1968 United States presidential election in Michigan
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All 21 Michigan votes to the Electoral College | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 66.8%  [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results
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| Elections in Michigan |
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The 1968 United States presidential election in Michigan was held on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and the District of Columbia participated in the 1968 United States presidential election. Voters chose 21 electors to represent them in the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Michigan was won by the Democratic Party candidate, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, defeating the Republican Party candidate, former vice president Richard Nixon, by a margin of 6.72%, making the state 6.79% more Democratic than the national average.[2] American Independent Party candidate George Wallace, former and future governor of Alabama, received 10% of the vote.
Humphrey's margin of victory was significantly narrower than President Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide 33.60-point triumph in 1964. American involvement in the Vietnam War and rioting throughout the country (including in Detroit) brought about unpopularity for the incumbent president and disenchantment towards his political agenda. Vice President Humphrey vowed to continue the policies of Johnson's Great Society and support civil rights for African Americans, while former vice president Nixon ran on a law and order platform focused on fighting crime and opposing the Johnson administration's handling of the war in Vietnam. Governor Wallace ran a right-wing populist campaign railing against rioting, desegregation, and the counterculture.
Although Wallace did not poll as well in the Midwest as he did in the South, he was able to appeal to blue-collar working-class voters who traditionally voted Democratic but had become disillusioned with crime and the civil-rights movement. As a result, he siphoned off enough votes to allow Nixon to win every state in the region except for Humphrey's home state of Minnesota and Michigan. Even with Michigan being Wallace's second-best Midwestern state behind Ohio, Humphrey was able to hold on to the Wolverine State's electoral votes for the Democrats once more, mainly by running up margins in heavily populated Wayne County (Detroit), neighboring Macomb and Monroe Counties, Genesee County (Flint), and the Upper Peninsula. Nixon would become the first Republican to win the White House without Michigan, a feat that only George W. Bush has repeated. Humphrey was the first losing Democrat to carry Michigan since Lewis Cass in 1848. Michigan would not vote Democratic again until 1992.
As of the 2020 presidential election[update], this is the last time that Wayne County cast more than a million votes.
Campaign
[edit]The Peace and Freedom Party who appealed to the counterculture along with student radicals and black voters[3] held their party convention at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with Eldridge Cleaver of the Black Panther Party being nominated for president despite being under the minimum age requirement to be president as Cleaver was 33[4] and the minimum age requirement to be president is that one be at least 35 years old when taking office.[5] Despite being underage he would still appear on the ballot in Michigan.[4]
Marvin Griffin appeared on the ballot as George Wallace's running mate in Michigan because Griffin was intended to be a filler candidate and by the time Wallace had selected Curtis LeMay as his running mate it was too late in the state for changes regarding 3rd party candidates on the ballot in the state[6][7] as Curtis LeMay was selected as his running mate in October[8] and the deadline for 3rd party candidates was in September.[6][7]
Predictions
[edit]| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| St. Petersburg Times[9] | Lean D | September 11, 1968 |
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hubert Humphrey | 1,593,082 | 48.18% | |
| Republican | Richard Nixon | 1,370,665 | 41.46% | |
| American Independent | George Wallace | 331,968 | 10.04% | |
| Peace and Freedom | Eldridge Cleaver | 4,585 | 0.14% | |
| Socialist Workers | Fred Halstead | 4,099 | 0.12% | |
| Socialist Labor | Henning A. Blomen | 1,762 | 0.05% | |
| Prohibition | E. Harold Munn | 60 | 0.00% | |
| Write-ins | 29 | 0.00% | ||
| Total votes | 3,306,250 | 100% | ||
Results by county
[edit]| County[11] | Hubert Humphrey Democratic |
Richard Nixon Republican |
George Wallace American Independent |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast[12] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alcona | 958 | 30.39% | 1,852 | 58.76% | 338 | 10.72% | 4 | 0.13% | -894 | -28.37% | 3,152 |
| Alger | 1,927 | 54.87% | 1,406 | 40.03% | 173 | 4.93% | 6 | 0.17% | 521 | 14.84% | 3,512 |
| Allegan | 7,276 | 29.72% | 14,769 | 60.32% | 2,389 | 9.76% | 49 | 0.20% | -7,493 | -30.60% | 24,483 |
| Alpena | 4,788 | 42.52% | 5,717 | 50.77% | 747 | 6.63% | 9 | 0.08% | -929 | -8.25% | 11,261 |
| Antrim | 1,690 | 33.35% | 3,002 | 59.23% | 374 | 7.38% | 2 | 0.04% | -1,312 | -25.88% | 5,068 |
| Arenac | 1,573 | 39.43% | 2,089 | 52.37% | 324 | 8.12% | 3 | 0.08% | -516 | -12.94% | 3,989 |
| Baraga | 1,680 | 50.63% | 1,508 | 45.45% | 116 | 3.50% | 14 | 0.42% | 172 | 5.18% | 3,318 |
| Barry | 5,206 | 33.81% | 8,492 | 55.14% | 1,674 | 10.87% | 28 | 0.18% | -3,286 | -21.33% | 15,400 |
| Bay | 21,410 | 50.30% | 18,779 | 44.12% | 2,291 | 5.38% | 87 | 0.20% | 2,631 | 6.18% | 42,567 |
| Benzie | 1,147 | 32.68% | 2,138 | 60.91% | 219 | 6.24% | 6 | 0.17% | -991 | -28.23% | 3,510 |
| Berrien | 21,266 | 33.80% | 32,136 | 51.08% | 9,333 | 14.83% | 181 | 0.29% | -10,870 | -17.28% | 62,916 |
| Branch | 4,518 | 35.70% | 7,071 | 55.88% | 1,037 | 8.20% | 28 | 0.22% | -2,553 | -20.18% | 12,654 |
| Calhoun | 22,633 | 41.18% | 26,181 | 47.64% | 5,944 | 10.82% | 202 | 0.37% | -3,548 | -6.46% | 54,960 |
| Cass | 5,616 | 37.68% | 6,996 | 46.93% | 2,257 | 15.14% | 37 | 0.25% | -1,380 | -9.25% | 14,906 |
| Charlevoix | 2,446 | 36.49% | 3,696 | 55.14% | 556 | 8.29% | 5 | 0.07% | -1,250 | -18.65% | 6,703 |
| Cheboygan | 2,840 | 41.17% | 3,422 | 49.60% | 634 | 9.19% | 3 | 0.04% | -582 | -8.43% | 6,899 |
| Chippewa | 4,132 | 40.13% | 5,359 | 52.04% | 793 | 7.70% | 13 | 0.13% | -1,227 | -11.91% | 10,297 |
| Clare | 1,909 | 32.74% | 3,315 | 56.85% | 602 | 10.32% | 5 | 0.09% | -1,406 | -24.11% | 5,831 |
| Clinton | 5,548 | 33.45% | 9,416 | 56.77% | 1,591 | 9.59% | 30 | 0.18% | -3,868 | -23.32% | 16,585 |
| Crawford | 845 | 36.74% | 1,266 | 55.04% | 187 | 8.13% | 2 | 0.09% | -421 | -18.30% | 2,300 |
| Delta | 7,821 | 54.45% | 5,829 | 40.58% | 700 | 4.87% | 14 | 0.10% | 1,992 | 13.87% | 14,364 |
| Dickinson | 5,726 | 51.15% | 4,920 | 43.95% | 533 | 4.76% | 15 | 0.13% | 806 | 7.20% | 11,194 |
| Eaton | 8,347 | 33.62% | 14,184 | 57.13% | 2,252 | 9.07% | 43 | 0.17% | -5,837 | -23.51% | 24,826 |
| Emmet | 2,624 | 35.04% | 4,405 | 58.83% | 446 | 5.96% | 13 | 0.17% | -1,781 | -23.79% | 7,488 |
| Genesee | 75,174 | 45.83% | 63,948 | 38.99% | 24,539 | 14.96% | 352 | 0.21% | 11,226 | 6.84% | 164,013 |
| Gladwin | 1,668 | 33.21% | 2,840 | 56.55% | 511 | 10.18% | 3 | 0.06% | -1,172 | -23.34% | 5,022 |
| Gogebic | 5,839 | 56.00% | 4,140 | 39.71% | 434 | 4.16% | 13 | 0.12% | 1,699 | 16.29% | 10,426 |
| Grand Traverse | 4,741 | 32.55% | 8,960 | 61.51% | 843 | 5.79% | 23 | 0.16% | -4,219 | -28.96% | 14,567 |
| Gratiot | 4,040 | 30.13% | 8,404 | 62.68% | 949 | 7.08% | 15 | 0.11% | -4,364 | -32.55% | 13,408 |
| Hillsdale | 3,803 | 28.29% | 8,506 | 63.27% | 1,107 | 8.23% | 28 | 0.21% | -4,703 | -34.98% | 13,444 |
| Houghton | 6,988 | 49.41% | 6,639 | 46.94% | 473 | 3.34% | 43 | 0.30% | 349 | 2.47% | 14,143 |
| Huron | 3,607 | 26.62% | 8,743 | 64.51% | 1,178 | 8.69% | 24 | 0.18% | -5,136 | -37.89% | 13,552 |
| Ingham | 37,362 | 41.08% | 46,805 | 51.46% | 6,432 | 7.07% | 354 | 0.39% | -9,443 | -10.38% | 90,953 |
| Ionia | 6,055 | 37.92% | 8,625 | 54.01% | 1,261 | 7.90% | 27 | 0.17% | -2,570 | -16.09% | 15,968 |
| Iosco | 2,533 | 34.51% | 4,068 | 55.42% | 736 | 10.03% | 3 | 0.04% | -1,535 | -20.91% | 7,340 |
| Iron | 4,130 | 53.14% | 3,292 | 42.36% | 340 | 4.37% | 10 | 0.13% | 838 | 10.78% | 7,772 |
| Isabella | 4,450 | 35.90% | 7,111 | 57.37% | 808 | 6.52% | 27 | 0.22% | -2,661 | -21.47% | 12,396 |
| Jackson | 18,205 | 35.11% | 27,828 | 53.66% | 5,689 | 10.97% | 135 | 0.26% | -9,623 | -18.55% | 51,857 |
| Kalamazoo | 26,437 | 35.81% | 39,796 | 53.90% | 7,398 | 10.02% | 201 | 0.27% | -13,359 | -18.09% | 73,832 |
| Kalkaska | 753 | 33.72% | 1,190 | 53.29% | 288 | 12.90% | 2 | 0.09% | -437 | -19.57% | 2,233 |
| Kent | 61,891 | 38.72% | 85,810 | 53.68% | 11,584 | 7.25% | 565 | 0.35% | -23,919 | -14.96% | 159,850 |
| Keweenaw | 602 | 50.42% | 525 | 43.97% | 65 | 5.44% | 2 | 0.17% | 77 | 6.45% | 1,194 |
| Lake | 1,482 | 52.97% | 1,094 | 39.10% | 220 | 7.86% | 2 | 0.07% | 388 | 13.87% | 2,798 |
| Lapeer | 5,199 | 32.17% | 8,866 | 54.85% | 2,081 | 12.88% | 17 | 0.11% | -3,667 | -22.68% | 16,163 |
| Leelanau | 1,562 | 33.53% | 2,798 | 60.06% | 292 | 6.27% | 7 | 0.15% | -1,236 | -26.53% | 4,659 |
| Lenawee | 10,552 | 36.20% | 16,280 | 55.85% | 2,197 | 7.54% | 118 | 0.40% | -5,728 | -19.65% | 29,147 |
| Livingston | 7,052 | 35.85% | 10,034 | 51.01% | 2,543 | 12.93% | 41 | 0.21% | -2,982 | -15.16% | 19,670 |
| Luce | 855 | 36.92% | 1,351 | 58.33% | 109 | 4.71% | 1 | 0.04% | -496 | -21.41% | 2,316 |
| Mackinac | 1,751 | 38.26% | 2,507 | 54.77% | 317 | 6.93% | 2 | 0.04% | -756 | -16.51% | 4,577 |
| Macomb | 114,552 | 55.19% | 63,139 | 30.42% | 29,239 | 14.09% | 647 | 0.31% | 51,413 | 24.77% | 207,577 |
| Manistee | 3,671 | 44.20% | 4,007 | 48.24% | 614 | 7.39% | 14 | 0.17% | -336 | -4.04% | 8,306 |
| Marquette | 11,199 | 53.34% | 8,960 | 42.68% | 802 | 3.82% | 34 | 0.16% | 2,239 | 10.66% | 20,995 |
| Mason | 3,660 | 37.23% | 5,311 | 54.02% | 854 | 8.69% | 6 | 0.06% | -1,651 | -16.79% | 9,831 |
| Mecosta | 2,738 | 32.49% | 5,053 | 59.97% | 625 | 7.42% | 10 | 0.12% | -2,315 | -27.48% | 8,426 |
| Menominee | 4,877 | 48.25% | 4,599 | 45.50% | 620 | 6.13% | 12 | 0.12% | 278 | 2.75% | 10,108 |
| Midland | 7,428 | 31.40% | 14,329 | 60.57% | 1,849 | 7.82% | 52 | 0.22% | -6,901 | -29.17% | 23,658 |
| Missaukee | 736 | 23.06% | 2,161 | 67.72% | 292 | 9.15% | 2 | 0.06% | -1,425 | -44.66% | 3,191 |
| Monroe | 18,921 | 47.81% | 15,685 | 39.64% | 4,873 | 12.31% | 93 | 0.24% | 3,236 | 8.17% | 39,572 |
| Montcalm | 5,303 | 35.59% | 8,329 | 55.89% | 1,244 | 8.35% | 26 | 0.17% | -3,026 | -20.30% | 14,902 |
| Montmorency | 810 | 34.45% | 1,279 | 54.40% | 260 | 11.06% | 2 | 0.09% | -469 | -19.95% | 2,351 |
| Muskegon | 24,492 | 41.74% | 28,233 | 48.11% | 5,808 | 9.90% | 150 | 0.26% | -3,741 | -6.37% | 58,683 |
| Newaygo | 3,369 | 30.49% | 6,626 | 59.97% | 1,042 | 9.43% | 11 | 0.10% | -3,257 | -29.48% | 11,048 |
| Oakland | 154,630 | 44.76% | 156,538 | 45.31% | 33,024 | 9.56% | 1,266 | 0.37% | -1,908 | -0.55% | 345,458 |
| Oceana | 2,152 | 30.93% | 3,911 | 56.22% | 876 | 12.59% | 18 | 0.26% | -1,759 | -25.29% | 6,957 |
| Ogemaw | 1,647 | 35.57% | 2,526 | 54.56% | 454 | 9.81% | 3 | 0.06% | -879 | -18.99% | 4,630 |
| Ontonagon | 2,462 | 49.15% | 2,290 | 45.72% | 252 | 5.03% | 5 | 0.10% | 172 | 3.43% | 5,009 |
| Osceola | 1,509 | 25.97% | 3,705 | 63.77% | 583 | 10.03% | 13 | 0.22% | -2,196 | -37.80% | 5,810 |
| Oscoda | 563 | 30.53% | 1,124 | 60.95% | 157 | 8.51% | 0 | 0.00% | -561 | -30.42% | 1,844 |
| Otsego | 1,661 | 43.79% | 1,871 | 49.33% | 259 | 6.83% | 2 | 0.05% | -210 | -5.54% | 3,793 |
| Ottawa | 12,431 | 25.19% | 33,356 | 67.60% | 3,460 | 7.01% | 95 | 0.19% | -20,925 | -42.41% | 49,342 |
| Presque Isle | 2,300 | 43.80% | 2,565 | 48.85% | 385 | 7.33% | 1 | 0.02% | -265 | -5.05% | 5,251 |
| Roscommon | 1,639 | 34.78% | 2,635 | 55.91% | 431 | 9.14% | 8 | 0.17% | -996 | -21.13% | 4,713 |
| Saginaw | 32,266 | 41.67% | 38,070 | 49.17% | 6,906 | 8.92% | 181 | 0.23% | -5,804 | -7.50% | 77,423 |
| Sanilac | 3,193 | 22.54% | 9,273 | 65.45% | 1,692 | 11.94% | 10 | 0.07% | -6,080 | -42.91% | 14,168 |
| Schoolcraft | 1,869 | 48.62% | 1,745 | 45.40% | 227 | 5.91% | 3 | 0.08% | 124 | 3.22% | 3,844 |
| Shiawassee | 8,619 | 38.25% | 11,465 | 50.88% | 2,377 | 10.55% | 71 | 0.32% | -2,846 | -12.63% | 22,532 |
| St. Clair | 16,251 | 38.09% | 21,084 | 49.41% | 5,261 | 12.33% | 73 | 0.17% | -4,833 | -11.32% | 42,669 |
| St. Joseph | 5,413 | 30.68% | 10,445 | 59.20% | 1,759 | 9.97% | 28 | 0.16% | -5,032 | -28.52% | 17,645 |
| Tuscola | 4,698 | 28.28% | 10,205 | 61.44% | 1,682 | 10.13% | 25 | 0.15% | -5,507 | -33.16% | 16,610 |
| Van Buren | 7,304 | 35.44% | 10,676 | 51.81% | 2,560 | 12.42% | 67 | 0.33% | -3,372 | -16.37% | 20,607 |
| Washtenaw | 33,073 | 42.50% | 36,432 | 46.82% | 7,456 | 9.58% | 853 | 1.10% | -3,359 | -4.32% | 77,814 |
| Wayne | 654,157 | 63.25% | 270,566 | 26.16% | 105,606 | 10.21% | 3,931 | 0.38% | 383,591 | 37.09% | 1,034,260 |
| Wexford | 2,832 | 36.59% | 4,364 | 56.38% | 535 | 6.91% | 9 | 0.12% | -1,532 | -19.79% | 7,740 |
| Totals | 1,593,082 | 48.18% | 1,370,665 | 41.46% | 331,968 | 10.04% | 10,535 | 0.32% | 222,417 | 6.72% | 3,306,250 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
[edit]- Alcona
- Allegan
- Alpena
- Antrim
- Arenac
- Barry
- Benzie
- Berrien
- Branch
- Calhoun
- Cass
- Charlevoix
- Cheboygan
- Chippewa
- Clare
- Clinton
- Crawford
- Eaton
- Emmet
- Gladwin
- Grand Traverse
- Hillsdale
- Huron
- Ingham
- Ionia
- Iosco
- Isabella
- Jackson
- Kalamazoo
- Kalkaska
- Kent
- Lapeer
- Leelanau
- Lenawee
- Livingston
- Luce
- Mackinac
- Manistee
- Mason
- Mecosta
- Midland
- Montcalm
- Montmorency
- Muskegon
- Newaygo
- Oakland
- Ogemaw
- Osceola
- Oscoda
- Otsego
- Presque Isle
- Roscommon
- Saginaw
- Shiawassee
- St. Clair
- St. Joseph
- Tuscola
- Van Buren
- Washtenaw
- Wexford
Results by congressional district
[edit]| District[13] | Nixon | Humphrey | Wallace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 28.2% | 55.6% | 16.2% |
| 2nd | 48.1% | 41.7% | 10.2% |
| 3rd | 53.1% | 36.7% | 10.1% |
| 4th | 54.5% | 33.2% | 12.3% |
| 5th | 53.9% | 38.8% | 7.3% |
| 6th | 52.1% | 39% | 8.9% |
| 7th | 40.5% | 47.7% | 14.8% |
| 8th | 53.2% | 36.6% | 10.2% |
| 9th | 56.9% | 34.7% | 8.3% |
| 10th | 55.1% | 37.2% | 7.7% |
| 11th | 46.8% | 47.6% | 5.5% |
| 12th | 30.5% | 55.4% | 14.2% |
| 13th | 10.7% | 84.2% | 5% |
| 14th | 33.8% | 54.5% | 11.7% |
| 15th | 28.2% | 55.6% | 16.2% |
| 16th | 27.3% | 60% | 12.7% |
| 17th | 30.7% | 59.5% | 9.8% |
| 18th | 45.5% | 46.7% | 7.8% |
| 19th | 44.3% | 43.8% | 12% |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Although he was born in California and he served as a U.S. Senator from California, in 1968 Richard Nixon’s official state of residence was New York, because he 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.
- ^ Curtis LeMay was eventually selected by George Wallace and Griffin was initially selected as a temporary running mate but by the time Wallace selected LeMay, the State did not allow 3rd parties to make changes on the ballot.
References
[edit]- ^ "SOS - General Election Voter Registration/Turnout Statistics".
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
- ^ O'Driscoll, Sean (December 8, 2023). "Donald Trump Could Be Disqualified Due to 55-Year-Old Ruling". Newsweek. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ a b "Cleaver of Black Panthers Is Nominee of Leftists". The New York Times. August 19, 1968. p. 32.
- ^ "ArtII.S1.C5.1 Qualifications for the Presidency". Constitution Annotated. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ a b "Griffin Will Be On State Ballot". The Owosso Argus-Press. Associated Press. September 26, 1968. Retrieved December 2, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ a b "LeMay Won't Be On Ballot". The Owosso Argus-Press. Associated Press. October 14, 1968. Retrieved December 2, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Rasberry, Robert W. (1969). THE "PUBLIC IMAGE" OF GEORGE WALLACE IN THE 1968 PRESIDENTIAL, ELECTION (PDF) (Thesis). North Texas State University. pp. 118d.
- ^ Broder, David S. "State By State, Nixon's Ahead". St. Petersburg Times. Vol. 85, no. 49. pp. 14-A. Retrieved November 27, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "1968 Presidential General Election Results - Michigan". Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ^ "OFFICIAL CANVAS OF VOTES, GENERAL ELECTION - NOVEMBER 5, 1968 - PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES". Michigan Manual. Michigan Secretary of State. pp. 481–483. Retrieved October 4, 2024 – via HaithiTrust.
- ^ Our Campaigns; MI US President 1968
- ^ "1968 United States Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District". Western Washington University. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
