1960 United States Presidential Election (Stars and Stripes Forever)

The 1960 United States Presidential Election was the 44th Quadrennial Presidential Election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1960. Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon defeated Democratic Senator John F Kennedy. This was the first election in which fifty states participated and the last in which the District of Colombia did not.

Nixon faced almost zero opposition for his re-election effort. Kennedy, a junior senator from Massachusetts, had made a name for himself with his strong performance in the Democratic Primaries.

Despite losing electoral votes, Nixon still won in a landslide with 471 electoral votes. After the election, Kennedy swung hard to the right and joined the Republican Party in 1963.