1968 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary
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 Results by county Johnson: 40-50% 50-60% McCarthy: 40-50% 50-60% | |||||||||||||||||||
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The 1968 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary was held on March 12, 1968, in New Hampshire as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1968 United States presidential election.
Details
[edit]President Lyndon Johnson, who had not officially entered the race for president, won the primary, but finished with a surprisingly low total of 49%.[1][2] Eugene McCarthy, then a little-known senator from Minnesota, won 42% of the primary vote. McCarthy's strong showing gave his campaign legitimacy and momentum.[3] In addition, McCarthy's superior coordination led to a near sweep of the state's twenty-four pledged delegates. Since Johnson had no formal campaign organization, a number of competing pro-Johnson delegate candidates split his vote, allowing McCarthy to take twenty delegates.
On March 16, 1968, four days after the New Hampshire primary, Robert F. Kennedy announced his candidacy.[4] On March 31, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection.[5] Vice President Hubert Humphrey went on to be nominated after Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in June.[6]
| Elections in New Hampshire |
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Primary results
[edit]This primary election was a nonbinding vote and described as being a "Presidential preference poll".[7]
| Candidate[7] | Number of votes | % of the vote |
|---|---|---|
| Lyndon B. Johnson | 27,243 | 49.4% |
| Eugene McCarthy | 23,280 | 42.2% |
| Richard Nixon | 2,529 | 4.6% |
| Robert F. Kennedy | 600 | 1.1% |
| Nelson Rockefeller | 248 | 0.4% |
| George C. Wallace | 197 | 0.4% |
| Other candidates | 1,089 | 1.9% |
| Total | 55,186 | 100% |
References
[edit]- ^ "JOHNSON MARGIN CUT TO 230 VOTES; Narrow Victory in Combined New Hampshire Totals". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
- ^ New Hampshire. Dept. of State (1969). Manual for the General Court. University of New Hampshire Library. Concord, N.H. : Dept. of State.
- ^ Glass, Andrew (2016-03-12). "McCarthy nearly upsets LBJ in New Hampshire primary: March 12, 1968". POLITICO. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
- ^ 1968 Presidential Election: RFK Announces He's Running. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
- ^ Christian, George (1988-04-01). "The Night Lyndon Quit". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
- ^ "Behind the Picture: RFK's Assassination, Los Angeles, 1968". LIFE. 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
- ^ a b "Results of the 15 Presidential Primaries in 1968". CQPRESS. Retrieved August 27, 2024.