Democrats for Nixon

Democrats for Nixon

Nickname	Nixon Democrats
Formation	1972
Founder	John Connally
Dissolved	1972
Type	Political organisation
Key people	John Connally Beverly Briley C. Farris Bryant Thomas G. Dunn John F. Collins Mills Godwin David T. Kennedy
Affiliations	Richard Nixon 1972 presidential campaign

Democrats for Nixon was a campaign to promote Democratic support for the then-incumbent Republican President of the United States Richard Nixon in the 1972 presidential election. The campaign was led by the former Democratic governor of Texas, John Connally. Connally, who was serving as the United States Secretary of the Treasury, announced that he would be supporting Nixon for re-election and would spend his time until the elections working on behalf of the incumbent. ^[1]

Earlier efforts

There were earlier "Democrats for Nixon" groups, such as those formed during his re-election campaign for Congress in 1948. ^[2]

His initial presidential campaign in 1960 had Democrats for Nixon groups in such states as Texas and Virginia, all part of an effort to reach disaffected conservative Democrats in the Southern United States. ^{[3] [4]} However, these groups were significantly smaller and more localized. For instance, in Virginia, where the Byrd Organization opposed John F. Kennedy as the Democratic nominee.

1972 campaign

John Connally, a Democrat who had been Governor of Texas and United States Secretary of the Navy under John F. Kennedy, formally announced the formation of the organization in August 1972. ^{[5] [6]} Polling cited by Connally indicated that as many as 20 million Democrats would cross over to vote for Nixon and invited "all those millions of Democrats who realize that in this Presidential election President Nixon is simply the better choice". Connally stated that he was troubled by Senator George McGovern's campaign and felt that the Democratic Party "is becoming an ideological machine closed to millions who have been the party's most loyal and steadfast members" under McGovern's leadership. The committee included Mayor Beverly Briley of Nashville, Tennessee; former Governor of Florida C. Farris Bryant; Mayor of Boston John F. Collins; Mayor Thomas G. Dunn of Elizabeth, New Jersey; Teamsters president Frank Fitzsimmons; Governor of Virginia Mills Godwin; Mayor of Miami David T. Kennedy; and former head of the United States Information Agency Leonard Marks. A fundraising target of as much as $3 million was set for the organization. Connally also announced that Jeno Paulucci, a frozen food distributor who had been closely involved as a fundraiser for Hubert Humphrey in his presidential bids, would serve as head of a group encouraging independent voters to choose Nixon. ^[7]

A pair of independent surveys released in the last half of August 1972, by Gallup Poll and by Daniel Yankelovich, showed that as many as 40% of Democrats would vote for Nixon if the election were held then, while a far smaller percentage of Republicans were considering to cross party lies to vote for McGovern. ^[8]

In a September 1972 article in The New York Times , Connally was quoted as saying that increasing numbers of traditionally Democratic voters were leaving the fold because they "are afraid of George McGovern" because of his proposals for major cutbacks in defense spending and in the number of U.S. troops serving in Europe. Connally insisted that "it is in the best interests of this country that the president be re-elected this year". ^[9]

Democrats for Nixon raised $2.4 million for the Nixon campaign. ^[10] The Nixon campaign created advertisements credited to Democrats for Nixon that stated that McGovern would grant welfare benefits to nearly half of all Americans, as part of an effort to alienate Democratic voters from a McGovern who was being presented as too liberal for many within his party. ^[11]

See also

• Conservative Democrat
• Democratic and liberal support for John McCain in 2008
• Neoconservatism
• Party switching in the United States
• Reagan Democrat

References

1. Shanahan, Eileen. "Connally To Work To Re-Elect Nixon; Will Try to Persuade Other Democrats to Join Him -- Denounces McGovern Connally, Assailing McGovern, Plans to Work to Re-elect Nixon", the New York Times , July 15, 1972. Accessed July 15, 2010.
2. Greenberg, David. "He Had to Start Somewhere; A new biography contends that the young Richard Nixon was not so tricky after all.", The New York Times , August 15, 1999. Accessed February 5, 2026. "Gellman's thoroughness will raise questions about the reliability of other biographers. Gellman blasts Roger Morris for wondering whether a Mr. Blue, who headed a Democrats for Nixon committee in 1948, even existed. In fact, Gellman says, the very real real estate agent J. B. Blue Jr. worked closely with Nixon during the primary season that year."
3. "Shivers To Back Nixon Campaign; Former Democratic Governor Paced Texas Victories by President Eisenhower", The New York Times , September 25, 1960. Accessed February 5, 2026. "In suburban Bellaire, Virgil Hancock, another conservative, announced the formation of the Conservative Democrats for Nixon."
4. Weaver, Warren Jr. "Nixon Renews Bid For South's Votes; Campaigns in Virginia and North Carolina -- Assails Rival on Party Pledges", The New York Times , October 4, 1960. Accessed February 5, 2026. "The Richmond rally was jointly arranged by the local Republican Congressional Committee and Virginia Democrats for Nixon-Lodge."
5. Gray, Walter H. "John Bowden Connally, Jr.: A Legacy of Texas Politics and Governance", Texas State Historical Association, August 1, 1995, updated December 27, 2022. Accessed February 5, 2026. "In 1972 he spearheaded a Democrats for Nixon organization that helped the Republican president carry Texas."
6. Wooten, James T. "The 1972 Campaign", The New York Times , August 31, 1972. Accessed February 5, 2026. "'All we're doing is trying to take advantage of a split that already exists. That's the thrust of Democrats for Nixon—nothing more, nothing less.' The committee's chairman and most prominent member, John B. Connally, is constantly on the move, appearing here on a network panel show and there at an announcement of a state committee."
7. Via Associated Press. "Connally Sets Up Panel Of Democrats for Nixon", The New York Times , August 10, 1972. Accessed July 15, 2010.
8. Rosenthal, Jack. "Two Surveys Show Nixon Getting 30‐40% of Democrats'", The New York Times , August 20, 1972. Accessed February 5, 2026. "Between 30 and 40 per cent of Democratic voters now say that they will abandon George McGovern, their party's Presidential nominee, and vote to re‐elect President Nixon, according to two political surveys released today.... One survey conducted by Daniel Yankelovich, Inc., for Time magazine showed Mr. Nixon ahead exactly 2 to 1–56 to 28 per cent—in 16 key states that have two‐thirds of the electoral vote. In those states, 37 per cent of registered Democrats said they would vote for Mr. Nixon if the election were held now.... Virtually all of the difference appeared to be accounted for by Democrats who have shifted, since the previous Gallup Poll, from the McGovern camp to undecided. In addition, the national survey found that 33 per cent of Democrats intended to vote for Mr. Nixon."
9. Staff. "Connally Sees More Democrats Supporting Nixon", The New York Times , September 1, 1972. Accessed July 15, 2010.
10. Weaver, Warren Jr. "'72 Election Set Spending Record", The New York Times , April 25, 1976. Accessed February 5, 2026. "Various Republican committees raised a record‐breaking total of $72 million for the 1972 campaign, including $2.4 million from Democrats for Nixon."
11. 1972: Nixon vs. McGovern, The Living Room Candidate. Accessed February 5, 2026. "Nixon’s most effective commercials, however, were attack ads.... Another claimed that McGovern would put 47 percent of the country on welfare. Though created by the Republican campaign, these ads were credited to "Democrats for Nixon," a strategy meant to create the impression that McGovern’s liberal views put him outside the mainstream of his own party."