1968 United States presidential election in California

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1968 United States presidential election in California
Turnout	85.75% (of registered voters) 2.63 pp ; 62.34% (of eligible voters) 3.66 pp
Nixon 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%	Humphrey 40–50% 50–60%
President before election; Lyndon B. Johnson ; Democratic	Elected President; Richard Nixon ; Republican

Last updated February 15, 2025

The 1968 United States presidential election in California took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election. State voters chose 40 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

California narrowly voted for the Republican nominee, former Vice President Richard Nixon of New York, over the Democratic nominee, Vice President Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. The American Independent Party candidate, former Alabama governor George Wallace, performed rather well in California despite being thousands of miles away from his base in the Deep South.

Although Nixon was born and raised in California, he had moved to New York, following his failed 1962 gubernatorial bid, and thus identified New York as his home state in this election. After he won the election, Nixon moved his residency back to California. Nixon had previously defeated John F. Kennedy in California in 1960, and would later win the state again against George McGovern in 1972. Had Humphrey come out victorious in California, Nixon would have earned only 261 electoral votes, and thus, the election would have been sent to the United States House of Representatives.

As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time California had less electoral votes than New York, or that a Democrat had won Kings County.^[2]

Nixon also became the first-ever Republican to win the White House without carrying Alameda County, as well as the first to do so without carrying Santa Clara County since Ulysses Grant in 1868, and the first to do so without carrying Napa or San Mateo Counties since Abraham Lincoln in 1860.

Nixon's victory was the first of six consecutive Republican victories in the state, as California would not vote for a Democratic candidate again until Bill Clinton in 1992. Since then it has become a safe Democratic state. This is also the last election where California did not have the highest number of electoral votes.

Campaign

During the 1968 California Democratic primary, Robert F. Kennedy won the primary "narrowly" but was assassinated after giving a victory speech.^[3]

Polling

^[4]
Poll Source	Date Published	Richard Nixon Republican	Hubert Humphrey Democratic	George Wallace American Independent	Other/ Undecided
Mervin Field	October 28, 1968	50%	34%	8%	8%
Don Muchmore	October 20, 1968	45%	35%	7%	13%
Don Muchmore	October 6, 1968	44%	33%	7%	16%
Mervin Field	September 29, 1968	51%	28%	11%	10%
Mervin Field	September 23, 1968	47%	30%	8%	15%
Don Muchmore	September 15, 1968	43%	34%	7%	16%

Results

Primary election results

Democratic primaries

The primary election was held on June 4, 1968 with Robert F. Kennedy winning. The "no preference" option was initially meant to be Lyndon B. Johnson's position on the ballot.^[3]

1968 California Democratic presidential primary results
Candidate^[5]	# votes
Robert F. Kennedy	1,472,166
Eugene McCarthy	1,329,301
No preference	380,286
Total	3,181,753

Republican primaries

The primary election was held on June 4, 1968.^[3] Ronald Reagan was the only candidate in the primary and won the primary as he was the only candidate and got the most number of votes.^[5]

1968 California Republican presidential primary results
Candidate^[5]	# votes
Ronald Reagan	1,525,091
Total	1,525,091

General election results

1968 United States presidential election in California^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Richard Nixon	3,467,664	47.82%	40
	Democratic	Hubert Humphrey	3,244,318	44.74%	0
	American Independent	George Wallace	487,270	6.72%	0
	Peace and Freedom	Eldridge Cleaver	27,707	0.38%	0
	No party	Eugene McCarthy (write-in)	20,721	0.29%	0
	No party	Dick Gregory (write-in)	3,230	0.04%	0
	No party	Henning A. Blomen (write-in)	341	0.00%	0
	No party	Charlene Mitchell (write-in)	260	0.00%	0
	No party	E. Harold Munn (write-in)	59	0.00%	0
	No party	Write-ins	17	0.00%	0
Invalid or blank votes					—
Totals			7,251,587	100.00%	40
Voter turnout					—

Results by county

County	Richard Nixon Republican		Hubert Humphrey Democratic		George Wallace American Independent		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
County	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Total votes cast
Alameda	153,285	37.63%	219,545	53.90%	28,426	6.98%	6,093	1.50%	-66,260	-16.27%	407,349
Alpine	150	59.29%	83	32.81%	20	7.91%	0	0.00%	67	26.48%	253
Amador	2,269	42.10%	2,440	45.27%	660	12.24%	21	0.39%	-171	-3.17%	5,390
Butte	22,225	56.68%	12,887	32.87%	3,891	9.92%	208	0.53%	9,338	23.81%	39,211
Calaveras	3,042	52.16%	2,134	36.59%	643	11.03%	13	0.22%	908	15.57%	5,832
Colusa	2,361	51.58%	1,858	40.59%	344	7.52%	14	0.31%	503	10.99%	4,577
Contra Costa	97,486	44.53%	101,668	46.44%	18,330	8.37%	1,433	0.65%	-4,182	-1.91%	218,917
Del Norte	2,387	46.19%	2,236	43.27%	495	9.58%	50	0.97%	151	2.92%	5,168
El Dorado	7,468	49.00%	6,054	39.72%	1,676	11.00%	43	0.28%	1,414	9.28%	15,241
Fresno	59,901	43.60%	65,153	47.42%	11,292	8.22%	1,050	0.76%	-5,252	-3.82%	137,396
Glenn	3,848	53.91%	2,466	34.55%	808	11.32%	16	0.22%	1,382	19.36%	7,138
Humboldt	16,719	46.17%	16,476	45.50%	2,759	7.62%	260	0.72%	243	0.67%	36,214
Imperial	10,818	52.91%	7,481	36.59%	2,100	10.27%	47	0.23%	3,337	16.32%	20,446
Inyo	3,641	54.45%	2,314	34.60%	714	10.68%	18	0.27%	1,327	19.85%	6,687
Kern	53,990	46.61%	49,284	42.55%	12,309	10.63%	249	0.21%	4,706	4.06%	115,832
Kings	7,796	43.07%	8,643	47.75%	1,640	9.06%	22	0.12%	-847	-4.68%	18,101
Lake	4,464	49.00%	3,777	41.46%	838	9.20%	32	0.35%	687	7.54%	9,111
Lassen	2,553	41.06%	2,930	47.12%	712	11.45%	23	0.37%	-377	-6.06%	6,218
Los Angeles	1,266,480	47.65%	1,223,251	46.02%	151,050	5.68%	17,201	0.65%	43,229	1.63%	2,657,982
Madera	6,229	43.55%	6,932	48.47%	1,120	7.83%	22	0.15%	-703	-4.92%	14,303
Marin	41,422	50.05%	36,278	43.84%	3,801	4.59%	1,254	1.52%	5,144	6.21%	82,755
Mariposa	1,496	49.92%	1,187	39.61%	302	10.08%	12	0.40%	309	10.31%	2,997
Mendocino	8,305	46.39%	7,935	44.32%	1,554	8.68%	110	0.61%	370	2.07%	17,904
Merced	11,595	40.90%	14,453	50.98%	2,248	7.93%	53	0.19%	-2,858	-10.08%	28,349
Modoc	1,713	52.43%	1,264	38.69%	284	8.69%	6	0.18%	449	13.74%	3,267
Mono	1,130	64.28%	465	26.45%	156	8.87%	7	0.40%	665	37.83%	1,758
Monterey	33,670	50.16%	28,261	42.10%	4,800	7.15%	393	0.59%	5,409	8.06%	67,124
Napa	14,270	43.76%	14,762	45.27%	3,476	10.66%	104	0.32%	-492	-1.51%	32,612
Nevada	6,061	51.39%	4,607	39.06%	1,078	9.14%	48	0.41%	1,454	12.33%	11,794
Orange	314,905	63.14%	148,869	29.85%	33,034	6.62%	1,899	0.38%	166,036	33.29%	498,707
Placer	12,427	42.64%	14,050	48.21%	2,574	8.83%	93	0.32%	-1,623	-5.57%	29,144
Plumas	2,097	37.37%	2,961	52.77%	529	9.43%	24	0.43%	-864	-15.40%	5,611
Riverside	83,414	52.90%	61,146	38.78%	12,432	7.88%	678	0.43%	22,268	14.12%	157,670
Sacramento	97,177	41.66%	118,769	50.92%	16,269	6.98%	1,031	0.44%	-21,592	-9.26%	233,246
San Benito	2,961	47.54%	2,809	45.10%	447	7.18%	12	0.19%	152	2.44%	6,229
San Bernardino	111,974	50.07%	89,418	39.99%	21,187	9.47%	1,037	0.46%	22,556	10.08%	223,616
San Diego	261,540	56.26%	167,669	36.07%	33,340	7.17%	2,314	0.50%	93,871	20.19%	464,863
San Francisco	100,970	33.66%	177,509	59.18%	17,332	5.78%	4,136	1.38%	-76,539	-25.52%	299,947
San Joaquin	47,293	47.97%	42,073	42.68%	8,923	9.05%	300	0.30%	5,220	5.29%	98,589
San Luis Obispo	19,420	51.27%	15,828	41.78%	2,416	6.38%	217	0.57%	3,592	9.49%	37,881
San Mateo	98,654	43.72%	106,519	47.20%	14,720	6.52%	5,775	2.56%	-7,865	-3.48%	225,668
Santa Barbara	50,068	53.59%	37,565	40.21%	5,083	5.44%	704	0.75%	12,503	13.38%	93,420
Santa Clara	163,446	45.61%	173,511	48.42%	18,754	5.23%	2,656	0.74%	-10,065	-2.81%	358,367
Santa Cruz	25,365	50.79%	20,492	41.03%	3,465	6.94%	622	1.25%	4,873	9.76%	49,944
Shasta	11,821	40.44%	14,510	49.64%	2,815	9.63%	84	0.29%	-2,689	-9.20%	29,230
Sierra	548	45.93%	559	46.86%	85	7.12%	1	0.08%	-11	-0.93%	1,193
Siskiyou	6,334	46.13%	6,260	45.59%	1,088	7.92%	50	0.36%	74	0.54%	13,732
Solano	17,683	34.71%	27,271	53.52%	5,810	11.40%	188	0.37%	-9,588	-18.81%	50,952
Sonoma	38,088	48.79%	33,587	43.03%	5,875	7.53%	509	0.65%	4,501	5.76%	78,059
Stanislaus	29,573	45.45%	31,316	48.13%	3,973	6.11%	201	0.31%	-1,743	-2.68%	65,063
Sutter	8,665	59.57%	4,624	31.79%	1,228	8.44%	28	0.19%	4,041	27.78%	14,545
Tehama	5,198	47.26%	4,565	41.50%	1,216	11.06%	20	0.18%	633	5.76%	10,999
Trinity	1,426	43.12%	1,433	43.33%	432	13.06%	16	0.48%	-7	-0.21%	3,307
Tulare	29,314	52.17%	22,180	39.47%	4,580	8.15%	115	0.20%	7,134	12.70%	56,189
Tuolumne	4,330	47.48%	3,913	42.91%	865	9.49%	11	0.12%	417	4.57%	9,119
Ventura	59,705	51.35%	47,794	41.11%	8,234	7.08%	528	0.45%	11,911	10.24%	116,261
Yolo	11,123	38.41%	15,833	54.67%	1,742	6.02%	262	0.90%	-4,710	-16.26%	28,960
Yuba	5,371	48.17%	4,461	40.01%	1,296	11.62%	22	0.20%	910	8.16%	11,150
Total	3,467,664	47.82%	3,244,318	44.74%	487,270	6.72%	52,335	0.72%	223,346	3.08%	7,251,587

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Notes

↑ 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.

References

↑ "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910–2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
↑ Sullivan, Robert David; "How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century"; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
1 2 3 Jonas, Frank H.; Harmer, John L. (September 1969). "The 1968 Election in California". The Western Political Quarterly. 22 (3): 468–474. doi:10.2307/446338. JSTOR 446338 . Retrieved January 20, 2024.
↑ CQ Weekly Report. UCSB. October–December 1968.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
1 2 3 Jordan, Frank M. California Statement of Vote – Consolidated Primary Election: June 4, 1968. California Secretary of State. Retrieved January 20, 2025– via HaithiTrust.
↑ "1968 Presidential General Election Results – California". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved August 25, 2008.

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[2] 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.

[1] "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910–2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2022.

[how-3] Sullivan, Robert David; "How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century"; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016

[:0-4] 1 2 3 Jonas, Frank H.; Harmer, John L. (September 1969). "The 1968 Election in California". The Western Political Quarterly. 22 (3): 468–474. doi:10.2307/446338. JSTOR 446338 . Retrieved January 20, 2024.

[5] CQ Weekly Report. UCSB. October–December 1968.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[:1-6] 1 2 3 Jordan, Frank M. California Statement of Vote – Consolidated Primary Election: June 4, 1968. California Secretary of State. Retrieved January 20, 2025– via HaithiTrust.

[7] "1968 Presidential General Election Results – California". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved August 25, 2008.

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