1960 United States presidential election in Oregon

The 1960 United States presidential election in Oregon took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. Voters chose six[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1960 United States presidential election in Oregon

November 8, 1960[1]
 
Nominee Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California Massachusetts
Running mate Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. Lyndon B. Johnson
Electoral vote 6 0
Popular vote 408,060 367,402
Percentage 52.6% 47.3%

County Results

President before election

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican

Elected President

John F. Kennedy
Democratic

Oregon was won by incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon (RCalifornia), running with United States Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., with 52.56% of the popular vote, against Senator John F. Kennedy (DMassachusetts), running with Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, with 47.32% of the popular vote.[3][4] As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Multnomah County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.[5]

Primaries

Candidates had no choice as to whether or not they would run in the Oregon primaries.[6] Oregon had a unique law in which all individuals believed to be candidates (by the Attorney General) would be listed, whether or not they wanted to compete in the state's primary.[6]

Democratic primary

Since at least 1957, Kennedy had been anticipating running in Oregon's primary due to the state's unique election laws, which would give him no choice as to whether or not he would be listed on the ballot.[6]

Oregon's primary came late, just prior to California's.[6] Kennedy had made several appearances in Oregon in the spring of 1959, and was leading according to his campaign's internal polling against a plethora of prospective opponents.[6] He garnered the support of figures such as Edith Green.[6] By late 1959, however, Senator Wayne Morse launched a favorite son campaign, which posed a viable challenge to Kennedy's prospects of winning Oregon.[6]

Hubert Humphrey had been seen as having a realistic chance of winning the strongly liberal state electorate if he were to remain a viable candidate through late-May (when the primary was scheduled).[6] However, Humphrey ultimately withdrew earlier on after losing the West Virginia primary.[6]

Kennedy's campaign worried about a potential active campaign effort by Adlai Stevenson II in the state, where many voters were still enamored with the two-time Democratic standard bearer. In a January 26, 1960 memo, campaign manager Robert Kennedy stated that it was important for the Kennedy campaign to try and stop Stevenson from becoming an active factor in the Oregon primary.[6] Congressman Charles O. Porter was seen as being likely to lead any potential effort to support a Stevenson candidacy in Oregon, therefore, Robert considered persuading him that such an effort would hand the primary to Morse, whom Porter despised.[6] However, by May this proved to be unneeded, as Kennedy had already cleared the field.[6]

While names of several other contenders appeared on the Oregon Democratic primary ballot, the only active opponent which Kennedy faced in the primary was Morse.[6] Oregon was the only state in which Kennedy directly challenged a favorite son candidate.[6] The Kennedy campaign saw the fiercely independent and progressive state electorate as challenging for them to maneuver.[6] He defeated Morse 51 to 32%.[6]

1960 Oregon Democratic Presidential Primary Results[7]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic John F. Kennedy 146,332 51.0%
Democratic Wayne Morse 91,715 31.9%
Democratic Hubert Humphrey 16,319 5.7%
Democratic Stuart Symington 12,496 4.4%
Democratic Lyndon B. Johnson 11,101 3.9%
Democratic Adlai Stevenson 7,924 2.8%
Democratic Others 1,210 0.4%
Totals 287,097 100.00%

Republican primary

1960 Oregon Republican Presidential Primary Results[7]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Republican Richard Nixon 211,276 93.1%
Republican Nelson Rockefeller 9,307 4.1%
Democratic John F. Kennedy 2,864 1.3%
Republican Barry Goldwater 1,571 0.7%
Republican Others 2,015 0.9%
Totals 227,033 100.00%

General election

Results

1960 United States presidential election in Oregon
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard Nixon 408,060 52.56%
Democratic John F. Kennedy 367,402 47.32%
Write-in 959 0.12%
Total votes 776,421 100%

Results by county

County Richard Milhous Nixon
Republican
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Democratic
Various candidates
Write-ins
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Baker 3,514 48.46% 3,734 51.50% 3 0.04% -220 -3.03% 7,251
Benton 9,734 64.36% 5,391 35.64% 4,343 28.71% 15,125
Clackamas 28,531 54.53% 23,679 45.26% 109 0.21% 4,852 9.27% 52,319
Clatsop 6,286 48.86% 6,530 50.75% 50 0.39% -244 -1.90% 12,866
Columbia 4,356 43.96% 5,546 55.97% 6 0.06% -1,190 -12.01% 9,908
Coos 8,751 40.32% 12,893 59.40% 61 0.28% -4,142 -19.08% 21,705
Crook 1,732 46.35% 2,005 53.65% -273 -7.31% 3,737
Curry 2,382 46.23% 2,767 53.70% 4 0.08% -385 -7.47% 5,153
Deschutes 5,145 51.74% 4,776 48.03% 23 0.23% 369 3.71% 9,944
Douglas 12,493 48.39% 13,322 51.61% -829 -3.21% 25,815
Gilliam 712 54.02% 606 45.98% 106 8.04% 1,318
Grant 1,697 54.13% 1,438 45.87% 259 8.26% 3,135
Harney 1,464 54.40% 1,220 45.34% 7 0.26% 244 9.07% 2,691
Hood River 3,103 55.86% 2,450 44.10% 2 0.04% 653 11.76% 5,555
Jackson 17,554 54.59% 14,531 45.19% 72 0.22% 3,023 9.40% 32,157
Jefferson 1,413 53.75% 1,214 46.18% 2 0.08% 199 7.57% 2,629
Josephine 7,387 57.57% 5,419 42.23% 25 0.19% 1,968 15.34% 12,831
Klamath 9,095 50.46% 8,928 49.54% 167 0.93% 18,023
Lake 1,555 51.90% 1,441 48.10% 114 3.81% 2,996
Lane 36,148 52.49% 32,596 47.34% 118 0.17% 3,552 5.16% 68,862
Lincoln 5,231 49.90% 5,243 50.01% 9 0.09% -12 -0.11% 10,483
Linn 12,899 53.89% 11,035 46.11% 1,864 7.79% 23,934
Malheur 5,043 59.86% 3,381 40.14% 1,662 19.73% 8,424
Marion 29,124 58.28% 20,791 41.61% 55 0.11% 8,333 16.68% 49,970
Morrow 1,003 49.12% 1,039 50.88% -36 -1.76% 2,042
Multnomah 127,271 50.53% 124,273 49.34% 338 0.13% 2,998 1.19% 251,882
Polk 6,709 59.38% 4,578 40.52% 11 0.10% 2,131 18.86% 11,298
Sherman 659 56.57% 506 43.43% 153 13.13% 1,165
Tillamook 3,935 48.92% 4,098 50.94% 11 0.14% -163 -2.03% 8,044
Umatilla 9,374 53.77% 8,053 46.19% 6 0.03% 1,321 7.58% 17,433
Union 3,689 47.48% 4,081 52.52% -392 -5.05% 7,770
Wallowa 1,440 46.08% 1,682 53.82% 3 0.10% -242 -7.74% 3,125
Wasco 4,355 49.58% 4,426 50.39% 3 0.03% -71 -0.81% 8,784
Washington 25,415 58.85% 17,736 41.07% 35 0.08% 7,679 17.78% 43,186
Wheeler 566 54.84% 466 45.16% 100 9.69% 1,032
Yamhill 8,295 59.98% 5,528 39.97% 6 0.04% 2,767 20.01% 13,829
Totals408,06052.56%367,40247.32%9590.12%40,6585.24%776,421

References

  1. "United States Presidential election of 1960 - Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  2. "1960 Election for the Forty-Fourth Term (1961-65)". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  3. "1960 Presidential General Election Results - Oregon". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  4. "The American Presidency Project - Election of 1960". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  5. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  6. Oliphant, Thomas; Wilkie, Curtis (2017). The road to Camelot: Inside JFK's Five-Year Campaign. Simon & Schuster.
  7. "RESULTS OF 1960 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PRIMARIES". John F. Kennedy presidential library. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
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