outgoing President Johnson, to gain ballot access on a fusion of the "Alabama Independent Democrat" and National Democratic lines. ^[10]

78% of white voters supported Wallace, 16% supported Nixon, and 4% supported Humphrey. ^{[11] [12] [13]}

Predictions

Source	Rating	As of	Note
Lebanon Daily News [14]	Safe I (Flip)	September 17, 1968	[lower-alpha 2]
Daily Press [15]	Certain I (Flip)	October 11, 1968
The Charlotte News [16]	Certain I (Flip)	October 12, 1968
The Record [17]	Likely I (Flip)	October 21, 1968
Shreveport Times [18]	Safe I (Flip)	November 3, 1968
The Selma Times-Journal [19]	Safe I (Flip)	November 3, 1968

Results

1968 United States presidential election in Alabama ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	George Wallace	691,425	65.86%	+65.86%
	National Democratic (Ala.)	Hubert Humphrey	196,597	18.72%	+18.72%
	Republican	Richard Nixon	146,923	13.99%	-55.51%
	American Independent	No Candidate	10,960	1.04%	+1.04%
	Prohibition	E. Harold Munn	4,002	0.38%	+0.38%
	Write-in		8	0.00%	+0.00%
Total votes			1,049,915	100.00%

Results by presidential elector

General election results ^[20]

Party		Pledged to	Elector	Votes
	Democratic Party	George Wallace	Albert Brewer	691,425
	Democratic Party	George Wallace	MacDonald Gallion	691,318
	Democratic Party	George Wallace	Jim Allen	689,262
	Democratic Party	George Wallace	Armistead Selden	689,009
	Democratic Party	George Wallace	Agnes Baggett	687,876
	Democratic Party	George Wallace	Frank Mizell	687,699
	Democratic Party	George Wallace	Earl Morgan	687,664
	Democratic Party	George Wallace	Richard "Dick" Beard	686,685
	Democratic Party	George Wallace	Mabel S. Amos	686,667
	Democratic Party	George Wallace	Ernest Stone	685,499
	Republican Party	Richard Nixon	William H. Graham	146,923
	Republican Party	Richard Nixon	Paul Lowery	146,876
	Republican Party	Richard Nixon	James C. Van Antwerp, Jr.	146,717
	Republican Party	Richard Nixon	George Howard Young	146,628
	Republican Party	Richard Nixon	Huit Sullivan	146,613
	Republican Party	Richard Nixon	M. J. Lyons, Jr.	146,591
	Republican Party	Richard Nixon	Lee Clyde Traylor	146,368
	Republican Party	Richard Nixon	Robert H. Maxwell	146,311
	Republican Party	Richard Nixon	J. Smith Lanier, II	145,970
	Republican Party	Richard Nixon	Robert D. Wilkinson, Jr.	145,694
	Alabama Independent Democratic Party	Hubert Humphrey	Dot Little	142,435
	Alabama Independent Democratic Party	Hubert Humphrey	Ben F. Ray	142,218
	Alabama Independent Democratic Party	Hubert Humphrey	Lafayette Patterson	141,199
	Alabama Independent Democratic Party	Hubert Humphrey	Roy D. McCord	141,124
	Alabama Independent Democratic Party	Hubert Humphrey	Charles A. Bentley, Jr.	140,728
	Alabama Independent Democratic Party	Hubert Humphrey	Isom Clemon	140,387
	Alabama Independent Democratic Party	Hubert Humphrey	Coleman A. Lollar, Jr.	140,386
	Alabama Independent Democratic Party	Hubert Humphrey	J. E. Brantley	140,342
	Alabama Independent Democratic Party	Hubert Humphrey	James McArthur Reed	140,218
	Alabama Independent Democratic Party	Hubert Humphrey	Joe L. Reed	140,093
	National Democratic Party of Alabama	Hubert Humphrey	William McKinley Branch	54,144
	National Democratic Party of Alabama	Hubert Humphrey	E. D. Bouier	53,700
	National Democratic Party of Alabama	Hubert Humphrey	Robert Schwenn	53,666
	National Democratic Party of Alabama	Hubert Humphrey	J. H. Davis	53,622
	National Democratic Party of Alabama	Hubert Humphrey	R. E. Cordray	53,264
	National Democratic Party of Alabama	Hubert Humphrey	Billy Joe Robinson	53,226
	National Democratic Party of Alabama	Hubert Humphrey	Jack Drake	53,068
	National Democratic Party of Alabama	Hubert Humphrey	Virginia Durr	53,015
	National Democratic Party of Alabama	Hubert Humphrey	George DeBoer	52,909
	National Democratic Party of Alabama	Hubert Humphrey	James Williams	52,464
	American Independent Party	George Wallace	Steve E. Nation	10,960
	American Independent Party	George Wallace	Aaron C. Edwards	10,518
	American Independent Party	George Wallace	Ronald L. Pankey	10,437
	American Independent Party	George Wallace	Bernice H. Morrison	10,365
	Prohibition Party	E. Harold Munn	D. N. Stephenson	4,022
	Prohibition Party	E. Harold Munn	Phoebe Cary Shoemaker	3,814
	Prohibition Party	E. Harold Munn	J. E. Dillard	3,770
	Prohibition Party	E. Harold Munn	Ogburn A. Gardner	3,661
	Prohibition Party	E. Harold Munn	Bertha Wallis Lee	3,638
	Prohibition Party	E. Harold Munn	Beulah K. Gray	3,615
	Prohibition Party	E. Harold Munn	Jerome B. Couch	3,589
	Prohibition Party	E. Harold Munn	Fred M. Burns	3,578
	Prohibition Party	E. Harold Munn	Lois Goodwin	3,523
	Prohibition Party	E. Harold Munn	Daisy Williams	3,420
Total votes				1,049,909

Results by county

1968 United States presidential election in Alabama by county ^[21]

County	George Corley Wallace Democratic		Richard Milhous Nixon Republican		Hubert Horatio Humphrey Alabama Independent Democrat National Democratic		Various candidates Other parties		Margin [lower-alpha 3]		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Autauga	5,523	71.03%	606	7.79%	1,553	19.97%	94	1.21%	3,970	51.06%	7,776
Baldwin	14,167	76.98%	2,154	11.70%	1,821	9.89%	262	1.42%	12,013 [lower-alpha 4]	65.28%	18,404
Barbour	5,491	69.10%	386	4.86%	1,898	23.89%	171	2.15%	3,593	45.21%	7,946
Bibb	3,746	80.16%	263	5.63%	652	13.95%	12	0.26%	3,094	66.21%	4,673
Blount	6,536	71.93%	2,013	22.15%	331	3.64%	206	2.27%	4,523 [lower-alpha 4]	49.78%	9,086
Bullock	2,161	49.71%	190	4.37%	1,964	45.18%	32	0.74%	197	4.53%	4,347
Butler	5,601	76.09%	500	6.79%	1,240	16.85%	20	0.27%	4,361	59.24%	7,361
Calhoun	19,211	71.75%	3,061	11.43%	4,146	15.48%	357	1.33%	15,065	56.27%	26,775
Chambers	7,885	74.14%	1,082	10.17%	1,358	12.77%	311	2.92%	6,527	61.37%	10,636
Cherokee	4,773	83.96%	343	6.03%	462	8.13%	107	1.88%	4,311	75.83%	5,685
Chilton	6,611	74.26%	1,602	18.00%	566	6.36%	123	1.38%	5,009 [lower-alpha 4]	56.26%	8,902
Choctaw	4,250	69.75%	176	2.89%	1,641	26.93%	26	0.43%	2,609	42.82%	6,093
Clarke	6,168	71.50%	488	5.66%	1,717	19.90%	253	2.93%	4,451	51.60%	8,626
Clay	4,048	80.25%	706	14.00%	256	5.08%	34	0.67%	3,342 [lower-alpha 4]	66.25%	5,044
Cleburne	3,314	82.95%	485	12.14%	160	4.01%	36	0.90%	2,829 [lower-alpha 4]	70.81%	3,995
Coffee	8,885	82.53%	682	6.33%	1,071	9.95%	128	1.19%	7,814	72.58%	10,766
Colbert	11,341	72.60%	1,727	11.06%	2,291	14.67%	262	1.68%	9,050	57.93%	15,621
Conecuh	3,828	71.60%	186	3.48%	1,151	21.53%	181	3.39%	2,677	50.07%	5,346
Coosa	2,830	74.26%	330	8.66%	623	16.35%	28	0.73%	2,207	57.91%	3,811
Covington	11,419	86.98%	831	6.33%	791	6.03%	87	0.66%	10,588 [lower-alpha 4]	80.65%	13,128
Crenshaw	4,513	82.35%	209	3.81%	726	13.25%	32	0.58%	3,787	69.10%	5,480
Cullman	11,063	64.08%	4,964	28.75%	1,115	6.46%	123	0.71%	6,099 [lower-alpha 4]	35.33%	17,265
Dale	8,109	83.55%	607	6.25%	862	8.88%	127	1.31%	7,247	74.67%	9,705
Dallas	8,798	52.89%	1,246	7.49%	6,516	39.17%	76	0.46%	2,282	13.72%	16,636
DeKalb	8,144	54.81%	5,314	35.76%	1,274	8.57%	127	0.85%	2,830 [lower-alpha 4]	19.05%	14,859
Elmore	9,038	76.52%	801	6.78%	1,745	14.77%	228	1.93%	7,293	61.75%	11,812
Escambia	8,474	78.72%	680	6.32%	1,492	13.86%	119	1.11%	6,982	64.86%	10,765
Etowah	21,416	68.67%	4,351	13.95%	4,613	14.79%	806	2.58%	16,803	53.88%	31,186
Fayette	4,683	75.07%	827	13.26%	676	10.84%	52	0.83%	3,856 [lower-alpha 4]	61.81%	6,238
Franklin	5,909	64.96%	2,524	27.75%	588	6.46%	75	0.82%	3,385 [lower-alpha 4]	37.21%	9,096
Geneva	7,871	91.73%	284	3.31%	380	4.43%	46	0.54%	7,491	87.30%	8,581
Greene	1,555	39.18%	180	4.54%	2,229	56.16%	5	0.13%	-674	-16.98%	3,969
Hale	2,934	55.78%	266	5.06%	2,003	38.08%	57	1.08%	931	17.70%	5,260
Henry	4,233	79.99%	84	1.59%	955	18.05%	20	0.38%	3,278	61.94%	5,292
Houston	13,872	83.89%	974	5.89%	1,488	9.00%	202	1.22%	12,384	74.89%	16,536
Jackson	8,504	77.96%	1,191	10.92%	1,022	9.37%	191	1.75%	7,313 [lower-alpha 4]	67.04%	10,908
Jefferson	106,233	51.81%	39,752	19.39%	55,845	27.24%	3,203	1.56%	50,388	24.57%	205,033
Lamar	5,229	88.25%	364	6.14%	302	5.10%	30	0.51%	4,865 [lower-alpha 4]	82.11%	5,925
Lauderdale	13,467	71.32%	2,952	15.63%	2,166	11.47%	298	1.58%	10,515 [lower-alpha 4]	55.69%	18,883
Lawrence	6,253	83.05%	580	7.70%	650	8.63%	46	0.61%	5,603	74.42%	7,529
Lee	7,721	58.78%	2,366	18.01%	2,803	21.34%	246	1.87%	4,918	37.44%	13,136
Limestone	8,430	81.25%	870	8.39%	889	8.57%	186	1.79%	7,541	72.68%	10,375
Lowndes	1,822	55.84%	234	7.17%	1,127	34.54%	80	2.45%	695	21.30%	3,263
Macon	1,619	25.37%	257	4.03%	4,450	69.74%	55	0.86%	-2,831	-44.37%	6,381
Madison	29,823	57.40%	13,213	25.43%	8,004	15.41%	913	1.76%	16,610 [lower-alpha 4]	31.97%	51,953
Marengo	5,185	56.64%	457	4.99%	3,479	38.01%	33	0.36%	1,706	18.63%	9,154
Marion	6,415	76.34%	1,492	17.76%	365	4.34%	131	1.56%	4,923 [lower-alpha 4]	58.58%	8,403
Marshall	12,742	76.39%	2,725	16.34%	955	5.73%	258	1.55%	10,017 [lower-alpha 4]	60.05%	16,680
Mobile	61,673	67.08%	10,509	11.43%	18,615	20.25%	1,139	1.24%	43,058	46.83%	91,936
Monroe	5,217	71.23%	375	5.12%	1,673	22.84%	59	0.81%	3,544	48.39%	7,324
Montgomery	27,202	58.47%	6,746	14.50%	12,088	25.98%	489	1.05%	15,114	32.49%	46,525
Morgan	16,841	75.60%	3,043	13.66%	1,878	8.43%	515	2.31%	13,798 [lower-alpha 4]	61.94%	22,277
Perry	2,768	49.85%	308	5.55%	2,457	44.25%	20	0.36%	311	5.60%	5,553
Pickens	4,549	71.89%	321	5.07%	1,434	22.66%	24	0.38%	3,115	49.23%	6,328
Pike	6,038	72.39%	658	7.89%	1,565	18.76%	80	0.96%	4,473	53.63%	8,341
Randolph	5,103	75.00%	839	12.33%	666	9.79%	196	2.88%	4,264 [lower-alpha 4]	62.67%	6,804
Russell	7,584	67.44%	704	6.26%	2,707	24.07%	250	2.22%	4,877	43.37%	11,245
St. Clair	7,050	72.70%	1,635	16.86%	869	8.96%	143	1.47%	5,415 [lower-alpha 4]	55.84%	9,697
Shelby	7,736	71.83%	1,706	15.84%	1,105	10.26%	223	2.07%	6,030 [lower-alpha 4]	55.99%	10,770
Sumter	2,158	44.89%	303	6.30%	2,336	48.60%	10	0.21%	-178	-3.71%	4,807
Talladega	13,505	72.00%	1,935	10.32%	3,099	16.52%	217	1.16%	10,406	55.48%	18,756
Tallapoosa	9,043	76.50%	1,205	10.19%	1,331	11.26%	242	2.05%	7,712	65.24%	11,821
Tuscaloosa	18,611	65.60%	3,822	13.47%	5,556	19.58%	382	1.35%	13,055	46.02%	28,371
Walker	14,416	74.37%	2,628	13.56%	1,971	10.17%	370	1.91%	11,788 [lower-alpha 4]	60.81%	19,385
Washington	4,545	79.98%	200	3.52%	902	15.87%	36	0.63%	3,643	64.11%	5,683
Wilcox	2,511	56.62%	237	5.34%	1,658	37.38%	29	0.65%	853	19.24%	4,435
Winston	3,032	54.86%	2,174	39.33%	258	4.67%	63	1.14%	858 [lower-alpha 4]	15.53%	5,527
Totals	691,425	65.86%	146,923	13.99%	196,579	18.72%	14,982	1.43%	494,846	47.14%	1,049,909

Analysis

Wallace won his home state in a landslide, receiving 65.86 percent of the vote to Democrat Hubert Humphrey's 18.72 percent, a 47.13 point margin. Republican Richard Nixon, while winning the election nationally, finished a distant third in Alabama with only 13.99 percent, gaining significant support only in a few northern counties with historical Unionist sympathies and higher-income urban areas. ^[22] Wallace's 65.86 percent of the popular vote would make Alabama not only his best performing state in the 1968 election, but the strongest performing state out of any candidate, with only Humphrey's performance in Washington D.C. being stronger. ^[23]

Wallace won 64 of the state's 67 counties. As African-Americans in the South were slowly gaining the right to vote as a result of federal civil rights legislation passed in 1964 and 1965, Wallace's weakest region was the Black Belt, where he won most counties with narrow majorities or pluralities. ^[24]

As of the 2020 presidential election ^[update] , this is the last election in which Mobile County, Shelby County, Baldwin County, Lee County, and Houston County were not carried by the Republican candidate, ^[25] the last election in which the Republican candidate won the election without Alabama, and the last election in which Wilcox County, Lowndes County, and Bullock County were not carried by the national Democratic candidate. ^[25]

See also

• United States presidential elections in Alabama

Notes

1. Although he was born in California and he served as a U.S. Senator from California, in 1968 Richard Nixon's official state of residence was New York, because he moved there to practice law after his defeat in the 1962 California gubernatorial election. During his first term as president, Nixon re-established his residency in California. Consequently, most reliable reference books list Nixon's home state as New York in the 1968 election and his home state as California in the 1972 (and 1960) election.
2. “I” refers to Wallace's national status as the candidate of the American Independent Party, although the Alabama Democratic Party had him listed on the state ballot as the “Democratic” candidate
3. Because Wallace was listed as the “Democratic” nominee in Alabama and carried the state, whilst Humphrey ran second, all margins given are Wallace vote minus Humphrey vote and percentage margins Wallace percentage minus Humphrey percentage unless noted otherwise.
4. In this county where Nixon rather than Humphrey ran second behind Wallace, margin given is Wallace vote minus Nixon vote and percentage margin Wallace percentage minus Nixon percentage.

References

1. Bullock, Charles S.; Gaddie, Ronald Keith. The Triumph of Voting Rights in the South. pp. 41–42. ISBN   0806185309.
2. Bullock, Charles S.; Gaddie, Ronald Keith. The Triumph of Voting Rights in the South. pp. 41–42. ISBN   0806185309..
3. Walton, Hanes (1972). Black Political Parties: An Historical and Political Analysis. New York Free Press. p. 149.
4. McDannald, Alexander Hopkins (1965). Yearbook of the Encyclopedia Americana (Report). p. 63.
5. Cleghorn, Reece (August 13, 1964). "Who Speaks for Mississippi". The Reporter. pp. 31–33.
6. Grimes, Roy (October 11, 1964). "Look Away, Look Away…". The Victoria Advocate . p. 4A.
7. Bennett, James (January 1, 1968). "State Politics Will Heat Up". Birmingham Post-Herald . p. 2.
8. "Alabama in Bewildering Political State". The Columbus Ledger . Columbus, Georgia. May 11, 1968. p. A-2.
9. Bennett, James (August 26, 1968). "Most State Delegates To Sign Loyalty Oath". Birmingham Post-Herald . pp. 1, 2.
10. "1968 Presidential General Election Results — Alabama". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
11. Black & Black 1992, p. 147.
12. Black & Black 1992, p. 295.
13. Black & Black 1992, p. 335.
14. "Politics…in County, State and Nation". Lebanon Daily News . Lebanon, Pennsylvania. September 17, 1968. p. 4.
15. Murray, David. "Wallace Might Take 6 Southern States". Daily Press . Newport News, Virginia. p. 51.
16. "In South It's Nixon vs. Wallace". The Charlotte News . Charlotte, North Carolina. October 12, 1968. pp. 1, 3.
17. "Nixon Leads in 26 States: Wallace Will Run Strong: AP". The Record . Hackensack, New Jersey. Associated Press. October 21, 1968. p. 3.
18. Broder, David S. (November 3, 1968). "After Hoopla Finished, Nixon Still Winning, Survey Shows". Shreveport Times . p. 4-B.
19. "Summary of 50 States on Coming Election". The Selma Times-Journal . Selma, Alabama. November 3, 1968. p. 5.
20. Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1971. 1971. pp. 396–410.
21. State of Alabama Department of Archives and History, 'General Election November 5, 1968', Alabama Official and Statistical Register 1971.
22. Phillips, Kevin P. The Emerging Republican Majority. p. 227. ISBN   9780691163246..
23. "1968 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
24. Phillips. The Emerging Republican Majority; p. 258
25. Menendez, Albert J. The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004. pp. 146–147. ISBN   0786422173..

Works cited

• Black, Earl; Black, Merle (1992). The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected. Harvard University Press. ISBN   0674941306.