1960 United States presidential election in Mississippi

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1960 United States presidential election in Mississippi
Flag of Mississippi (1894-1996).svg
  1956 November 8, 1960 1964  
  Harry F. Byrd (cropped).jpg Jfk2 (3x4).jpg Richard Nixon official portrait as Vice President (cropped).tiff
Nominee Harry F. Byrd
(by unpledged electors)
John F. Kennedy Richard Nixon
Party Southern Democrat Democratic Republican
Home state Virginia Massachusetts California
Running mate Strom Thurmond Lyndon B. Johnson Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Electoral vote800
Popular vote116,248108,36273,561
Percentage38.99%36.34%24.67%

Mississippi Presidential Election Results 1960.svg
1960 US presidential election in Mississippi by congressional district.svg

The 1960 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. This was the last election in which Mississippi had eight electoral votes: the Great Migration of Black Americans caused the state to lose congressional districts for the third time in four censuses before the next election.

Contents

The election saw the only case of a state being carried by a slate of unpledged electors. Mississippi voted narrowly for this slate, who voted unanimously for long-time Virginia Senator and political machine director Harry Flood Byrd, over the national Democratic nominee, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Republican nominee and outgoing Vice President Richard Nixon, from California, came in third, with his percentage of the vote practically unchanged from what outgoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower recorded in 1956.

Governor Ross Barnett, a segregationist, was faced with a severe dilemma upon becoming governor at the beginning of the year owing to the rigid opposition of Mississippi’s limited and almost exclusively White electorate [1] to the active Civil Rights Movement. Pressured by the "Citizens' Council" who wished to unite the South behind a White-supremacist Democratic candidate, [2] Governor Barnett repeated James P. Coleman’s strategy from 1956 and nominated two sets of Democratic Party electors for the presidential ballot. [3] The first slate was pledged to Kennedy, while the other was not pledged to any candidate. The aim of placing unpledged electors on the ballot was to gain leverage from either major party in a close election, [3] with the possibility of the House of Representatives electing a candidate more favourable to opponents of Brown v. Board of Education than either national major party nominee. [4]

Because the civil rights movement’s supporters regarded Kennedy’s record as poor on this issue, Senators John C. Stennis and James Eastland supported his candidacy, although state-level politicians were not at all supportive. [5] The state’s media saw a vigorous debate between the loyalist and unpledged Democrats in the week before the election. [6] Outside heavily French-settled Hancock County, which has greater cultural ties with Louisiana than with most of the rest of Mississippi, Kennedy’s Catholic faith was also considered suspect. [7]

Polls

SourceRankingAs of
The Philadelphia Inquirer [8] Tilt I (Flip)October 3, 1960
Knoxville News Sentinel [9] TossupOctober 23, 1960
Daily News [10] Likely DOctober 28, 1960
The Daily Item [11] Tilt DNovember 4, 1960
The Clarion-Ledger [12] Tilt DNovember 7, 1960
Hattiesburg American [13] Lean DNovember 7, 1960

Results

The following slates were nominated for the November general election: [14]

Electoral slates

Unpledged electors
State Democratic Party
John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
National Democratic Party
Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Republican Party
Henry Harris
George Payne Cossar
Charles L. Sullivan
Clay B. Tucker
Earl Evans Jr.
Bob Buntin
D. M. Nelson
Lawrence Y. Foote
Frank K. Hughes
David E. Guyton
Will M. Whittington
Frank E. Shanahan Jr.
Martin V. B. Miller
Edward H. Stevens
Curtis H. Mullen
Lovie Gore
John M. Kaye
Ralph O. White
J. H. Snyder
J. J. Newman
George W. Shaw
C. E. Tolar
Noel Womack Jr.
J. B. Snyder

General election results

1960 United States presidential election in Mississippi [15]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Unpledged Electors 116,24838.99%8
Democratic John F. Kennedy108,36236.34%0
Republican Richard Nixon73,56124.67%0
Totals298,171100.00%8

Results by county

1960 United States presidential election in Mississippi by county [16]
CountyJohn Fitzgerald Kennedy
Democratic
Richard Milhous Nixon
Republican
Unpledged Electors
Democratic
Margin [lower-alpha 1] Total votes cast
# %# %# %# %
Adams 1,45227.90%1,22723.57%2,52648.53%-1,074-20.63%5,205
Alcorn 3,05468.25%82018.32%60113.43%2,234 [lower-alpha 2] 49.93%4,475
Amite 33814.85%28312.43%1,65572.72%-1,317-57.87%2,276
Attala 1,33740.91%65019.89%1,28139.20%561.71%3,268
Benton 56852.06%17516.04%34831.90%22020.16%1,091
Bolivar 1,11929.69%1,01226.85%1,63843.46%-519-13.77%3,769
Calhoun 76531.26%38315.65%1,29953.09%-534-21.83%2,447
Carroll 42528.87%20714.06%84057.07%-415-28.20%1,472
Chickasaw 79131.17%38515.17%1,36253.66%-571-22.49%2,538
Choctaw 81749.64%24514.88%58435.48%23314.16%1,646
Claiborne 20519.79%18017.37%65162.84%-446-43.05%1,036
Clarke 1,24437.61%58617.71%1,47844.68%-234-7.07%3,308
Clay 62626.39%45119.01%1,29554.60%-669-28.21%2,372
Coahoma 1,38635.84%1,09628.34%1,38535.82%10.02%3,867
Copiah 89624.79%76121.06%1,95754.15%-1,061-29.36%3,614
Covington 84238.31%37116.88%98544.81%-143-6.50%2,198
DeSoto 79538.18%55326.56%73435.25%612.93%2,082
Forrest 2,06823.96%3,41239.53%3,15236.52%260 [lower-alpha 3] 3.01%8,632
Franklin 44126.25%1247.38%1,11566.37%-674-40.12%1,680
George 84440.75%31014.97%91744.28%-73-3.53%2,071
Greene 55034.85%24715.65%78149.49%-231-14.64%1,578
Grenada 52922.58%68229.11%1,13248.31%-450 [lower-alpha 3] -19.20%2,343
Hancock 2,13263.58%71921.44%50214.97%1,413 [lower-alpha 2] 42.14%3,353
Harrison 8,96153.47%5,17730.89%2,62115.64%3,784 [lower-alpha 2] 22.58%16,759
Hinds 5,81120.05%11,08338.23%12,09441.72%-1,011 [lower-alpha 3] -3.49%28,988
Holmes 62824.46%45517.72%1,48457.81%-856-33.35%2,567
Humphreys 45932.28%23116.24%73251.48%-273-19.20%1,422
Issaquena 17842.08%6415.13%18142.79%-3-0.71%423
Itawamba 1,75263.23%36613.21%65323.57%1,09939.66%2,771
Jackson 5,00054.50%2,26624.70%1,90820.80%2,734 [lower-alpha 2] 29.80%9,174
Jasper 1,14747.10%36214.87%92638.03%2219.07%2,435
Jefferson 22920.93%13712.52%72866.54%-499-45.61%1,094
Jefferson Davis 51029.60%22513.06%98857.34%-478-27.74%1,723
Jones 4,87146.27%2,72925.92%2,92827.81%1,94318.46%10,528
Kemper 93154.41%19311.28%58734.31%34420.10%1,711
Lafayette 1,30844.76%70524.13%90931.11%39913.65%2,922
Lamar 65127.90%63627.26%1,04644.83%-395-16.93%2,333
Lauderdale 3,75534.95%2,83626.39%4,15438.66%-399-3.71%10,745
Lawrence 46928.41%25915.69%92355.91%-454-27.50%1,651
Leake 95329.32%2868.80%2,01161.88%-1,058-32.56%3,250
Lee 3,65355.01%1,55023.34%1,43821.65%2,103 [lower-alpha 2] 31.67%6,641
Leflore 1,21226.12%1,31728.38%2,11245.51%-795 [lower-alpha 3] -17.13%4,641
Lincoln 1,44929.66%1,25125.61%2,18544.73%-736-15.07%4,885
Lowndes 1,24026.50%2,01042.95%1,43030.56%580 [lower-alpha 3] 12.39%4,680
Madison 75326.32%52518.35%1,58355.33%-830-29.01%2,861
Marion 1,08235.53%69822.92%1,26541.54%-183-6.01%3,045
Marshall 68138.15%40422.63%70039.22%-19-1.07%1,785
Monroe 1,90139.12%1,40028.81%1,55932.08%3427.04%4,860
Montgomery 62331.64%58529.71%76138.65%-138-7.01%1,969
Neshoba 1,84044.49%58014.02%1,71641.49%1243.00%4,136
Newton 91227.01%50815.05%1,95657.94%-1,044-30.93%3,376
Noxubee 27718.60%34222.97%87058.43%-528 [lower-alpha 3] -35.46%1,489
Oktibbeha 91526.79%82924.27%1,67248.95%-757-22.16%3,416
Panola 84129.12%64322.26%1,40448.61%-563-19.49%2,888
Pearl River 1,27636.64%65118.69%1,55644.67%-280-8.03%3,483
Perry 51438.24%27420.39%55641.37%-42-3.13%1,344
Pike 1,25823.48%1,46727.38%2,63249.13%-1,165 [lower-alpha 3] -21.75%5,357
Pontotoc 1,58458.58%32812.13%79229.29%79229.29%2,704
Prentiss 1,77759.53%74024.79%46815.68%1,037 [lower-alpha 2] 34.74%2,985
Quitman 58337.47%29919.22%67443.32%-91-5.85%1,556
Rankin 85017.77%81817.11%3,11465.12%-2,264-47.35%4,782
Scott 1,02429.49%60717.48%1,84153.02%-817-23.53%3,472
Sharkey 26326.12%31331.08%43142.80%-118 [lower-alpha 3] -11.72%1,007
Simpson 1,03432.23%60618.89%1,56848.88%-534-16.65%3,208
Smith 1,56853.22%35311.98%1,02534.79%54318.43%2,946
Stone 34323.89%27519.15%81856.96%-475-33.07%1,436
Sunflower 1,03329.93%1,17734.11%1,24135.96%-64 [lower-alpha 3] -1.85%3,451
Tallahatchie 83031.96%34613.32%1,42154.72%-591-22.76%2,597
Tate 68638.71%24113.60%84547.69%-159-8.98%1,772
Tippah 1,93967.05%48616.80%46716.15%1,453 [lower-alpha 2] 50.25%2,892
Tishomingo 1,22250.35%53622.08%66927.56%55322.79%2,427
Tunica 32336.01%33437.24%24026.76%-11 [lower-alpha 2] -1.23%897
Union 2,00160.73%60518.36%68920.91%1,31239.82%3,295
Walthall 74734.92%31014.49%1,08250.58%-335-15.66%2,139
Warren 2,28934.75%2,27734.57%2,02130.68%12 [lower-alpha 2] 0.18%6,587
Washington 3,10546.66%2,29234.44%1,25818.90%813 [lower-alpha 2] 12.22%6,655
Wayne 70731.66%49021.94%1,03646.39%-329-14.73%2,233
Webster 55327.30%29914.76%1,17457.95%-621-30.65%2,026
Wilkinson 21617.68%17414.24%83268.09%-616-50.41%1,222
Winston 1,05635.60%40513.65%1,50550.74%-449-15.14%2,966
Yalobusha 65034.16%54928.85%70436.99%-54-2.83%1,903
Yazoo 71521.41%77823.29%1,84755.30%-1,069 [lower-alpha 3] -32.01%3,340
Totals108,36236.34%73,56124.67%116,24838.99%-7.886-2.65%298,171

Analysis

In the coastal counties, Kennedy improved considerably upon what Adlai Stevenson II achieved in 1956, but except for those counties around the cities of Natchez and Vicksburg, Kennedy otherwise showed a major decline from the Democratic result in 1956. [7] Kennedy held up best in the poor White upcountry counties that had historically been much more anti-Catholic than the Black Belt, [17] suggesting that voters throughout the state had become more suspicious of the Democrats’ civil rights policies. Since the Republican percentage of the vote essentially failed to change – Nixon lost Hancock to Kennedy and Adams and Warren to the unpledged slate but picked up Tunica and Lowndes Counties – the unpledged slate took almost all of Kennedy’s lost votes and thus shaded him for the state overall.

Despite Kennedy’s statewide defeat being only the second for a national Democrat in Mississippi since Reconstruction, this remains the last election when the coastal, French-influenced counties of Harrison and Jackson have voted for a Democratic presidential nominee. [18] The following landlocked counties have also never voted Democratic since: Choctaw, Jones and Smith. [18] Warren County would not vote Democratic again until Barack Obama won it in 2012. [19]

Tunica County voted Republican for the first time since 1888. [20]

Notes

  1. Because the unpledged slate won Mississippi and Kennedy finished second behind the unpledged slate in Mississippi as a whole, all margins given are Kennedy vote minus unpledged vote and percentage margins Kennedy percentage minus unpledged percentage unless otherwise noted for the county in question
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 In this county where the unpledged slate did finish third behind both Kennedy and Nixon, margin given is Kennedy vote minus Nixon vote and percentage margin Kennedy percentage minus Nixon percentage.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 In this county where Kennedy ran third behind both Nixon and the unpledged slate, margin given is Nixon vote minus unpledged vote and percentage margin Nixon percentage minus unpledged percentage.

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References

  1. See Bullock, Charles S.; Gaddie, Ronald Keith. The Triumph of Voting Rights in the South. pp. 31–33. ISBN   0806185309.
  2. McMillen, Neil R. The Citizens' Council: Organized Resistance to the Second Reconstruction, 1954-64. p. 333. ISBN   0252064410.
  3. 1 2 Crespino, Joseph. In Search of Another Country: Mississippi and the Conservative Counterrevolution. pp. 35–36. ISBN   0691122091.
  4. Hills, Charles M. (October 11, 1960). "Barnett's Colonels Hear Elector Plan". Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. pp. 1, 6.
  5. Bolton, Charles C. William F. Winter and the New Mississippi: A Biography. p. 113. ISBN   1617037877.
  6. "Loyalist, Unpledged Slug Away on Television". Enterprise-Journal. McComb, Mississippi. November 3, 1960. p. 7.
  7. 1 2 Menendez, Albert J. The Religious Factor in the 1960 Presidential Election: An Analysis of the Kennedy Victory over Anti-Catholic Prejudice. pp. 132–133. ISBN   0786484934.
  8. Hoffman, Fred S. (October 3, 1960). "How Election Looks Today". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia. pp. 1, 3.
  9. "Populous States Are Key: Both Parties Claim Enough Votes To Win". Knoxville News Sentinel . Knoxville, Tennessee. October 23, 1960. p. A-4.
  10. Lewis, Ted (October 28, 1960). "Campaign Circus". Daily News . Jersey City, New Jersey. p. 4C.
  11. "Poll of Editors Predicts Victory for Nixon-Lodge: Republican Ticket Seen Winning in 28 States and Democrats in 19". The Daily Item . November 4, 1960. p. 3.
  12. Hoffman, Fred S. (November 7, 1960). "AP Poll Puts Jack Ahead in Electors". The Clarion-Ledger . Jackson, Mississippi. pp. 1–2.
  13. Gould, Geoffrey (November 7, 1960). "Final Survey Shows Race a Tossup to the Finish". Hattiesburg American . Hattiesburg, Mississippi. p. 16.
  14. Mississippi official and statistical register 1960-64. Jackson, MS: Secretary of State of Mississippi. 1965. pp. 393–395.
  15. Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; 1960 Presidential General Election Results – Mississippi
  16. Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; pp. 253-254 ISBN   0405077114
  17. Phillips, Kevin P. (1969). The Emerging Republican Majority. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House. pp. 220, 234–237. ISBN   0870000586.
  18. 1 2 Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  19. "Warren County, Mississippi Votes". The Political Graveyard.
  20. Menendez, Albert J. (2005). The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004. pp. 236–238. ISBN   0786422173.