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1968 United States elections

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1968 United States elections
1966          1967          1968          1969          1970
Presidential election year
Election dayNovember 5
Incumbent presidentLyndon B. Johnson (Democratic)
Next Congress91st
Presidential election
Partisan controlRepublican gain
Popular vote marginRepublican +0.7%
Electoral vote
Richard Nixon (R)301
Hubert Humphrey (D)191
George Wallace (AI)46
1968 United States presidential election in California1968 United States presidential election in Oregon1968 United States presidential election in Washington (state)1968 United States presidential election in Idaho1968 United States presidential election in Nevada1968 United States presidential election in Utah1968 United States presidential election in Arizona1968 United States presidential election in Montana1968 United States presidential election in Wyoming1968 United States presidential election in Colorado1968 United States presidential election in New Mexico1968 United States presidential election in North Dakota1968 United States presidential election in South Dakota1968 United States presidential election in Nebraska1968 United States presidential election in Kansas1968 United States presidential election in Oklahoma1968 United States presidential election in Texas1968 United States presidential election in Minnesota1968 United States presidential election in Iowa1968 United States presidential election in Missouri1968 United States presidential election in Arkansas1968 United States presidential election in Louisiana1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin1968 United States presidential election in Illinois1968 United States presidential election in Michigan1968 United States presidential election in Indiana1968 United States presidential election in Ohio1968 United States presidential election in Kentucky1968 United States presidential election in Tennessee1968 United States presidential election in Mississippi1968 United States presidential election in Alabama1968 United States presidential election in Georgia1968 United States presidential election in Florida1968 United States presidential election in South Carolina1968 United States presidential election in North Carolina1968 United States presidential election in Virginia1968 United States presidential election in West Virginia1968 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia1968 United States presidential election in Maryland1968 United States presidential election in Delaware1968 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania1968 United States presidential election in New Jersey1968 United States presidential election in New York1968 United States presidential election in Connecticut1968 United States presidential election in Rhode Island1968 United States presidential election in Vermont1968 United States presidential election in New Hampshire1968 United States presidential election in Maine1968 United States presidential election in Massachusetts1968 United States presidential election in Hawaii1968 United States presidential election in Alaska1968 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia1968 United States presidential election in Maryland1968 United States presidential election in Delaware1968 United States presidential election in New Jersey1968 United States presidential election in Connecticut1968 United States presidential election in Rhode Island1968 United States presidential election in Massachusetts1968 United States presidential election in Vermont1968 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
1968 presidential election results. Red denotes states won by Nixon, blue denotes states won by Humphrey, and orange denotes states won by Wallace. Numbers indicate the electoral votes won by each candidate.
Senate elections
Overall controlDemocratic hold
Seats contested34 of 100 seats
Net seat changeRepublican +5
1968 United States Senate election in Alabama1968 United States Senate election in Alaska1968 United States Senate election in Arizona1968 United States Senate election in Arkansas1968 United States Senate election in California1968 United States Senate election in Colorado1968 United States Senate election in Connecticut1968 United States Senate election in Florida1968 United States Senate election in Georgia1968 United States Senate election in Hawaii1968 United States Senate election in Idaho1968 United States Senate election in Illinois1968 United States Senate election in Indiana1968 United States Senate election in Iowa1968 United States Senate election in Kansas1968 United States Senate election in Kentucky1968 United States Senate election in Louisiana1968 United States Senate election in Maryland1968 United States Senate election in Missouri1968 United States Senate election in Nevada1968 United States Senate election in New Hampshire1968 United States Senate election in New York1968 United States Senate election in North Carolina1968 United States Senate election in North Dakota1968 United States Senate election in Ohio1968 United States Senate election in Oklahoma1968 United States Senate election in Oregon1968 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania1968 United States Senate election in South Carolina1968 United States Senate election in South Dakota1968 United States Senate election in Utah1968 United States Senate election in Vermont1968 United States Senate election in Washington1968 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
1968 Senate results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold
House elections
Overall controlDemocratic hold
Seats contestedAll 435 voting members
Popular vote marginDemocratic +1.7%
Net seat changeRepublican +5
1968 House of Representatives results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested22 (21 states, 1 territory)
Net seat changeRepublican +5
1968 Rhode Island gubernatorial election1968 Illinois gubernatorial election1968 Wisconsin gubernatorial election1968 Iowa gubernatorial election1968 Arkansas gubernatorial election1968 Kansas gubernatorial election1968 Texas gubernatorial election1968 New Mexico gubernatorial election1968 Arizona gubernatorial election1968 South Dakota gubernatorial election1968 Delaware gubernatorial election1968 Indiana gubernatorial election1968 Missouri gubernatorial election1968 Montana gubernatorial election1968 New Hampshire gubernatorial election1968 North Carolina gubernatorial election1968 North Dakota gubernatorial election1968 Utah gubernatorial election1968 Vermont gubernatorial election1968 Washington gubernatorial election1968 West Virginia gubernatorial election
1968 gubernatorial election results
Territorial races not shown

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold

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.[1]

In the presidential election, Republican former Vice President Richard Nixon defeated Democratic incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey.[2] Nixon won the popular vote by less than one point, but took most states outside the Northeast, and comfortably won the electoral vote. Former Alabama Governor George Wallace, of the American Independent Party, took 13.5% of the popular vote, and won the electoral votes of the Deep South. After incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson declined to seek re-election, Humphrey won the Democratic nomination over Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy and South Dakota Senator George McGovern at the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention. Nixon won the Republican nomination over New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and California Governor Ronald Reagan. As of 2022, Wallace is the most recent third-party candidate to win a state's entire share of electoral votes. Nixon became the first former (non-sitting) vice president to win a presidential election; he was the only person to achieve that until former Vice President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

The Republican Party won a net gain of five seats in both the House and the Senate. However, the Democratic Party retained strong majorities in both houses of Congress. In the gubernatorial elections, the Republican Party picked up a net gain of five governorships. This was the second consecutive election where the winning presidential party had coattails in both houses of Congress and the first for Republicans since 1952.

This was the first of two times since 1889 that a newly elected President's party failed to control either house of Congress.

A number of ballot initiatives on a variety of subjects were on the ballot that year.[3] Two states (Nebraska and North Dakota) had initiatives about lowering the voting age from 21 to 19 but they both did not pass.[4][5] Maryland and Washington had housing discrimination related amendments. The Washington initiative was a veto referendum which passed requiring that discriminating based on "race, creed, color or national origin" would be grounds for one to lose a real estate license.[6] The Maryland one was also a veto referendum that did not pass banning discrimination on grounds of "race, color, religious creed, national origin or ancestry" regarding selling, leasing, renting or financing housing.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1968" (PDF). U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. ^ "1968 Presidential Election". United Press International. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  3. ^ "1968 ballot measures". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  4. ^ "Nebraska Voting Age, Amendment 1 (1968)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  5. ^ "North Dakota Lowering Voting Age Referendum, Number 4 (1968)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  6. ^ "Washington Referendum 35, Non-Discrimination by Real Estate Brokers Measure (1968)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  7. ^ "Maryland Prohibit Housing Discrimination, Question 4 (1968)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 11, 2024.