Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1960

Democratic Presidential Primaries, 1960

1956 ← 1960 → 1964

Nominee John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Party Democratic Democratic Home state Massachusetts Texas States carried 50 0

Democratic presidential candidate before election Adlai Stevenson Democratic presidential candidate-elect John F. Kennedy

The 1960 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1960 U.S. presidential election. Senator John F. Kennedy was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1960 Democratic National Convention held from July 11 to July 15, 1960 in Los Angeles, California.

Primary race

Recalling the experience of 1928 Catholic Democratic presidential nominee Al Smith, many wondered if anti-Catholic prejudice would affect Kennedy's chances of winning the nomination and the election in November. To prove his vote-getting ability, Kennedy challenged Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey, a liberal, in the Wisconsin primary. Although Kennedy defeated Humphrey in Wisconsin, the fact that his margin of victory came mostly from heavily Catholic areas left many party bosses unconvinced of Kennedy's appeal to non-Catholic voters. Kennedy next faced Humphrey in the heavily Protestant state of West Virginia, where anti-Catholic bigotry was said to be widespread. Humphrey's campaign was low on money and could not compete with the well-organized, well-financed Kennedy team. Kennedy's attractive sisters and brothers combed the state looking for votes, leading Humphrey to complain that he "felt like an independent merchant running against a chain store."^[1] On primary day, Kennedy crushed Humphrey with over 60% of the vote. Humphrey withdrew from the race and Kennedy had gained the victory he needed to prove to the party's bosses that a Catholic could win in a non-Catholic state. In the months leading up to the Democratic Convention Kennedy traveled around the nation persuading delegates from various states to support him. However, as the Convention opened, Kennedy was still a few dozen votes short of victory.

Although Kennedy won primaries by comfortable margin, his main opponent, Lyndon B. Johnson, who did not participate in primaries, had a very strong base in party establishment and gained many delegates. He did not join any primary, but was a write-in^[2].

Candidates

The following political leaders were candidates for the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination. With the exceptions of Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Stuart Symington and Adlai Stevenson, these men were "favorite-son" candidates without any realistic chance of winning the nomination:

Candidates gallery

• 

  Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts

• 

  Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas

• 

  Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri

• 

  Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota

• 

  Governor Pat Brown of California

• 

  Businessman Paul C. Fisher from Pennsylvania

• 

  Governor Robert B. Meyner of New Jersey

• 

  Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon

• 

  Senator George Smathers of Florida

• 

  Former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois

Potential candidates who did not run

• 

  Senator Joseph S. Clark of Pennsylvania

• 

  Governor Orville Freeman of Minnesota

• 

  Senator Albert Gore, Sr. of Tennessee

• 

  Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington

• 

  Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee

• 

  Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota

Primaries

1960 Democratic presidential primaries

States by winner

		John F. Kennedy	Pat Brown	Hubert Humphrey	George Smathers	Michael DiSalle	Unpledged
March 8	New Hampshire	85%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
April 5	Wisconsin	56%	0%	44%	0%	0%	0%
April 12	Illinois	65%	0%	8%	0%	0%	0%
April 19	New Jersey	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	100%
April 26	Massachusetts	92%	0%	1%	0%	0%	0%
April 26	Pennsylvania	71%	0%	4%	0%	0%	0%
May 3	Indiana	81%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
May 3	Ohio	0%	0%	0%	0%	60%	0%
May 3	Washington, D.C.	0%	0%	57%	0%	0%	0%
May 10	Nebraska	89%	0%	4%	0%	0%	0%
May 10	West Virginia	61%	0%	39%	0%	0%	0%
May 17	Maryland	70%	0%	0%	0%	0%	8%
May 20	Oregon	51%	0%	6%	0%	0%	0%
May 24	Florida	0%	0%	0%	100%	0%	0%
June 7	California	0%	67%	0%	0%	0%	0%
June 7	South Dakota	0%	0%	100%	0%	0%	0%

Total popular vote

Total number of vote in primaries:

• John F. Kennedy - 1,847,259 (31.43%)
• Pat Brown - 1,354,031 (23.04%)
• George H. McLain - 646,387 (11.00%)
• Hubert Humphrey - 590,410 (10.05%)
• George Smathers - 322,235 (5.48%)
• Michael DiSalle - 315,312 (5.37%)
• Unpledged delegates - 241,958 (4.12%)
• Wayne Morse - 147,262 (2.51%)
• Adlai Stevenson - 51,833 (0.88%)

Convention

Presidential Nomination

Main article: 1960 Democratic National Convention

Presidential tally^[3]:

• John F. Kennedy - 806 (52.89%)
• Lyndon B. Johnson - 409 (26.84%)
• Stuart Symington - 86 (5.64%)
• Adlai Stevenson - 80 (5.25%)
• Robert B. Meyner - 43 (2.82%)
• Hubert Humphrey - 42 (2.76%)
• George Smathers - 30 (1.97%)
• Ross Barnett - 23 (1.51%)
• Herschel C. Loveless - 2 (0.13%)
• Pat Brown, Orval E. Faubus, Albert Dean Rosellini - each 1 vote

Vice-Presidential Nomination

Johnson was nominated unanimously as Vice Presidential candidate^[4], receiving all 1,521 votes.

See also

• Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1960

References

1. ^ Schlesinger, Arthur M. Robert Kennedy and His Times. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0-618-21928-5, p. 195.
2. ^ Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1960
3. ^ Our Campaigns - US President - D Convention Race - Jul 11, 1960
4. ^ Our Campaigns - US Vice President - D Convention Race - Jul 11, 1960

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