1968 United States presidential election in Ohio

Last updated

1968 United States presidential election in Ohio
Flag of Ohio.svg
  1964 November 5, 1968 1972  
  Nixon 30-0316a (cropped).jpg Hubert Humphrey in New York, 1968 (3x4 crop).jpg George Wallace (D-AL) (3x4).jpg
Nominee Richard Nixon Hubert Humphrey George Wallace
Party Republican Democratic American Independent
Home state New York [a] Minnesota Alabama
Running mate Spiro Agnew Edmund Muskie S. Marvin Griffin
Electoral vote2600
Popular vote1,791,0141,700,586467,495
Percentage45.23%42.95%11.81%

Ohio Presidential Election Results 1968.svg
County Results

President before election

Lyndon B. Johnson
Democratic

Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

The 1968 United States presidential election in Ohio took place on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and The District of Columbia were part of the 1968 United States presidential election. Ohio voters chose 26 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Contents

Ohio was won by the Republican Party candidate, former Vice President Richard Nixon by a narrow margin of 2.28%. Nixon won the vast majority of Ohio's counties, including the major cities of Columbus, Cincinnati, Canton and Hamilton. The Democratic Party candidate, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, kept the race close by winning the major cities of Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, Dayton, Youngstown, Lorain, and Springfield.

The American Independent Party candidate, former Alabama governor George Wallace, had his best performance in the Midwestern United States, taking 11.81% of the popular vote, despite being far from his base of support in the Deep South. This was due to Ohio's presence along the borders of Kentucky and West Virginia, which are considered part of the southern United States. In the north, Wallace appealed to blue-collar workers and union members who usually voted Democratic, but who had become disgruntled with the racial violence and anti-Vietnam War protests. As a result, this split in the Democratic vote between Humphrey and Wallace was enough for Nixon to narrowly carry Ohio.[ citation needed ]

As of the 2024 presidential election , this is the last election in which Mercer County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. [1] Nixon became the first ever Republican to win the White House without carrying Clark, Cuyahoga, Harrison, Lorain, Lucas, Mahoning, or Portage Counties, as well as the first to do so without carrying Montgomery or Tuscarawas Counties since William Howard Taft in 1908.

Campaign

A United States Supreme Court case involving ballot access occurred during the election cycle in Ohio, Williams v. Rhodes. The case involved the American Independent Party along with the Socialist Labor Party; with the American Independent Party getting enough signatures but not filing its petition prior to the February 7 deadline while the Socialist Labor Party had been of the ballot since 1948 and that year in 1968 they did not collect enough signatures. Both of the parties sued the state in a US District Court arguing being kept off the ballot was in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution before later merging the cases. In the District Court it was found that both political parties must be given write-in status but the state did not have to put the candidates names on the ballot. The US Supreme Court found it violated the Equal Protection Clause in a 6-3 decision. [2]

Results

1968 United States presidential election in Ohio [3]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Republican Richard Nixon 1,791,01445.23%26
Democrat Hubert Humphrey 1,700,58642.95%0
American Independent George Wallace 467,49511.81%0
No party Dick Gregory (write-in)3720.01%0
No party Henning A. Blomen (write-in)1200.00%0
No party Fred Halstead (write-in)690.00%0
No party Charlene Mitchell (write-in)230.00%0
No party E. Harold Munn (write-in)190.00%0
Totals3,959,698100.00%26
Voter turnout (Voting age)63%

Results by county

CountyRichard Nixon
Republican
Hubert Humphrey
Democratic
George Wallace
American Independent
Various candidates
Write-ins
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %# %
Adams 3,97351.54%2,68534.83%1,04913.61%10.01%1,28816.71%7,708
Allen 23,12460.30%10,99428.67%4,23111.03%12,13031.63%38,349
Ashland 9,74562.49%4,52629.02%1,3238.48%5,21933.47%15,594
Ashtabula 17,05846.66%16,73845.79%2,7537.53%60.02%3200.87%36,555
Athens 7,83747.79%7,35144.82%1,2077.36%50.03%4862.97%16,400
Auglaize 9,36856.96%5,55033.74%1,5289.29%10.01%3,81823.22%16,447
Belmont 11,51231.94%22,05661.19%2,4786.87%-10,544-29.25%36,046
Brown 4,70044.27%3,61034.00%2,30721.73%1,09010.27%10,617
Butler 35,96248.73%23,64932.04%14,18819.22%30.00%12,31316.69%73,802
Carroll 4,63452.39%3,11935.26%1,09212.34%10.01%1,51517.13%8,846
Champaign 6,86353.83%4,26433.44%1,62112.71%20.02%2,59920.39%12,750
Clark 23,74843.58%24,02944.10%6,71012.31%40.01%-281-0.52%54,491
Clermont 15,29948.04%8,85927.82%7,69024.15%10.00%6,44020.22%31,849
Clinton 6,26556.56%2,98226.92%1,83016.52%3,28329.64%11,077
Columbiana 19,94746.21%19,38244.90%3,8328.88%90.02%5651.31%43,170
Coshocton 7,25653.59%5,01337.03%1,2709.38%2,24316.56%13,539
Crawford 11,89856.64%6,73732.07%2,37311.30%5,16124.57%21,008
Cuyahoga 238,79135.44%363,54053.95%71,36010.59%1480.02%-124,749-18.51%673,839
Darke 10,92653.78%7,37136.28%2,0159.92%30.01%3,55517.50%20,315
Defiance 7,34852.64%5,68640.73%9256.63%1,66211.91%13,959
Delaware 9,02957.72%4,05625.93%2,55716.34%20.01%4,97331.79%15,644
Erie 13,02348.50%11,38842.41%2,4379.08%10.00%1,6356.09%26,849
Fairfield 14,81052.03%9,53333.49%4,12414.49%5,27718.54%28,467
Fayette 5,33951.99%2,96628.88%1,96219.11%20.02%2,37323.11%10,269
Franklin 148,93351.78%101,24035.20%37,39013.00%610.02%47,69316.58%287,624
Fulton 7,81764.14%3,33827.39%1,0338.48%4,47936.75%12,188
Gallia 5,13458.10%2,66030.10%1,03911.76%30.03%2,47428.00%8,836
Geauga 11,85751.76%7,82534.16%3,22614.08%4,03217.60%22,908
Greene 17,58945.36%15,17839.14%5,99915.47%90.02%2,4116.22%38,775
Guernsey 7,33649.44%5,81539.19%1,68511.36%10.01%1,52110.25%14,837
Hamilton 183,61150.24%135,05736.95%46,74212.79%730.02%48,55413.29%365,483
Hancock 15,03261.08%6,91828.11%2,65910.80%8,11432.97%24,609
Hardin 6,96353.82%4,18032.31%1,79413.87%2,78321.51%12,937
Harrison 3,53245.87%3,59446.68%5747.45%-62-0.81%7,700
Henry 6,97063.21%3,25629.53%7997.25%10.01%3,71433.68%11,026
Highland 6,48951.81%3,82830.56%2,20817.63%2,66121.25%12,525
Hocking 3,99845.94%3,70142.53%1,00311.53%2973.41%8,702
Holmes 3,35058.47%1,89833.13%4798.36%20.03%1,45225.34%5,729
Huron 9,45653.38%6,51536.78%1,7419.83%20.01%2,94116.60%17,714
Jackson 5,87053.52%4,02136.66%1,0779.82%1,84916.86%10,968
Jefferson 12,94933.53%21,91756.76%3,7409.69%90.02%-8,968-23.23%38,615
Knox 9,07255.01%5,72534.71%1,69510.28%3,34720.30%16,492
Lake 28,45043.40%27,93242.61%9,16013.97%170.03%5180.79%65,559
Lawrence 9,78246.75%8,67141.44%2,47011.81%1,1115.31%20,923
Licking 19,54248.89%15,02137.58%5,40513.52%20.01%4,52111.31%39,970
Logan 8,36256.12%4,88932.81%1,64711.05%10.01%3,47323.31%14,899
Lorain 34,25239.95%42,64249.74%8,82510.29%80.01%-8,390-9.79%85,727
Lucas 69,40338.98%91,34651.31%17,2609.69%280.02%-21,943-12.33%178,037
Madison 5,88257.15%2,78027.01%1,63115.85%3,10230.14%10,293
Mahoning 42,94834.75%68,43355.38%12,1899.86%80.01%-25,485-20.63%123,578
Marion 12,88753.10%8,61135.48%2,77211.42%10.00%4,27617.62%24,271
Medina 14,08952.31%9,19434.14%3,63213.49%180.07%4,89518.17%26,933
Meigs 4,75956.29%2,92134.55%7749.15%10.01%1,83821.74%8,455
Mercer 6,31344.43%6,80147.86%1,0957.71%-488-3.43%14,209
Miami 16,99750.62%13,22839.40%3,3489.97%40.01%3,76911.22%33,577
Monroe 2,68642.27%3,10548.87%5628.84%10.02%-419-6.60%6,354
Montgomery 84,76640.93%96,08246.39%26,23212.67%400.02%-11,316-5.46%207,120
Morgan 3,03057.51%1,78933.95%4508.54%1,24123.56%5,269
Morrow 4,89855.58%2,40527.29%1,50917.12%2,49328.29%8,812
Muskingum 15,26048.13%13,08941.28%3,35610.59%2,1716.85%31,705
Noble 2,61553.06%1,72635.02%58711.91%88918.04%4,928
Ottawa 7,14947.30%6,31941.81%1,64710.90%8305.49%15,115
Paulding 4,07453.01%2,70335.17%90811.82%1,37117.84%7,685
Perry 4,81544.96%4,81144.92%1,08410.12%40.04%10,710
Pickaway 6,69053.25%3,53628.14%2,33518.58%30.02%3,15425.11%12,564
Pike 3,24740.01%3,44542.45%1,42317.54%-198-2.44%8,115
Portage 15,06441.27%16,34844.78%5,09313.95%-1,284-3.51%36,505
Preble 6,54452.63%3,81730.70%2,07316.67%2,72721.93%12,434
Putnam 7,18859.38%3,53029.16%1,38711.46%3,65830.22%12,105
Richland 23,48453.63%14,98834.23%5,31112.13%40.01%8,49619.40%43,787
Ross 11,28450.72%6,87330.90%4,08718.37%20.01%4,41119.82%22,246
Sandusky 11,69653.10%8,58138.96%1,7457.92%30.01%3,11514.14%22,025
Scioto 15,31047.37%13,83642.81%3,1719.81%1,4744.56%32,317
Seneca 12,04052.30%8,97038.97%2,0108.73%3,07013.33%23,020
Shelby 7,24847.60%6,47942.55%1,4999.85%7695.05%15,226
Stark 68,41447.88%57,67540.36%16,77511.74%240.02%10,7397.52%142,888
Summit 82,64939.56%100,06847.89%26,15712.52%670.03%-17,419-8.33%208,941
Trumbull 33,07639.97%40,36548.77%9,31411.25%50.01%-7,289-8.80%82,760
Tuscarawas 14,10243.44%15,61748.11%2,7418.44%10.00%-1,515-4.67%32,461
Union 6,41562.66%2,43123.74%1,39213.60%3,98438.92%10,238
Van Wert 7,83557.92%4,36032.23%1,3329.85%3,47525.69%13,527
Vinton 2,21952.31%1,60837.91%4149.76%10.02%61114.40%4,242
Warren 12,66348.68%6,75625.97%6,59525.35%5,90722.71%26,014
Washington 11,88858.25%6,92233.92%1,5977.83%10.00%4,96624.33%20,408
Wayne 15,15158.34%8,89134.24%1,9247.41%40.02%6,26024.10%25,970
Williams 8,05959.76%4,45633.04%9707.19%3,60326.72%13,485
Wood 16,11153.81%10,86736.30%2,9529.86%90.03%5,24417.51%29,939
Wyandot 5,26557.90%2,91932.10%91010.01%2,34625.80%9,094
Totals1,791,01445.23%1,700,58642.95%467,49511.81%6030.02%90,4282.28%3,959,698

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

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.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 1968. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral history of Richard Nixon</span> List of political elections featuring Richard Nixon as a candidate

Richard Nixon served as the 37th president of the United States from 1969 to 1974. He previously served as the 36th vice president of the United States from 1953 to 1961, and as a United States senator from 1950 to 1953 and United States representative from 1947 to 1950.

Williams v. Rhodes, 393 U.S. 23 (1968), is a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that Ohio had violated the equal protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of two political parties by refusing to print their candidates' names on the ballot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States elections</span>

The 1968 United States elections were held on November 5, and elected members of the 91st United States Congress. The election took place during the Vietnam War, in the same year as the Tet Offensive, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, and the protests of 1968. The Republican Party won control of the presidency, and picked up seats in the House and Senate, although the Democratic Party retained control of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in New York</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1968 United States presidential election. Voters chose 43 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Vermont</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Vermont took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election which was held throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Alabama</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in New Hampshire</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in New Hampshire took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Virginia</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1968 United States presidential election. Virginia voters chose twelve electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Maine</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Maine took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all fifty states and D.C. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Texas</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Texas was held on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1968 United States presidential election. The state chose 25 electors to represent them in the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Mississippi</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Mississippi was held on November 5, 1968. Mississippi voters chose seven electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice-President. During the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement dictated Mississippi's politics, with effectively the entire white population vehemently opposed to federal policies of racial desegregation and black voting rights. In 1960, the state had been narrowly captured by a slate of unpledged Democratic electors, but in 1964 universal white opposition to the Civil Rights Act and negligible black voter registration meant that white Mississippians turned almost unanimously to Republican Barry Goldwater. Goldwater's support for "constitutional government and local self-rule" meant that the absence from the ballot of "states' rights" parties or unpledged electors was unimportant. The Arizona Senator was one of only six Republicans to vote against the Civil Rights Act, and so the small electorate of Mississippi supported him almost unanimously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Florida</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Florida was held on November 5, 1968. Florida voters chose fourteen electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Wyoming</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Wyoming took place on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1968 United States presidential election. State voters chose three electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Michigan</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Michigan was held on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and the District of Columbia participated in the 1968 United States presidential election. Voters chose 21 electors to represent them in the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Kentucky</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1968 United States presidential election. Kentucky voters chose 9 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Connecticut</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Connecticut took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Rhode Island</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in Rhode Island took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in Nevada</span>

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in West Virginia</span>

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

References

  1. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  2. "Williams v. Rhodes". Oyez. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  3. "1968 Presidential General Election Results – Ohio". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved February 24, 2012.