1968 Republican National Convention

The 1968 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, from August 5 to August 8, 1968, to select the party's nominee in the general election. It nominated former Vice President Richard M. Nixon for president and Maryland Governor Spiro T. Agnew for vice president. It was the fourth time Nixon had been nominated on the Republican ticket as either its vice presidential (1952 and 1956) or presidential candidate (1960).

1968 Republican National Convention
1968 presidential election
Nominees
Nixon and Agnew
Convention
Date(s)August 5–8, 1968
CityMiami Beach, Florida
VenueMiami Beach Convention Center
Keynote speakerDaniel J. Evans
Candidates
Presidential nomineeRichard M. Nixon of California
Vice presidential nomineeSpiro T. Agnew of Maryland
Voting
Total delegates1,333
Votes needed for nomination667 (majority)
Results (president)Nixon (NY/CA): 1,238 (92.87%)
Rockefeller (NY): 93 (6.98%)
Reagan: (CA): 2 (0.15%)
Results (vice president)Agnew (MD): 1,119 (83.95%)
Romney (MI): 186 (13.95%)
Lindsay (NY): 10 (0.75%)
Others: 2 (0.15%)
Not Voting: 16 (1.20%)

Political context

The Miami Beach Convention Center was the site of the 1968 Republican National Convention.

Former Vice President Richard M. Nixon, emerged as the frontrunner again for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination. Nixon had been the Republican Party nominee in the 1960 presidential election, and lost to Democratic Party candidate John F. Kennedy.

The so-called "New Nixon" in the 1968 presidential election devised a "Southern strategy," taking advantage of the region's opposition to racial integration and other progressive/liberal policies of the Democratic Party and President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Nixon decided not to re-select his 1960 running mate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford of Michigan proposed New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay for vice president. Nixon turned instead to another perceived moderate, Maryland Governor Spiro T. Agnew. Agnew, former Baltimore County Executive in the Baltimore City suburbs (1963–1967), and since Governor of Maryland, had come to Republican leaders and Nixon's attention when he summoned several Black civic, religious, and political leaders in Baltimore to the local State Office Building complex, following the disastrous April 1968 urban riots which enveloped Black sections of East and West Baltimore in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. Agnew complained of the Black leaders' lack of support after a number of what he perceived to be positive projects, programs and support by his Republican administration for the minority communities in the city. Agnew's biting comments caused many in the audience to walk out.

Nixon was nominated on the first ballot with 692 votes to 277 votes for Nelson Rockefeller, 182 votes for California Governor Ronald Reagan and the rest scattered. In his acceptance speech he deplored the state of the union:

When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down for four years in Vietnam with no end in sight, when the richest nation in the world can't manage its own economy, when the nation with the greatest tradition of the rule of law is plagued by unprecedented racial violence, when the President of the United States cannot travel abroad or to any major city at home, then it's time for new leadership for the United States of America.[1]

Nixon also said that he had "a good teacher", referring to Eisenhower, and made the delegates happy with the statement "Let's win this one for Ike!" Eisenhower was not present during Nixon's speech nor during any part of the convention. Due to failing health, he was under doctor's orders not to travel. He died the following March.

Balloting

The following were placed into nomination:

Nominated for President

Nominated for Vice President

The Republican Convention Tally results

This was the last time during the 20th Century that two siblings (the Rockefeller brothers) received votes at a convention.

The Republican Convention Tally[2]
President(before switches)(after switches)Vice PresidentVice-Presidential votes
Richard M. Nixon6921238Spiro T. Agnew1119
Nelson Rockefeller27793George Romney186
Ronald Reagan1822John V. Lindsay10
Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes55Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke1
Michigan Governor George Romney50James A. Rhodes1
New Jersey Senator Clifford Case22Not Voting16
Kansas Senator Frank Carlson20
Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller18
Hawaii Senator Hiram Fong14
Harold Stassen2
New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay1

Results by state

Nixon supporters at the convention

The balloting by state was as follows:[3][4][5]

State
Alabama1412
Alaska111
Arizona16
Arkansas18
California86
Colorado1431
Connecticut412
Delaware93
Florida3211
Georgia2127
Hawaii14
Idaho95
Illinois5053
Indiana26
Iowa1383
Kansas20
Kentucky222
Louisiana197
Maine77
Maryland188
Massachusetts34
Michigan444
Minnesota91511
Mississippi20
Missouri1653
Montana113
Nebraska16
Nevada93
New Hampshire8
New Jersey1822
New Mexico815
New York488
North Carolina9116
North Dakota521
Ohio2551
Oklahoma1417
Oregon18
Pennsylvania22411
Rhode Island14
South Carolina22
South Dakota14
Tennessee28
Texas4115
Utah26
Vermont93
Virginia222
Washington1536
West Virginia113
Wisconsin30
Wyoming12
District of Columbia63
Puerto Rico5
U.S. Virgin Islands21
Total69227718255502220181421

See also

References

  1. "Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  2. Troy, Schlesinger & Israel 2012, pp. 1318-1319.
  3. "Lebanon Daily News". Lebanon, PA. August 8, 1968. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  4. "The News-Herald". Franklin, PA. August 8, 1968. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  5. "1968 Republican Convention Roll Call". CBS Radio News. August 1968.

Bibliography

Preceded by
1964
Daly City, California
Republican National Conventions Succeeded by
1972
Miami Beach, Florida
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