1968 United States Presidential Election (Midnight)



The 1968 United States presidential election was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Democratic nominee, South Dakotan Senator George McGovern, and the Republican nominee, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, were the primary contenders for the presidency. The election was also marked by the third party candidacy of Virginia Governor George Lincoln Rockwell, who won a number of Southern states, as well as a considerable percentage of the popular vote for a third party candidate.

Incumbent president Barry Goldwater had been the early front-runner for the Republican Party's nomination, but he withdrew from the race after losing the New Hampshire primary. George Romney, Nelson Rockefeller, and William Miller emerged as the three major candidates in the Republican primaries. Rockefeller edged out anti-Vietnam war candidate Romney, and the conservative Vice President Miller, to win the Republican nomination. McGovern entered the Democratic primaries as the underdog, eventually defeating Senator Hubert Humphrey, conservative governor of Texas John Connally, and other candidates to win his party's nomination. Virginia's governor, George Lincoln Rockwell, ran on the Traditional American Party ticket, campaigning in favor of racial separation and Law and Order. The election year was tumultuous and chaotic. It was marked by an assassination attempt again Martin Luther King, Jr. in early April, and the subsequent 54 days of riots across the nation, and by widespread opposition to the Vietnam War across university campuses. Senator George McGovern won and secured the Democratic nomination, with McGovern promising to renew Johnson's war on poverty, to support the civil rights movement, and to withdraw from Vietnam.

The Goldwater administration's enforcement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, passed under Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, devastated his once lustrous reputation in the South, leading to the prominent Traditional American governor of Virginia, George Rockwell, to mount a third-party challenge in favor of defending and expanding racial segregation. Rockwell led a far-right campaign, attracting socially conservative voters throughout the south, and encroaching further support from fiscal conservatives in the West who were disappointed by Rockefeller's moderate positions. With both major-party candidates attracting a similar, liberal demographic, Rockwell managed to garner significant support despite his racial extremism. His candidacy was largely ignored by the two major-parties, however he attracted significant attention following his polling-spike in late October. McGovern took advantage of the Republican infighting by running a more liberal campaign, favoring a withdrawal from the Vietnam war, a return to Johnson's Great Society, and an expansion of Civil Rights Laws, with his goal being to unite what he called the "hopeful majority" of the nation. Meanwhile, Rockefeller made little attempts to win over the Conservative wing of the party, something that is speculated to have contributed towards his loss in the election.

During most of the campaign, Rockefeller trailed McGovern significantly in polls taken from late August to early October. In the final month of the campaign, Rockefeller narrowed McGovern's lead considerably after McGovern made a number of comments regarding Rockefeller's running mate, Hubert Humphrey, and a protest turned riot devastated the reputation of both McGovern and the anti-war movement. In the end, no candidate was unable to reach an electoral majority on election day, with Rockwell's victories in the South deadlocking the election by just seven votes. This was the third presidential election, and the first since the election of 1824, to end in such a controversial fashion. Protests, specifically among young liberals in the nation's major cities, swept the nation, which only gave further credibility to Rockwell's Law and Order message.

Most, especially Rockwell's fired-up supporters, expected the election to be forced into the House of Representatives. In such a scenario, Rockwell could be able to broker a deal with one of the major candidates, handing them the Presidency in exchange for an end to desegregation. However, this never came to fruition, as in a shocking turn of events, McGovern and Rockefeller announced that they had made a deal with each other, cutting Rockwell out of the process. On December 16nth, when the Electoral College met, they cast their votes overwhelmingly for McGovern for President, and for Rockefeller for Vice President. While overwhelmingly popular on a national-scale, the event enraged both Rockwell and his supporters, resulting in further radicalization and acts of extremism among Southern Conservatives.

Background
In the election of 1964, Republican Senator Barry Goldwater won one of the narrowest victories in U.S. presidential election history over the incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson, despite Johnson winning the popular vote by over five percent. During the presidential term that followed, Goldwater's already poor popularity quickly plummeted, although he was able to achieve many political successes, including Social Security reforms, a reduction of the tax rate, and cuts for various domestic programs. Despite these moves being popular with Conservatives, they were severely unpopular with most of the nation. While his administration enforced the Civil Rights Act of 1964, upsetting the south, he vetoed any new civil rights legislation, and the country endured large-scale race riots in the streets of its larger cities, along with a generational revolt of young people and violent debates over foreign policy. The emergence of the hippie counter-culture, the rise of New Left activism, and the emergence of the Black Power movement exacerbated social and cultural clashes between classes, generations, and races. Adding to the national crisis, on April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was shot and subsequently paralyzed in Memphis, Tennessee, igniting riots of grief and anger across the country. In Washington, D.C., rioting took place within a few blocks of the White House, and the government stationed soldiers with machine guns on the Capitol steps to protect it, an event some consider a prelude to the 1968 Percy Riot.

The Vietnam War was the primary reason for the precipitous decline of President Goldwater's popularity. He had greatly escalated U.S. commitment that by late 1967, over 700,000 American soldiers were fighting in Vietnam. Draftees made up 46 percent of the military in Vietnam, but suffered 63% of the casualties, as nearly 2000 Americans a month were killed, and many more were injured. Resistance to the war rose as success seemed ever out of reach. The national news media began to focus on the high costs and ambiguous results of escalation, despite Goldwater's repeated efforts to downplay the seriousness of the situation.

In early January 1968, Secretary of Defense Lucius Clay said the war would be winding down, claiming that the North Vietnamese were losing their will to fight. But, shortly thereafter, the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive, in which they and Communist forces of Vietcong undertook simultaneous attacks on all government strongholds across South Vietnam. Though the uprising ended in a U.S. military victory, the scale of the Tet offensive led many Americans to question whether the war could be "won", or was worth the costs to the U.S. In addition, voters began to mistrust the government's assessment and reporting of the war effort. The Pentagon called for sending several hundred thousand more soldiers to Vietnam. Goldwater's approval ratings fell below 30%. The Secret Service refused to let the president visit American colleges and universities, and prevented him from appearing at the 1968 Republican National Convention in Cincinnati, because it could not guarantee his safety.

Other major candidates
The following candidates were frequently interviewed by major broadcast networks, were listed in publicly published national polls, or ran a campaign that extended beyond their home delegation in the case of favorite sons.

McGovern received 6,086,026 votes in the primaries.

Primaries
The front-runner for the Democratic nomination was Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey, who formally began campaigning in January 1968. Humphrey had ran for President in 1960, and more notably, he was Former President Lyndon Johnson's running mate in the 1964 Presidential Election, a race the two just barely lost. Humphrey had the support of the party machine and the labor unions, but his record of losing caused wariness in the Democratic ranks, and many hoped a more "electable" candidate would emerge. Still, Humphrey led the early pre-primary polls by double digits, and he was expected by most to win the nomination.

Humphrey's primary challenger was South Dakotan Senator George McGovern. A Gallup poll in mid-1967 showed Humphrey with 43%, followed by McGovern with 21%. McGovern had led a commission to re-design the Democratic nomination system after the divisive nomination struggle and convention of 1964. However, the new rules angered many prominent Democrats whose influence was marginalized, and those politicians refused to support McGovern's campaign (in the general election, some even supported Rockefeller.) Despite opposition from the party establishment, McGovern was able to pull significant support from the anti-war and broader New-Left movements. Grassroots support, combined with intimate knowledge of a primary system he helped design, allowed him to close the polling gap heading into the primaries.

Senator Eugene McCarthy and Governor John Connally were both considered other potential threats to Humphrey. McCarthy appeared to be a formidable opponent early on, but with McGovern winning over the hearts of anti-war movement, McCarthy was left with little support. Connally banked his hopes on support from Lyndon Johnson and the Conservative Wing of the party, and while the latter gave him considerable resources, the former President opted instead to support Humphrey, a more electable candidate who he ran with in 1964.

The New Hampshire primary on March 12 represented a turning point in the campaign. Humphrey, who was expected to win a resounding victory, just barely defeated McGovern, 42%-39%. From then on, McGovern and Humphrey fought a tight, back and forth race. McGovern won the Pennsylvania and Massachusetts primaries, while Indiana, Nebraska, and Oregon went for Humphrey. Meanwhile, Connally swept the Southern primaries, though they netted him few delegates. Going into the June 4 California primary, both major candidates were neck and neck, though Humphrey had a slight edge in the polls. In what has been called a spectacular blunder, Humphrey agreed to debate McGovern one-on-one just a few days before the primary. Using lofty rhetoric and inspirational words, McGovern was considered the victor in the debate, and on June 4 he won the California primary. California's winner take all rules dictated that all the state's delegates were pledged to McGovern, even though his margin of victory was only a few percent. Had Humphrey won the primary, it's likely he would have won the nomination.

Total popular vote:


 * George McGovern: 6,086,026 (36.3%)
 * Hubert Humphrey: 6,070,907 (36.2%)
 * John Connally: 2,482,028 (14.8%)
 * Eugene McCarthy: 1,897,060 (10.3%)
 * Robert F. Kennedy (write-in): 326,257 (2.2%)
 * Others: 28,963 (0.2%)

Democratic Convention
As the 1968 Democratic National Convention opened on August 5 in New York, New York, the Associated Press estimated that McGovern had 1,498 delegate votes – 11 short of the number he needed to win the nomination. Humphrey and Connally were his only remaining opponents and they planned to unite their forces in an "Anybody-but-McGovern" movement.

Such an effort ultimately failed to stop McGovern's nomination, who went on to be nominated on the first ballot by just three votes. Humphrey, who had grown a personal distaste for McGovern over the course of primary campaign, walked out of the convention upon hearing the news that he was not being considered as a possible Vice-Presidential running mate for McGovern.

Most polls showed McGovern running well ahead of his presumptive opponent, Nelson Rockefeller. However, hypothetical polls showed such a lead increasing significantly when McGovern was paired with former Attorney General Robert Kennedy. McGovern and his campaign trust lobbied Kennedy heavily to accept the bid to be McGovern's running mate, but he continually refused their advance. Offers were then made to Eugene McCarthy, Connecticut Senator Abraham Ribicoff, and Maine Senator Edmund Muskie, all of whom turned it down. Finally, the vice presidential slot was offered to Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon, who accepted the offer.

With hundreds of delegates displeased with McGovern, the vote to ratify Morse's candidacy was chaotic, with at least three other candidates having their names put into nomination and votes scattered over 70 candidates. A grassroots attempt to displace Morse in favor of Texas politician Don Yarborough gained significant traction, though was ultimately unable to change the outcome of the vote.

The vice-presidential balloting went on so long that McGovern and Morse were forced to begin making their acceptance speeches at around 2 am, local time.

Other major candidates
The following candidates were frequently interviewed by major broadcast networks, were listed in publicly published national polls, or ran a campaign that extended beyond their flying home delegation in the case of favorite sons.

Rockefeller received 1,966,019 votes in the primaries.

Enter George Romney
Seeing as he had only served a single term, it was widely assumed when 1968 began that President Goldwater would run for another term, and that he would have little trouble winning the Republican nomination.

Despite growing opposition to Goldwater's policies in Vietnam, it appeared that no prominent Republican candidate would run against a sitting president of his own party. It was also accepted by many Conservative economists that the recession would end going into the election, boosting the public image of the President. Such a recovery never came to fruition. Even Governor Nelson Rockefeller from New York, an outspoken critic of Goldwater's policies, with a large base of support, publicly declined to run against Goldwater in the primaries. Poll numbers also suggested that a large share of Americans who opposed the Vietnam War felt the growth of the anti-war hippie movement among younger Americans and violent unrest on college campuses was not helping their cause. On January 30, however, claims by the Goldwater administration that a recent troop surge would soon bring an end to the war were severely discredited when the Tet Offensive broke out. Although the American military was eventually able to fend off the attacks, and also inflict heavy losses among the communist opposition, the ability of the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong to launch large scale attacks during the Tet Offensive's long duration greatly weakened American support for the military draft and further combat operations in Vietnam.

In time, only Governor George Romney from Michigan proved willing to challenge Johnson openly. Running as an anti-war candidate in the New Hampshire primary, Romney hoped to pressure the Republicans into publicly opposing the Vietnam War. Since New Hampshire was the first presidential primary of 1968, Romney poured most of his limited resources into the state. Romney was boosted by thousands of young and middle aged liberal Republicans, who organized get-out-the-vote drives, rang doorbells, distributed Romney buttons and leaflets, and worked hard in New Hampshire for Romney. On March 12, Romney won 47 percent of the primary vote, to Johnson's 44 percent, a shocking victory against an incumbent president. Immediatly, donations came flooding into Romney's campaign, and overnight he became the new front-runner.

Sensing Goldwater's vulnerability, Governor Nelson Rockefeller announced his candidacy two weeks after the New Hampshire primary. Reportedly, he was tapped to run by former Vice President Richard Nixon, who himself was speculated as a possible candidate. Thereafter, Romney and Rockefeller engaged in a series of state primaries. Despite Rockefeller's high profile, Romney had an early advatnage thanks to the established organization of his campaign.

Goldwater withdraws
On March 31, 1968, following the New Hampshire primary and Rockefeller's entry into the election, the president made a televised speech to the nation and said that he was escalating the bombing of North Vietnam. After concluding his speech, Goldwater announced, "'With America's sons in the field far away, sacrificing their lies for the good cause of freedom, with our hopes and the world's hopes for liberty in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties, other than the awesome duties of this office — the presidency of your country. Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.'"

Not discussed publicly at the time was Goldwater's concern that he might not survive another term — there had been a number of political assassination over the past few years, notably the assassination of President Kennedy, and with his historically low approval rating, there was genuine concern he could be killed. Bleak political forecasts also contributed to Goldwater's withdrawal; internal polling by Goldwater's campaign in Wisconsin, the next state to hold a primary election, showed the President trailing badly.

Historians have debated why Goldwater quit a few days after his loss in New Hampshire. Jeff Shesol says Goldwater wanted out of the White House, but also wanted vindication; when the indicators turned negative, he decided to leave. Lewis L. Gould says that Goldwater had neglected the Republican party, was hurting it by his Vietnam policies, and under-estimated Romney's strength until the last minute, when it was too late for Johnson to recover. Randall Bennett Woods said Goldwater realized he needed to leave, in order for the nation to heal. Anthony J. Bennett, however, said Goldwater "had been forced out of a re-election race in 1968 by outrage over his policy in Southeast Asia."

In 2009, an AP reporter said that Goldwater decided to end his re-election bid after CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, who was influential, turned against the president's policy in Vietnam. During a CBS News editorial which aired on February 27, Cronkite recommended the US pursue peace negotiations. After watching Cronkite's editorial, Goldwater allegedly exclaimed: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America. This quote by Goldwater has been disputed for accuracy. But, Cronkite and CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer defended reports that the remark had been made. They said that members of Goldwater's inner circle, who had watched the editorial with the president, later confirmed the accuracy of the quote to them.

After Goldwater's withdrawal, the Republican Party quickly split into three factions.
 * The first group were the Conservatives. They were Goldwater's base, and although some of his more liberal social policies had alienated them somewhat, they could all get behind his economic and foreign policies. While disappointed by the selection of candidates, this group stuck with the party.
 * The second faction, were the Arch-conservatives. One could consider this a subset of the first group, but an important distinction is that this was the only group to completely break from the party. Throughout Goldwater's term, they had become increasingly upset with his enforcement of the Civil Rights Act, and when faced with a selection of moderate to liberal candidates, many opted instead to support Governor Rockwell.
 * The third group was primarily composed of liberals and progressives. This group was overjoyed when Goldwater dropped out, as he had been an anathema to them ever since the 1964 Republican Primary. Many in this group had considered joining the Democratic Party over Goldwater's term. This group tended to support George Romney, and they were concentrated in the North-east and West-coast.
 * The fourth group consisted of moderates and some liberals. Similar to the third faction, Goldwater was unpopular with this group, and they were happy to see him drop out. This group originally supported George Romney, but shifted towards Nelson Rockefeller upon his entry into the race. This group was concentrated throughout the country, but particularly in the North-east, West-Coast, and Midwest.

Since the Vietnam War had become the major issue that was dividing the Republican Party, and Goldwater had come to symbolize the war for many liberal Republicans, Goldwater believed that he could not win the nomination without a major struggle, and that he would probably lose the election in November to the Democrats. However, by withdrawing from the race, he could avoid the stigma of defeat, and he could keep control of the party machinery by giving the nomination to Miller, who had been a loyal vice-president.

despite his fierce enforcement of Civil Rights Act, many had accused Goldwater over the years of backing down to Southern Segregationists. This was because of his notably unpopular stance against any new equality legislation, Goldwater going as far as to veto a Voting Rights Bill in 1966. As an extension of this, some argued that Goldwater was secretly a support of Rockwell. However, Goldwater's telephone calls show that he believed the Rockwell camp was deliberately instigating race riots, and possibly the Percy Riot. Over the next few years, Goldwater was an open critic of Rockwell, the Traditional American Party, and White Separationists.

Contest
After Goldwater's withdrawal, Vice President William Miller announced his candidacy. While Romney had an easy victory in Wisconsin, the primary there was barely contested by Rockefeller, who was just beginning his campaign. The primary in Pennsylvania was another turning point in the race, as Rockefeller managed to win decisively. Some believe this was due to Rockefeller bringing to attention Romney's "brainwashing" comments. Miller competed directly in primaries with both Rockefeller and Romney, and he easily won over support from Conservatives. Miller, untainted by some of the administration's more liberal social policies, was even more popular among right-wingers than Goldwater was. As such, he easily won the primaries, in Indiana, Nebraska, Kansas, and Florida. Meanwhile, he also focused on gaining the support of favorite-sons and delegates from non-primary states. In the end, it was Miller who put up the greatest fight against Rockefeller, with Romney coming in a somewhat distant third place, by the end of things.

Republican Convention and conservative protests
Rockefeller had won a landslide in the primaries, with easy victories in Illinois, California, and other states, he was all but guaranteed the nomination. Vice President Miller attempted to sway over uncommitted delegates, but was ultimately unsuccessful. After the delegates nominated Rockefeller, the convention then turned to selecting a vice-presidential nominee. The main candidates for this position were Senator Mark Hatfield from Oregon, Governor Claude R. Kirk Jr. of Florida, and even Governor Ronald Reagan from California, though Reagan rejected the idea completely.

In an absolutely shocking turn of events, Rockefeller asked Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, a liberal Democrat and George McGovern's primary rival for the Democratic nomination, to be his running mate. Deeply displeased and still bitter by McGovern's nomination, Humphrey agreed. When news broke, the Convention exploded in shock. There was talk of a Conservative walk-out, while even moderate Republicans were hesitant about the idea of a joint party ticket. Meanwhile, liberals were pleased, and moderate Democrats alienated by McGovern were overjoyed, though the latter had little impact on the convention itself. It is speculated that Vice President Miller's surprise endorsement of Rockefeller is the only thing that stopped a riot from breaking out on the convention floor.

For a while, it seemed as if Humphrey would actually fail to be nominated, which would've been a historic occurrence. There was talk of "Draft-Ford" movement, in which the moderate Congressman from Michigan, Gerald Ford, would be placed on the ticket as a compromise between the Conservatives, Rockefeller's wishes, and Romney supporters. In the end, Humphrey was just barely nominated on the first ballot. In the aftermath of the Convention, Rockefeller's approval plummeted among Conservatives, but his cross-party support simultaneously skyrocketed.

As of the 2020 presidential election, 1968 was the last time that two siblings (Nelson and Winthrop Rockefeller) ran against each other in a presidential primary.

Traditional American Party nomination
The Traditional American Party, which was established in 1959 by George Lincoln Rockwell, nominated it's founder as the party's candidate for president. The impact of the Rockwell campaign was decisive, winning the electoral votes of several states in the Deep South, as well as Arkansas, Tennessee, and Rockwell's home state of Virginia. With these victories, he succeeded in preventing either major candidate from winning an electoral majority on election day. He appeared on the ballot in all fifty states, but not the District of Columbia. Although he did not come close to winning any states outside the South, Rockwell was the 1968 presidential candidate who most disproportionately drew his support from among young men.

Rockwell was not expected to win the election – his strategy was to prevent either major party candidate from winning a preliminary majority in the Electoral College. Although Rockwell put considerable effort into mounting a serious general election campaign, his presidential bid was also a continuation of Southern efforts to elect unpledged electors that had taken place in every election from 1956 – he had his electors promise to vote not necessarily for him but rather for whomever he directed them to support – his objective was not to move the election into the U.S. House of Representatives where he would have had little influence, but rather to give himself the bargaining power to determine the winner. Rockwell's running mate was the former Governor of Alabama, and infamous segregationist George Wallace, whom himself had considered running as a third party candidate.

Prior to deciding on Wallace, Rockwell gave serious consideration to former Arch-conservative political activist Phyllis Schlafly of Missouri as his running mate. Rockwell and Schlafly met a number of times; however, Schlafly said that she and Rockwell were unable to come to a compromise regarding their positions on racial matters. Previously, at the 1960 Republican National Convention, Schlafly had led a revolt of "moral conservatives" who opposed Richard Nixon's stance "against segregation and discrimination." However, she was turned off by Rockwell's separationist ideology.

With Alabama solidly in Rockwell's column even before the announcement of his running mate, Wallace added little to his campaign, though he didn't detract much support either.

Other parties and candidates
Also on the ballot in two or more states were black activist Eldridge Cleaver (who was ineligible to take office, as he would have only been 33 years of age on January 20, 1969) for the Peace and Freedom Party; Henning Blomen for the Socialist Labor Party; Fred Halstead for the Socialist Workers Party; E. Harold Munn for the Prohibition Party; and Charlene Mitchell – the first African-American woman to run for president, and the first woman to receive valid votes in a general election – for the Communist Party. Comedians Dick Gregory and Pat Paulsen were notable write-in candidates. A facetious presidential candidate for 1968 was a pig named Pigasus, as a political statement by the Yippies, to illustrate their premise that "one pig's as good as any other."

Campaign strategies
McGovern rejected suggestions to move towards the center, himself instead adopting a strategy of appealing to his anti-war base of energized young progressives. He succeeded in driving turnout, but many of his most fervent supporters were not old enough vote, as the Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed eighteen to twenty years olds vote, had not yet proposed or ratified. McGovern ran almost a single issue campaign, with most of his attention focused on the Vietnam War, the issue he was most personally passionate about.

Since he was well behind McGovern in the polls as the campaign began, Rockefeller opted for a slashing, fighting campaign style. He flew around the country, doing short, energized campaign stops where he spoke to and took questions directly from the American people. He often compared his campaign to the successful underdog effort of President Harry Truman, another candidate who had trailed in the polls, in the 1948 presidential election. In an effort to combat this, McGovern attempted to court the endorsement of Truman, but the former President declined, embarrassing McGovern's campaign. Rockefeller predicted that he, like Truman, would surprise the experts and win an upset victory.

Though his electoral support was localized almost entirely within the Deep South, Rockwell appeared to be running a national campaign, with grand appearances across the country states. He drew significant support from Western Arch-conservatives upset with Rockefeller's moderate and liberal positions, and thus possibly split states like Oregon and Montana. His racial rhetoric and hawkish stances appealed greatly to Blue-Collar Union Workers in the North, who were otherwise loyal to the Democrats.

Campaign themes
McGovern promised to restore the Great Society welfare programs started by President Johnson and ended by President Goldwater, and to renew the Johnson Administration's "War on Poverty." He also promised to continue the efforts of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and the Supreme Court, in promoting the expansion of civil rights and civil liberties for minority groups. However, all these issues paled in comparison to the importance of the Vietnam War. McGovern's primary appeal was that he promised a quick and immediate withdrawal of all American forces from Vietnam, regardless of such a move's consequences for the South Vietnamese Government. In return, the North Vietnamese would hand over all American Prisoners of War.

Rockefeller campaigned on themes of hope, optimism, and renewal. He and his running mate, Hubert Humphrey, were partners on the campaign trail, flying around the country and speaking directly to groups of Americans. He took moderately liberal positions on the issues of the day, campaigning in favor of Civil Rights expansion, a fair peace deal in Vietnam, and strengthening social security, which had been cut under the Goldwater administration. Near the end of the campaign, he released a detailed platform detailing his proposals one by one, which netted him a boost in the polls. He also campaigned on somewhat of a "Law and Order" platform, focusing on increasing penalties for violent crimes, including support for the death penalty, as well as cracking down on the drug trade.

Rockwell ran a far-right campaign, which, while energizing his base, limited his national support. He called for a massive crackdown on crime, which appealed to many voters angry with the hundreds of violent riots that had taken place across the country in the previous few years. Following the assassination attempt against Martin Luther King in April 1968, there was massive rioting in inner city areas. The police were overwhelmed and President Goldwater decided to call out the U.S. Army. Rockwell opposed desegregation, and advocated in favor of Separation, which hurt nationally, but netted him some interesting support from Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam. As the campaign went on, he quieted down on the racial issue. He supported escalating the Vietnam War, and maintaining the economic policies of the incumbent administration.

Rockefeller's comeback
After the Republican Convention in late August, Rockefeller trailed McGovern by double digits in most polls, and his chances seemed hopeless. Many within Rockefeller's campaign saw their real goal as avoiding the potential humiliation of finishing behind Rockwell in the electoral college vote (if not necessarily the popular vote), rather than having any serious chance of defeating McGovern. According to Time magazine, "The Republican coalition was disintegrating, with untold numbers of conservatives responding to Rockwell's blandishments, and many more willing to sit out the election all together. The war chest was almost empty, and the party's machinery, neglected by Barry Goldwater, creaked in disrepair." His running mate calling for "the politics of joy", and using the still-numerous liberal Republicans as his base, Rockefeller fought back.

Rockefeller attacked Rockwell as a racist bigot who appealed to the darker impulses of Americans. Rockwell had been rising in the polls as a result of tailoring his message to audiences outside of his southern strongholds by using anti-establishment rhetoric and attacks on "concentrated wealth", with Rockwell's polling numbers peaking at 13% nationally in late September and early October. However, Rockwell's momentum went into reverse after the New York times released an article alleging that Rockwell's party had ties to various Neo-Nazi groups. The article also alleged that Rockwell himself had praised Hitler during his time in the Navy. This was expected to destroy his campaign, but Rockwell successfully deflected, calling out the lack of evidence present in the article. Still, this greatly hurt his campaign outside the deep south, likely resulting in his narrow loss in North Carolina. As election day approached and Rockwell's support in the North, Midwest and West began to wane, Rockefeller finally began to climb in the polls.

In October, the feud between George McGovern and Hubert Humphrey came to a climax when Humphrey accused McGovern's economic platform of "bordering on Communism." While a somewhat unpopular statement, it was overshadowed by McGovern's response, who called Humphrey a "sore loser, and a member of the party’s obsolete establishment wing." McGovern apologized for the statement, saying that he had said it off-the-cuff after a stressful day of campaigning. His words were condemned by many moderate Democrats, including Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine, and more notably, former President Johnson. With how close the end result was, the gaffe likely cost him a victory on election night.

The Percy Riot
On October 26th, Charles Harting Percy, the United States Ambassador to South Vietnam and the former Governor of Illinois, was travelling to Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, via Helicopter. In an unprecedented event, his Helicopter was shot down by a North Vietnamese Guerrilla Unit. Ambassador Percy died in the crash. According to reports leaked after the event, Percy was in the final stages of negotiating the framework for a possible peace deal, which would've ended the Vietnam War after almost a decade of fighting.

After the news broke, what followed was a period of national sorrow. Even with his direct connection to an increasingly unpopular administration, Percy was a very popular figure, especially in his home state of Illinois, where he had served as Governor for two years before resigning to take the office of Ambassador. Although he was a Republican, and an enthusiastic supporter of Nelson Rockefeller's campaign, his death saw a massive spike in anti-war sentiment among Americans. A poll taken two days later showed as much as a fifteen percent increase in the number of people who deemed necessary a completely withdrawal of all American troops from Vietnam, a position McGovern supported. For a time, the tragic event looked as if it could be the October Surprise McGovern needed to hold onto his lead in the polls and win the election, but such a consensus didn't last.

Three days later, on the 29th, a large group of Anti-War protesters made up of Students, Veterans, Progressives, and Liberal Republicans gathered on Pennsylvania Avenue for an impromptu protest, with the aim of forcing the President to follow the popular will and put an immediate end to the war. The event was peaceful, for a time, however a large number of Pro-War Counter Protesters began arriving at the scene. Brawls began, and before long the situation had developed into yet another riot. With it's close proximity to the White House, President Goldwater called in the National Guard to secure the situation. For about ten minutes, the thousands in the crowd were at a stand still, and then, a rock landed on the helmet of Officer Eugene Glaithers, knocking him to the ground. What followed was an event echoing the Boston Massacre of 1770. The line of National Guardsmen fired into the crowd, and members of the crowd charged the Guardsmen, while others ran or hid in fear or shock. By the time the event had settled, almost a dozen protesters were dead, over a hundred were injured, and six National Guardsmen were dead. Experts are still unsure of whether it was a Pro-War or an Anti-War protester who threw the rock.

The anti-war organization which had organized the protest had serious ties to the McGovern campaign, and in the aftermath of the massacre, his poll numbers dived. A Gallup Poll released three days after the incident showed him falling by as much as seven points. Meanwhile, Governor Rockwell's numbers skyrocketed. Rockwell had been courting Law and Order voters, a significantly sized demographic, for the entirety of the campaign, and millions who had been previously on the fence began tilting towards him. The same Gallup Poll showed him climbing a full five points nationally, with spikes much higher in areas already showing him support, such as the Deep South and various Western states.

Election Night
The election on November 5, 1968, proved to be extremely close, and it was not until two days later that the television news networks were able to declare that Rockwell had succeeded in deadlocking the electoral college, with no candidate reaching a majority of the vote. The key states proved to be New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, all of which were decided by less than a percentage point. Had McGovern carried New York, he would have won the election. McGovern won the popular vote with a plurality of 10,328 votes, or a victory margin of less than a tenth of a percentage point. It was the closest popular vote margin in American history. In the electoral college, he carried 18 states with 263 electoral votes, compared to Rockefeller's 24 states and 199 electoral votes and Rockwell's eight states and 76 electoral votes.

George McGovern came close to winning the Electoral College, dominating several regions in the West Coast and Midwest, and portions of the Northeast, while winning the popular vote by a small margin of 10,328 over Republican nominee Nelson Rockefeller. Rockefeller performed well in the West, the Border States, and the Northeast. Rockwell finished last with eight states in the South.This was the closest election in American history.

Electoral College Vote
In the aftermath of the election results, George Lincoln Rockwell and his supporters were jubilant. Parades, some of which descended into excited riots, were being held across the South, including in states like North Carolina, Texas, and Florida, which Rockwell hadn't carried in the election. Meanwhile, protests swept across the rest of the nation, with notable riots in Chicago and Las Angeles. George McGovern and Nelson Rockefeller urged their voters to remain peaceful and calm, and while Rockwell declined to comment on the violence of his own supporters, he lambasted what he called "Northern Lawlessness."

In an election where no candidate is able to reach an electoral majority of 270 votes, the House of Representatives elects the President from among the top three candidates, with each state's delegation getting a single vote. Meanwhile, the Senate would elect the Vice President from among the top two candidates. Such a vote, which hadn't happened since the election of 1824, was widely expected to occur. In such a Contingent Election, it's possible that Rockwell would be able to use the newly elected group of Traditional American Congressmen to further delay the election, blocking any candidate from reaching a majority of the House vote, forcing one of the major candidates to work with him, which would likely involve promising to end desegregation, in order to successfully get elected.

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, the election never went to the House. On December 14th, George McGovern and Nelson Rockefeller appeared together on Television, shocking the nation. In the televised address, McGovern and Rockefeller detailed the plans to avoid a Contingent election and thus to circumvent Rockwell's influence. "I understand the shock, grief, and fear many of you have felt over the past month. Fear that a small minority of the population, a hate filled minority, might control the outcome and the fate of the great majority of loving, caring people in this nation."

"It is our intention to prevent such an outcome, by any means necessary. To ensure that progress in this country, both economic and social progress, can continue as it should. Our next words may come as a shock to many, but the stakes we face are far too high to argue over whether the President's name comes attached to a D or an R. In light of that goal, which we are both eternally committed to, we are urging all our Electors to cast their ballot for George McGovern for President..."

"...And for my good friend Nelson Rockefeller, for Vice President. Some may call this another corrupt bargain, but I think it would be far more corrupt to let hatred tear this nation apart." The Broadcast, which was watched by over a hundred millions of Americans, changed history. Two days later, on December 16th, the Electoral College gathered in their respective state capitols, and cast their votes for President and Vice President. As expected, this election had the greatest number of faithless electors in history. Over a hundred electors originally pledged to Rockefeller voted for McGovern, while a smaller yet notable number of particularly Conservative electors instead voted for Rockwell, upset over their nominee's choice to back the opposing party. In the end, McGovern, with 371 votes, was elected in a landslide, while Rockefeller, having 61 votes, was elected Vice President. Rockwell actually placed second, with 106 electoral votes, but was not elected to any office. Wayne Morse, Hubert Humphrey, and George Wallace were not elected to any office.

While the move was overwhelmingly popular, it was, as expected, met with outrage among Rockwell's supporters. Violent protests swept across the South, with the number of racially motivated hate crimes skyrocketing in states like Mississippi and South Carolina. It is widely speculated that the so called "Bargain of Hope" was the cause of the bombing of Saint Matthews Church, a black church in Mississippi. The bombing killed over a dozen people, including four children. Prominent southern figures like George Wallace, Strom Thurmond, Harry Byrd, and Lester Maddox decried the bargain as illegal and, as McGovern had predicted in their broadcast, as corrupt. Rockwell, reportedly furious, told reporters "I underestimated how deep the roots of corruption were in this country. Next time, I'm not going to make the same mistake again."

Results
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Source (Popular Vote): Source (Electoral Vote):

Close states
States where margin of victory was less than 5 percentage points (223 electoral votes):


 * 1) Missouri, 1.13% (20,488 votes)
 * 2) Texas, 1.27% (38,960 votes)
 * 3) Maryland, 1.64% (20,315 votes)
 * 4) Washington, 2.11% (27,527 votes)
 * 5) New Jersey, 2.13% (61,261 votes)
 * 6) Ohio, 2.28% (90,428 votes) (tipping point state for Nixon win)
 * 7) Alaska, 2.64% (2,189 votes)
 * 8) Illinois, 2.92% (134,960 votes) (tipping point state for Humphrey win)
 * 9) California, 3.08% (223,346 votes)
 * 10) Delaware, 3.51% (7,520 votes)
 * 11) Pennsylvania, 3.57% (169,388 votes)
 * 12) Wisconsin, 3.62% (61,193 votes)
 * 13) Tennessee, 3.83% (47,800 votes)

States where margin of victory was more than 5 percentage points, but less than 10 percentage points (155 electoral votes):


 * 1) Kentucky, 5.14% (64,870 votes)
 * 2) Connecticut, 5.16% (64,840 votes)
 * 3) New York, 5.46% (370,538 votes)
 * 4) South Carolina, 5.79% (38,632 votes)
 * 5) Oregon, 6.05% (49,567 votes)
 * 6) Michigan, 6.73% (222,417 votes)
 * 7) Arkansas, 7.64% (46,565 votes)
 * 8) Nevada, 8.17% (12,590 votes)
 * 9) New Hampshire, 8.17% (24,314 votes)
 * 10) North Carolina, 8.25% (131,004 votes)
 * 11) West Virginia, 8.82% (66,536 votes)
 * 12) Montana, 9.01% (24,718 votes)
 * 13) Colorado, 9.14% (74,171 votes)
 * 14) Vermont, 9.22% (14,887 votes)
 * 15) Florida, 9.60% (210,010 votes)