1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

←  1964 November 5, 1968 1972  →

Nominee Richard Nixon Hubert Humphrey George Wallace Party Republican Democratic Independent Home state New York [a] Minnesota Alabama Running mate Spiro Agnew Edmund Muskie S. Marvin Griffin Electoral vote 12 0 0 Popular vote 809,997 748,804 127,835 Percentage 47.89% 44.27% 7.56%

County results Municipality results Nixon   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Humphrey   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Wallace   40–50% Other   Tie

President before election Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

The 1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election. State voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

The 1958 midterm elections saw a major change in Wisconsin politics, as Gaylord A. Nelson became only the state's second Democratic governor since 1895. The state also elected Democrats to the position of treasurer and senator, and that party gained a majority in the State Assembly for only the second time since the middle 1890s. They maintained a close balance in the early 1960s, signaling the state's transition to a swing state. The predicted racial backlash from urban Polish-Americans, seen in the 1964 primaries when George Wallace received over 30 percent of Wisconsin's vote, ^[1] did not affect Lyndon B. Johnson's big victory in the state in 1964, but had severe effects when racial unrest began in 1966.

Anti-war Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy easily won Wisconsin's 1968 Democratic presidential primary against incumbent President Johnson, who soon announced he would not run for re-election in 1968. ^[2] Former vice president and 1960 Republican nominee Richard Nixon won eighty percent of the vote in the state's Republican primary. ^[2]

At the beginning of the campaign, the deep divisions within the Democratic Party were worrisome for political scientists and for the party itself. ^[3] The first poll said that Nixon was certain to carry Wisconsin, ^[4] and this opinion was repeated early in October. ^[5]

Hopes remained dim as the election neared despite the belief by local Representative Clement J. Zablocki that the independent candidacy of George Wallace was losing its impact in the racial-unrest-stricken southern urban counties around Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha, ^[6] where Wallace had campaigned extensively in September in his effort to put the election into the House of Representatives. ^[7] Although the gap narrowed in the last polls, ^[8] Wisconsin was carried by Nixon with 47.89 percent of the vote, over Humphrey with 44.27 percent and Wallace with 7.56 percent. Wallace fared best in rural northern areas away from Lake Superior and in southern suburbs affected by racial conflict.

Wisconsin weighed in for this election as 2.92% more Republican than the nation at large. This was the last election until 1996 that Wisconsin was the most Republican of the three Rust Belt swing states (also consisting of Michigan and Pennsylvania). Wisconsin would vote more Democratic than both Michigan and Pennsylvania in all but one election from 1972 to 1988.

Rusk County was one of only three counties that Nixon won in 1968 but lost in both 1960 and 1972 (Davison and Hanson counties in South Dakota were the other two).

Primaries

Both major parties had state-run preferential primaries held on April 2 included on the ballot of the state's spring elections. The state's spring elections also included nonpartisan general elections for the state's circuit courts, a nonpartisan general election for the state's supreme court, and a binding public vote on whether to ratify three amendments to the Constitution of Wisconsin. ^[9]

Democratic

1968 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary

← 1964 April 2, 1968 (1968-04-02) 1972  →
59 delegates (57 pledged, 2 unpledged) to the Democratic National Convention. [b]
Candidate Eugene McCarthy Lyndon B. Johnson (withdrawn) Robert F. Kennedy (write-in) Home state Minnesota Texas New York Delegate count 49 8 0 Popular vote 412,160 253,696 46,507 Percentage 56.23% 34.61% 6.34%

The 1968 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary was held on April 2, 1968 in the U.S. state of Wisconsin as one of the Democratic Party's state primaries ahead of the 1968 presidential election.

While he still received votes, incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson had already ruled himself out for the nomination.

1968 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary ^[9]

Candidate	Votes	%	Delegates won
Eugene McCarthy	412,160	56.23	49
Lyndon B. Johnson withdrawn	253,696	34.61	8
Robert F. Kennedy (write-in)	46,507	6.34	0
None of the names shown	11,861	1.62	0
George Wallace (write-in) [c]	4,031	0.55	0
Hubert Humphrey (write-in) [d]	3,605	0.49	0
scattering	1,142	0.16	0
Total	733,002	100	57

Republican

1968 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary

← 1964 April 2, 1968 (1968-04-02) 1972 →
30 pledged delegates to the Republican National Convention [e]
Candidate Richard Nixon Ronald Reagan Harold Stassen [f] Home state California California Pennsylvania Delegate count 30 0 0 Popular vote 390,368 50,727 28,531 Percentage 79.69% 10.36% 5.82%

The 1968 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary was held on April 2, 1968 in the U.S. state of Wisconsin as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 1968 presidential election.

1968 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary ^[9]

Candidate	Votes	%	Delegates won
Richard M. Nixon	390,368	79.69	30
Ronald Reagan	50,727	10.36	0
Harold Stassen	28,531	5.82	0
Nelson A. Rockefeller (write-in) [g]	7,995	1.63	0
None of the names shown	6,763	1.38	0
George W. Romney (write-in)	2,087	0.43	0
George C. Wallace (write-in) [h]	585	0.12	0
Robert F. Kennedy (write-in) [i]	301	0.06	0
Scattering	2,496	0.51	0
Total	489,853	100	30

General election

1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin [12] [13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Richard Nixon	809,997	47.89%	12
	Democratic	Hubert Humphrey	748,804	44.27%	0
	Independent	George Wallace	127,835	7.56%	0
	Socialist Labor [j]	Henning A. Blomen	1,338	0.08%	0
	Socialist Workers [k]	Fred Halstead	1,222	0.07%	0
	Write-in	Scattering [l]	2,342	0.14%	0
Totals			1,691,538	100.0%	12

Results by county

County [12] [13]	Richard Nixon Republican		Hubert Humphrey Democratic		George Wallace Independent		All others Various		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	1,691	44.81%	1,614	42.77%	461	12.22%	8	0.21%	77	2.04%	3,774
Ashland	2,557	35.74%	4,147	57.96%	401	5.60%	50	0.70%	-1,590	-22.22%	7,155
Barron	7,526	55.38%	5,183	38.14%	867	6.38%	13	0.10%	2,343	17.24%	13,589
Bayfield	2,333	40.91%	3,036	53.24%	323	5.66%	11	0.19%	-703	-12.33%	5,703
Brown	30,133	53.65%	21,615	38.48%	4,341	7.73%	76	0.14%	8,518	15.17%	56,165
Buffalo	2,992	54.20%	2,112	38.26%	413	7.48%	3	0.05%	880	15.94%	5,520
Burnett	2,056	45.81%	2,010	44.79%	414	9.22%	8	0.18%	46	1.02%	4,488
Calumet	5,792	56.73%	3,609	35.35%	792	7.76%	16	0.16%	2,183	21.38%	10,209
Chippewa	7,772	47.37%	7,335	44.71%	1,282	7.81%	18	0.11%	437	2.66%	16,407
Clark	6,325	51.18%	4,601	37.23%	1,398	11.31%	34	0.28%	1,724	13.95%	12,358
Columbia	8,633	52.49%	6,698	40.72%	1,067	6.49%	49	0.30%	1,935	11.77%	16,447
Crawford	3,316	54.05%	2,391	38.97%	419	6.83%	9	0.15%	925	15.08%	6,135
Dane	39,917	38.05%	59,951	57.15%	3,771	3.59%	1,265	1.21%	-20,034	-19.10%	104,904
Dodge	14,909	57.87%	8,948	34.73%	1,875	7.28%	31	0.12%	5,961	23.14%	25,763
Door	5,647	63.28%	2,728	30.57%	535	6.00%	14	0.16%	2,919	32.71%	8,924
Douglas	5,656	29.56%	12,506	65.37%	930	4.86%	39	0.20%	-6,850	-35.81%	19,131
Dunn	5,415	51.42%	4,392	41.71%	709	6.73%	14	0.13%	1,023	9.72%	10,530
Eau Claire	11,799	46.64%	12,302	48.63%	1,169	4.62%	29	0.11%	-503	-1.99%	25,299
Florence	821	48.32%	718	42.26%	157	9.24%	3	0.18%	103	6.06%	1,699
Fond du Lac	18,184	55.54%	12,563	38.37%	1,934	5.91%	62	0.19%	5,621	17.17%	32,743
Forest	1,264	40.14%	1,470	46.68%	412	13.08%	3	0.10%	-206	-6.54%	3,149
Grant	10,789	62.49%	5,414	31.36%	1,054	6.11%	7	0.04%	5,375	31.13%	17,264
Green	6,502	60.97%	3,501	32.83%	641	6.01%	20	0.19%	3,001	28.14%	10,664
Green Lake	4,893	63.65%	2,299	29.91%	488	6.35%	7	0.09%	2,594	33.75%	7,687
Iowa	4,005	53.96%	2,897	39.03%	509	6.86%	11	0.15%	1,108	14.93%	7,422
Iron	1,137	34.26%	1,913	57.64%	262	7.89%	7	0.21%	-776	-23.38%	3,319
Jackson	3,172	52.85%	2,293	38.20%	529	8.81%	8	0.13%	879	14.65%	6,002
Jefferson	12,478	54.91%	8,716	38.35%	1,470	6.47%	62	0.27%	3,762	16.55%	22,726
Juneau	3,828	53.55%	2,595	36.30%	712	9.96%	13	0.18%	1,233	17.25%	7,148
Kenosha	17,089	40.54%	21,427	50.83%	3,548	8.42%	94	0.22%	-4,338	-10.29%	42,158
Kewaunee	4,467	57.24%	2,622	33.60%	703	9.01%	12	0.15%	1,845	23.64%	7,804
La Crosse	17,433	55.73%	11,570	36.99%	2,214	7.08%	63	0.20%	5,863	18.74%	31,280
Lafayette	4,084	55.00%	2,853	38.42%	470	6.33%	18	0.24%	1,231	16.58%	7,425
Langlade	3,712	49.41%	3,064	40.78%	718	9.56%	19	0.25%	648	8.63%	7,513
Lincoln	4,793	51.37%	3,858	41.35%	670	7.18%	9	0.10%	935	10.02%	9,330
Manitowoc	13,562	44.20%	15,298	49.86%	1,790	5.83%	30	0.10%	-1,736	-5.66%	30,680
Marathon	16,907	44.36%	18,063	47.39%	3,051	8.00%	94	0.25%	-1,156	-3.03%	38,115
Marinette	7,134	48.21%	6,415	43.35%	1,223	8.27%	25	0.17%	719	4.86%	14,797
Marquette	2,374	61.15%	1,228	31.63%	279	7.19%	1	0.03%	1,146	29.52%	3,882
Menominee	179	24.19%	531	71.76%	30	4.05%	0	0.00%	-352	-47.57%	740
Milwaukee	160,022	39.75%	206,027	51.18%	35,056	8.71%	1,470	0.37%	-46,005	-11.43%	402,575
Monroe	6,938	57.70%	4,012	33.37%	1,056	8.78%	18	0.15%	2,926	24.33%	12,024
Oconto	5,680	53.74%	3,737	35.36%	1,141	10.80%	11	0.10%	1,943	18.38%	10,569
Oneida	5,077	48.50%	4,435	42.37%	941	8.99%	14	0.13%	642	6.13%	10,467
Outagamie	25,080	59.25%	14,224	33.61%	2,956	6.98%	67	0.16%	10,856	25.65%	42,327
Ozaukee	12,155	58.04%	7,246	34.60%	1,505	7.19%	36	0.17%	4,909	23.44%	20,942
Pepin	1,493	49.95%	1,263	42.25%	231	7.73%	2	0.07%	230	7.69%	2,989
Pierce	4,990	48.73%	4,783	46.71%	453	4.42%	14	0.14%	207	2.02%	10,240
Polk	5,583	48.79%	5,179	45.26%	656	5.73%	24	0.21%	404	3.53%	11,442
Portage	6,180	36.02%	10,014	58.36%	900	5.25%	64	0.37%	-3,834	-22.35%	17,158
Price	3,096	47.43%	2,794	42.80%	621	9.51%	17	0.26%	302	4.63%	6,528
Racine	28,028	44.75%	27,045	43.18%	7,457	11.90%	109	0.17%	983	1.57%	62,639
Richland	4,141	59.76%	2,288	33.02%	485	7.00%	15	0.22%	1,853	26.74%	6,929
Rock	25,229	50.92%	20,567	41.51%	3,655	7.38%	100	0.20%	4,662	9.41%	49,551
Rusk	2,666	44.71%	2,559	42.91%	726	12.18%	12	0.20%	107	1.79%	5,963
Sauk	8,608	53.54%	6,406	39.84%	1,019	6.34%	45	0.28%	2,202	13.70%	16,078
Sawyer	2,475	52.16%	1,830	38.57%	435	9.17%	5	0.11%	645	13.59%	4,745
Shawano	8,444	63.75%	3,602	27.20%	1,181	8.92%	18	0.14%	4,842	36.56%	13,245
Sheboygan	17,764	44.82%	20,170	50.89%	1,592	4.02%	108	0.27%	-2,406	-6.07%	39,634
St. Croix	6,595	46.58%	6,807	48.08%	735	5.19%	20	0.14%	-212	-1.50%	14,157
Taylor	3,043	43.95%	2,910	42.03%	959	13.85%	11	0.16%	133	1.92%	6,923
Trempealeau	4,861	50.67%	3,971	41.39%	747	7.79%	14	0.15%	890	9.28%	9,593
Vernon	5,824	55.15%	3,666	34.72%	1,062	10.06%	8	0.08%	2,158	20.44%	10,560
Vilas	3,339	58.09%	1,798	31.28%	598	10.40%	13	0.23%	1,541	26.81%	5,748
Walworth	15,040	61.82%	7,505	30.85%	1,755	7.21%	28	0.12%	7,535	30.97%	24,328
Washburn	2,425	47.62%	2,273	44.64%	384	7.54%	10	0.20%	152	2.99%	5,092
Washington	12,439	54.89%	8,104	35.76%	2,065	9.11%	53	0.23%	4,335	19.13%	22,661
Waukesha	47,557	54.93%	31,947	36.90%	6,921	7.99%	160	0.18%	15,610	18.03%	86,585
Waupaca	10,606	67.10%	3,978	25.17%	1,206	7.63%	17	0.11%	6,628	41.93%	15,807
Waushara	4,187	65.35%	1,652	25.78%	566	8.83%	2	0.03%	2,535	39.57%	6,407
Winnebago	25,361	53.80%	18,605	39.47%	3,045	6.46%	128	0.27%	6,756	14.33%	47,139
Wood	11,795	48.25%	10,921	44.68%	1,695	6.93%	34	0.14%	874	3.58%	24,445
Totals	809,997	47.89%	748,804	44.27%	127,835	7.56%	4,902	0.29%	61,193	3.62%	1,691,538

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Adams
• Barron
• Brown
• Buffalo
• Burnett
• Calumet
• Chippewa
• Clark
• Columbia
• Crawford
• Door
• Dodge
• Dunn
• Florence
• Fond du Lac
• Grant
• Green
• Green Lake
• Iowa
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Juneau
• Kewaunee
• La Crosse
• Lafayette
• Langlade
• Lincoln
• Marinette
• Marquette
• Monroe
• Oconto
• Oneida
• Outagamie
• Ozaukee
• Pepin
• Pierce
• Polk
• Price
• Racine
• Richland
• Rock
• Rusk
• Sauk
• Sawyer
• Shawano
• Taylor
• Trempealeau
• Vernon
• Vilas
• Washburn
• Washington
• Waukesha
• Winnebago
• Wood

Electors

These were the names of the electors on each ticket. ^[12]

Richard M. Nixon & Spiro Agnew Republican Party	Hubert Humphrey & Edmund Muskie Democratic Party	George Wallace & S. Marvin Griffin Independent	Henning A. Blomen & George S. Taylor Socialist Labor Party	Fred Halstead & Paul Boutelle Socialist Workers Party
Warren P. Knowles William Kellett Russell Olson Byron F. Wackett Peter Hurtgen James C. Devitt Janet Norris J. Curtis McKay Emily Baldwin Harold V. Froehlich Ody J. Fish Willis J. Hutnik	Gaylord A. Nelson Bronson La Follette George Molinaro Elizabeth Tarkow Etta Close Robert Dejewski Ann Brigham Carl Otte Frank Nikolay Ralph Heller Jeanette Swed Art Henning	John Sahy Karl Koehler Ronald Hartung John Harmon Bernice Habeck Lloyd G. Herbstreith R. D. Pennings J. J. Birkenstock Mrs. Arthur Krueger H. S. Tuttle Edward J. Duquaine Theodore Grob	Martin Tobert Percy Steuber Henry A. Ochsner Arthur Wepfer Georgia Cozzini Alfred Teichert Clarence Wardall Robert E. Nordlander Bruce O. Cozzini Anton Jonas Frank Brlas Marko J. Bolobich	Charles H. Wheeler Robert Wilkinson William O. Hart John P. Schuster Edward T. Heisler Wesley W. Weinhold Kristin J. Penn Lee E. Steinberg Linda G. Hansen Margaret Midelfort Robin A. David Lewis D. Pepper

See also

• United States presidential elections in Wisconsin

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. 57 pledged delegates were awarded based off of performance in the popular vote. The state additionally had two further delegates unbound by the primary: its national committeeman and national committeewomen. ^[9]
3. While Wallace received write-in votes in the Democratic primary, he was not seeking its nomination. He was instead running a third party campaign as the American Independent Party nominee.
4. While he received write-in votes in the Democratic primary, Humphrey was not yet a declared candidate for the nomination. He launched his campaign weeks later. ^[10]
5. All republican delegates were pledged. ^[9]
6. Although he was born in Minnesota and had served as the governor of Minnesota, in 1968 Stassen's official state of residence was Pennsylvania.
7. While he received write-in votes in the Republican primary, Rockefeller was not yet a declared candidate for the nomination. He launched his campaign weeks later. ^[11]
8. While Wallace received write-in votes in the Republican primary, he neither affiliated with the party nor was seeking its nomination. He was instead running a third party campaign as the American Independent Party nominee.
9. While Kennedy received write-in votes in the Republican primary, he neither affiliated with the party nor was seeking its nomination. He was instead seeking the Democratic nomination.
10. "Independent Socialist Labor"
11. "Independent Socialist Workers"
12. Not listed in the 1969 Blue Book, but are shown separately by county in the Board of Canvassers report

References

1. Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 396
2. Kenworthy, E. W.; ‘M‘Carthy Wins Wisconsin: Polls 57% to Johnson's 35; G.O.P. Gives 80% to Nixon: Reagan Gets 10% Kennedy Write-in 6%’; The New York Times ; April 3, 1968, p. 1
3. Otten, Allen L.; ‘A Party Divided: Democrats’ Rifts Pose Problems for Candidates As Campaign Develops’; The Wall Street Journal , August 29, 1968, p. 1
4. Broder, David; ‘Nixon, Wallace have 22 states all sewed up’, The Boston Globe , September 11, 1968, p. 15
5. ‘Electoral Vote: Nixon 359, HHH 46’; The Boston Globe, October 7, 1968, p. 24
6. Lyons, Richard L.; ‘Wisconsin's Nelson Likely to Buck GOP Tide: Campaign '68 House Fight Sees Wallace Decline Knowles Popular’; The Washington Post and Times-Herald , October 29, 1968, p. A4
7. Evans, Rowland and Novak, Robert; ‘Growing Wallace Strength Poses a Threat to Nixon in Key States’; The Washington Post, September 20, 1968, p. A25
8. ‘A Final State-by-State Political Survey...: ...A Last Reading on the Campaign of 1968’; The Washington Post and Times-Herald, November 3, 1968, p. B4
9. Wisconsin Blue Book 1968. State of Wisconsin. 1968. pp. 786–787. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
10. Solberg, Carl (1984), Hubert Humphrey: A Biography, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, p. 332, ISBN   978-0-87351-473-6
11. Cohen, Michael A. (April 30, 2016). "Nelson Rockefeller enters presidential race". OUPblog (Oxford University Press). Retrieved April 19, 2025.
12. Wisconsin Historical Society, Statement of Board of State Canvassers for President, Vice President and Presidential Electors – General Election – 1968
13. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Vote For President And Vice President By County". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1969. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 167.