1964 United States presidential election (A Time of Choosing)

The 1964 United States presidential election was the 45th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1964. Republican Senator Barry Goldwater narrowly defeated incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in one of the closest elections in U.S. history. Despite winning the election, Goldwater lost the popular vote to Johnson by just over 58,000 votes.

Johnson took office on November 22, 1963 and emphasized the continuation of his assassinated predecessor, John F. Kennedy. He easily defeated a primary challenge by Governor George Wallace of Alabama, to win the nomination to a full term. At the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Johnson selected Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota as his running mate. In the Republican contest Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, a leader of his party's conservative faction, defeated liberal Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York and Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania.

Johnson championed his passage of the Civil Rights Act, and advocated a series of anti-poverty programs collectively known as the Great Society. Goldwater espoused a low-tax, small-government philosophy. Although he supported previous attempts at enacting civil rights legislation in 1957 and 1960, Goldwater opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, saying it violated individual liberty and states' rights. While, early in the campaign, Johnson led Goldwater in polls by a wide margin, several scandals, including plans to commit voter fraud in key swing states, led to Johnson's lead plummetting, with polls showing the election being closely contested.

Goldwater narrowly defeated Johnson in the electoral college but narrowly lost the popular vote by only 0.1%. This election marked the first time the entire Deep South voted Republican. This marked the first presidential election in history in which a Democrat carried Vermont, and, conversely, the first in which a Republican carried Georgia. The 1964 election marked the beginning of a major, long-term re-alignment in American politics, as Goldwater's election significantly influenced the modern conservative movement.