1968 United States presidential election in New York
November 5, 1968
Turnout59.7%[1] Decrease 4.7 pp
 
Nominee Hubert Humphrey Richard Nixon George Wallace
Party Democratic Republican Courage[lower-alpha 1]
Alliance Liberal
Home state Minnesota New York[lower-alpha 2] Alabama
Running mate Edmund Muskie Spiro Agnew S. Marvin Griffin
Electoral vote 43 0 0
Popular vote 3,378,470 3,007,932 358,864
Percentage 49.76% 44.30% 5.29%
County Results
President before election

Lyndon B. Johnson
Democratic

 Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

Vice President Hubert Humphrey at a campaign rally in New York City, 1968.

The 1968 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1968 United States presidential election. Voters chose 43 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

New York was won by incumbent Democratic vice president Hubert Humphrey, defeating Republican former vice president Richard Nixon by a margin of 5.46 percentage points and more than 370,000 votes. Maine Senator Edmund Muskie was Humphrey’s vice-presidential running mate, while Nixon’s running mate was Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew.

Humphrey took 49.76% of the vote to Nixon's 44.30% in New York, while former Alabama Governor George Wallace won 5.29% as the nominee of the American Independent Party. Wallace ran a segregationist and right-wing populist campaign which failed to gain much traction in the Northeast. In the Empire State, Wallace did best in suburban and exurban counties, as well as in the New York City borough of Staten Island. Wallace's stances were popular with voters who resented race riots, the increasing influence of African-Americans in the national Democratic Party, and the counterculture, but were anathema to voters in the inner cities and most of Upstate New York.[3]

New York weighed in for this election as 7% more Democratic than the nation. Almost six percent of the electorate voted for third parties, mainly the American Independent Party.[4] In typical form for the time, the major cities of New York City, Buffalo, Albany, Schenectady, and Niagara Falls voted Democratic, while the smaller counties in New York mainly turned out for Nixon as the Republican candidate. Nixon thus became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Erie County since Abraham Lincoln in 1864, the first to do so without carrying Niagara or Schenectady Counties since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, as well as the first to do so without carrying Albany or Queens Counties since Herbert Hoover in 1928.

Despite Nixon winning most of the state's counties, Humphrey’s landslide margin in New York City — receiving 60.6% of the vote in the five boroughs to Nixon's 33.9%, and losing only Staten Island to Nixon — provided him with enough raw votes for a statewide victory. Humphrey was seen by many as promising to continue the legacy of president Lyndon B. Johnson,[5] and this garnered him strong support from liberal voters across America.

This was the first time since Samuel J. Tilden won the state in 1876 that New York voted for a losing Democratic candidate. As of 2020, this remains the last time that New York had the largest number of electoral votes in the nation, as California would overtake it after the 1970 census.[6] Nixon is one of four presidents to win the presidency while losing his home state (the others being James K. Polk with Tennessee in 1844, Woodrow Wilson with New Jersey in 1916, and Donald Trump with New York in 2016).

Results

1968 United States presidential election in New York
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Hubert Humphrey 3,066,848 45.17%
Liberal Hubert Humphrey 311,622 4.59%
Total Hubert Humphrey 3,378,470 49.76% 43
Republican Richard Nixon 3,007,932 44.30% 0
Courage[lower-alpha 1] George Wallace 358,864 5.29% 0
Peace and Freedom Dick Gregory 24,517 0.36% 0
Socialist Workers Fred Halstead 11,851 0.17% 0
Socialist Labor Henning Blomen 8,432 0.12% 0
Totals 6,790,066 100.0% 43

New York City results

1968 Presidential Election in New York City Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Democratic-
Liberal		 Hubert Humphrey 370,806277,385489,174410,54634,7701,582,68160.56%
70.04%62.40%63.12%53.60%35.18%
Republican Richard Nixon 135,458142,314247,936306,62054,631886,95933.94%
25.59%32.02%31.99%40.03%55.28%
Courage George Wallace 12,95821,95033,56344,1989,112121,7814.66%
2.45%4.94%4.33%5.77%9.22%
Peace and Freedom Dick Gregory 8,6101,7672,8573,10412316,4610.63%
1.63%0.40%0.37%0.41%0.12%
Socialist Labor Henning A. Blomen 8188361,0391,0911643,9480.15%
0.15%0.19%0.13%0.14%0.17%
Socialist Workers Fred Halstead 742265400353241,7840.07%
0.14%0.06%0.05%0.05%0.02%
TOTAL 529,392444,517774,969765,91298,8242,613,614100.00%

Results by county

County Hubert Horatio Humphrey
Democratic		 Richard Milhous Nixon
Republican		 George Corley Wallace
Courage		 Richard Claxton Gregory[7]
Peace and Freedom		 Various candidates[7]
Other parties		 Margin Total votes cast
#  % #  % #  % #  % #  % #  %
Albany 80,724 57.93% 52,948 38.00% 5,025 3.61% 189 0.14% 508 0.36% 27,776 19.93% 139,351
Allegany 4,986 29.08% 11,222 65.45% 851 4.96% 22 0.13% 75 0.44% -6,236 -36.37% 17,145
Bronx 277,385 62.40% 142,314 32.02% 21,950 4.94% 1,767 0.40% 1,116 0.25% 135,071 30.39% 444,517
Broome 37,451 41.93% 46,872 52.48% 4,618 5.17% 110 0.12% 321 0.36% -9,421 -10.55% 89,311
Cattaraugus 12,733 40.88% 16,594 53.27% 1,674 5.37% 31 0.10% 125 0.40% -3,861 -12.40% 31,148
Cayuga 14,604 44.71% 16,167 49.49% 1,826 5.59% 20 0.06% 53 0.16% -1,563 -4.78% 32,666
Chautauqua 26,431 45.18% 28,561 48.82% 3,273 5.59% 47 0.08% 195 0.33% -2,130 -3.64% 58,507
Chemung 15,820 40.00% 20,693 52.32% 2,807 7.10% 35 0.09% 198 0.50% -4,873 -12.32% 39,553
Chenango 5,706 30.92% 11,785 63.86% 887 4.81% 12 0.07% 65 0.35% -6,079 -32.94% 18,455
Clinton 10,153 43.82% 11,951 51.58% 931 4.02% 28 0.12% 113 0.49% -1,798 -7.76% 23,168
Columbia 7,762 33.62% 13,857 60.03% 1,372 5.94% 41 0.18% 54 0.23% -6,095 -26.40% 23,085
Cortland 5,791 34.47% 10,209 60.76% 720 4.29% 31 0.18% 67 0.40% -4,418 -26.30% 16,801
Delaware 5,360 28.36% 12,366 65.44% 1,121 5.93% 18 0.10% 33 0.17% -7,006 -37.07% 18,898
Dutchess 31,025 37.80% 45,032 54.87% 5,662 6.90% 214 0.26% 189 0.23% -14,007 -17.07% 82,067
Erie 250,054 55.18% 167,853 37.04% 33,402 7.37% 679 0.15% 1,283 0.28% 82,201 18.14% 453,165
Essex 5,218 33.98% 9,377 61.07% 701 4.57% 15 0.10% 50 0.33% -4,159 -27.09% 15,355
Franklin 6,678 42.80% 8,314 53.29% 544 3.49% 9 0.06% 59 0.38% -1,636 -10.49% 15,602
Fulton 8,871 40.66% 11,895 54.52% 989 4.53% 20 0.09% 43 0.20% -3,024 -13.86% 21,818
Genesee 9,533 41.18% 12,418 53.64% 1,141 4.93% 9 0.04% 49 0.21% -2,885 -12.46% 23,150
Greene 5,499 30.56% 10,954 60.87% 1,421 7.90% 20 0.11% 127 0.70% -5,455 -30.31% 17,997
Hamilton 762 24.96% 2,123 69.54% 163 5.34% 1 0.03% 4 0.13% -1,361 -44.58% 3,053
Herkimer 10,940 39.54% 15,192 54.91% 1,455 5.26% 15 0.05% 75 0.27% -4,252 -15.37% 27,665
Jefferson 13,438 40.59% 18,552 56.03% 1,016 3.07% 17 0.05% 100 0.30% -5,114 -15.45% 33,109
Kings 489,174 63.12% 247,936 31.99% 33,563 4.33% 2,857 0.37% 1,537 0.20% 241,238 31.13% 774,969
Lewis 3,205 34.91% 5,524 60.17% 430 4.68% 5 0.05% 19 0.21% -2,319 -25.26% 9,180
Livingston 6,989 35.82% 11,659 59.75% 775 3.97% 24 0.12% 66 0.34% -4,670 -23.93% 19,513
Madison 7,056 32.06% 13,819 62.79% 1,053 4.78% 14 0.06% 68 0.31% -6,763 -30.73% 22,010
Monroe 141,437 47.66% 143,233 48.27% 10,875 3.66% 446 0.15% 764 0.26% -1,796 -0.61% 296,755
Montgomery 11,449 45.33% 12,566 49.75% 1,147 4.54% 24 0.10% 71 0.28% -1,117 -4.42% 25,257
Nassau 278,599 43.31% 329,792 51.27% 30,860 4.80% 2,107 0.33% 2,224 0.35% -51,193 -7.96% 643,195
New York 370,806 70.04% 135,458 25.59% 12,958 2.45% 8,610 1.63% 1,632 0.31% 235,348 44.46% 529,392
Niagara 41,999 47.77% 38,796 44.12% 6,617 7.53% 59 0.07% 454 0.52% 3,203 3.64% 87,925
Oneida 44,685 43.07% 52,875 50.96% 5,666 5.46% 75 0.07% 460 0.44% -8,190 -7.89% 103,761
Onondaga 83,576 44.02% 95,806 50.46% 9,459 4.98% 272 0.14% 767 0.40% -12,230 -6.44% 189,865
Ontario 11,719 38.94% 17,114 56.86% 1,180 3.92% 28 0.09% 57 0.19% -5,395 -17.92% 30,098
Orange 28,122 35.09% 44,955 56.09% 6,473 8.08% 129 0.16% 502 0.63% -16,833 -21.00% 80,149
Orleans 4,786 34.13% 8,509 60.67% 696 4.96% 6 0.04% 35 0.25% -3,723 -26.55% 14,024
Oswego 14,636 39.72% 20,041 54.39% 1,962 5.33% 39 0.11% 167 0.45% -5,405 -14.67% 36,845
Otsego 7,981 35.16% 13,543 59.67% 1,091 4.81% 44 0.19% 49 0.22% -5,562 -24.51% 22,696
Putnam 8,472 34.84% 13,293 54.67% 2,388 9.82% 45 0.18% 129 0.53% -4,821 -19.83% 24,314
Queens 410,546 53.60% 306,620 40.03% 44,198 5.77% 3,104 0.41% 1,544 0.20% 103,926 13.57% 765,912
Rensselaer 30,232 44.02% 34,674 50.49% 3,461 5.04% 53 0.08% 261 0.38% -4,442 -6.47% 68,681
Richmond 34,770 35.18% 54,631 55.28% 9,112 9.22% 123 0.12% 202 0.20% -19,861 -20.10% 98,824
Rockland 36,948 44.35% 40,880 49.07% 5,028 6.04% 303 0.36% 178 0.21% -3,932 -4.72% 83,307
St. Lawrence 15,662 41.29% 20,982 55.31% 1,178 3.11% 52 0.14% 63 0.17% -5,320 -14.02% 37,933
Saratoga 17,766 38.69% 25,658 55.87% 2,220 4.83% 36 0.08% 255 0.56% -7,892 -17.19% 45,922
Schenectady 34,786 48.31% 33,687 46.79% 3,246 4.51% 86 0.12% 247 0.34% 1,099 1.53% 72,002
Schoharie 3,883 36.03% 6,166 57.21% 689 6.39% 12 0.11% 27 0.25% -2,283 -21.18% 10,777
Schuyler 2,034 30.38% 4,105 61.31% 522 7.80% 8 0.12% 27 0.40% -2,071 -30.93% 6,696
Seneca 5,222 40.15% 7,083 54.46% 635 4.88% 17 0.13% 51 0.39% -1,861 -14.31% 13,005
Steuben 12,229 31.61% 24,189 62.52% 2,194 5.67% 20 0.05% 58 0.15% -11,960 -30.91% 38,690
Suffolk 122,590 32.71% 218,027 58.18% 31,304 8.35% 776 0.21% 2,178 0.58% -95,437 -25.47% 374,767
Sullivan 10,860 44.88% 11,657 48.17% 1,487 6.15% 56 0.23% 138 0.57% -797 -3.29% 24,198
Tioga 5,336 31.47% 10,441 61.58% 1,127 6.65% 9 0.05% 43 0.25% -5,105 -30.11% 16,956
Tompkins 10,343 40.97% 13,446 53.26% 1,236 4.90% 161 0.64% 124 0.49% -3,103 -12.29% 25,248
Ulster 20,886 34.59% 34,798 57.62% 4,183 6.93% 191 0.32% 394 0.65% -13,912 -23.04% 60,387
Warren 6,460 31.85% 12,963 63.92% 807 3.98% 15 0.07% 35 0.17% -6,503 -32.07% 20,280
Washington 6,806 33.09% 12,694 61.71% 930 4.52% 17 0.08% 123 0.60% -5,888 -28.63% 20,569
Wayne 8,907 32.17% 17,470 63.09% 1,211 4.37% 14 0.05% 93 0.34% -8,563 -30.93% 27,689
Westchester 173,954 43.40% 201,652 50.31% 22,115 5.52% 1,318 0.33% 1,906 0.48% -27,698 -6.91% 400,807
Wyoming 4,477 32.52% 8,459 61.45% 799 5.80% 5 0.04% 25 0.18% -3,982 -28.93% 13,765
Yates 2,158 26.59% 5,482 67.54% 440 5.42% 7 0.09% 30 0.37% -3,324 -40.95% 8,117
Totals3,378,47049.76%3,007,93244.30%358,8645.29%24,5170.36%21,9050.32%370,5385.46%6,790,066

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 New York law forbids the use of the word "American" in a party's name, and so the American Independent Party was named as the "Courage Party" on the ballot in New York State.[2]
  2. ↑ Although he was born in California and he served as a U.S. Representative and Senator from California, in 1968 Richard Nixon's official state of residence was New York, having moved there to practice law after his defeat in the 1962 California gubernatorial election. During his first term as president, Nixon re-established his residency in California. Consequently, most reliable reference books list Nixon's home state as New York in the 1968 election and his home state as California in the 1972 (and 1960) election.

References

  1. ↑ Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, part 2, p. 1072.
  2. ↑ "Courage Party in State Wants Wallace on Ballot". The New York Times. June 18, 1972. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  3. ↑ Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 10
  4. ↑ "1968 Presidential General Election Results — New York". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  5. ↑ Lewis L. Gould (2010). 1968: The Election That Changed America. Government Institutes. pp. 16-18.
  6. ↑ "New York — CountingTheVotes.com". January 6, 2017. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. 1 2 "NY US President Race, November 05, 1968". Our Campaigns.
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