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1968 United States presidential election in Alabama

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Main article: 1968 United States presidential election

The 1968 United States presidential election in Alabama was held on November 5, 1968. In Alabama, voters voted for electors individually instead of as a slate, as in the other 49 states.

1968 United States presidential election in Alabama
← 1964 November 5, 1968 1972 →
All 10 Alabama electoral votes to the Electoral College
 
Nominee George Wallace Hubert Humphrey Richard Nixon
Party Democratic (Alabama) Democratic Republican
Alliance American Independent National Democratic (Alabama)
Home state Alabama Minnesota New York[a]
Running mate Curtis LeMay Edmund Muskie Spiro Agnew
Electoral vote 10 0 0
Popular vote 691,425 196,579 146,923
Percentage 65.86% 18.72% 13.99%
County Results
President before election

Lyndon B. Johnson
Democratic

Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

The 1960s had seen Alabama as the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement, highlighted by numerous bombings by the Ku Klux Klan in "Bombingham",[1] Birmingham police commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor's use of attack dogs against civil rights protesters, attacks on the Freedom Riders and Selma to Montgomery marchers, and first-term Governor George Wallace's "stand in the door" against the desegregation of the University of Alabama.[2] The state Democratic Party, which had remained closed to African-Americans two decades after Smith v. Allwright outlawed the white primary,[3] had by a five-to-one margin refused to pledge its 1964 electors to incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson,[4] and no attempt was made to challenge this Wallace-sponsored Democratic slate with one loyal to the national party.[5] Despite sponsoring the state Democratic slate, in the 1964 general election Wallace would back Republican nominee Barry Goldwater,[6] who won almost seventy percent of Alabama's ballots against the state Democratic electors, for his opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

George Wallace would build a third party candidacy with his right-wing populist American Independent Party during the following two years, campaigning on opposition to desegregation, race riots, and the counterculture. However, with the state Democratic Party still refusing to integrate,[3] the national party made efforts to place its own electors on the Alabama ballot in 1967.[7] As expected, Wallace won the state Democratic primary in May, and was listed as the “Democratic” candidate on the Alabama ballot.[8] National Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey was able,[9] unlike Harry S. Truman and outgoing President Johnson, to gain ballot access on a fusion of the "Alabama Independent Democrat" and National Democratic lines.[10] 78% of white voters supported Wallace, 16% supported Nixon, and 4% supported Humphrey.[11][12][13]

Predictions

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Source Rating As of Note
Lebanon Daily News[14] Safe I (Flip) September 17, 1968 [b]
Daily Press[15] Certain I (Flip) October 11, 1968
The Charlotte News[16] Certain I (Flip) October 12, 1968
The Record[17] Likely I (Flip) October 21, 1968
Shreveport Times[18] Safe I (Flip) November 3, 1968
The Selma Times-Journal[19] Safe I (Flip) November 3, 1968

Results

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1968 United States presidential election in Alabama[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic George Wallace 691,425 65.86% +65.86%
National Democratic (Ala.) Hubert Humphrey 196,597 18.72% +18.72%
Republican Richard Nixon 146,923 13.99% −55.51%
American Independent No Candidate 10,960 1.04% +1.04%
Prohibition E. Harold Munn 4,002 0.38% +0.38%
Write-in 8 0.00% +0.00%
Total votes 1,049,915 100.00%

Results by presidential elector

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General election results[20]
Party Pledged to Elector Votes
Democratic Party George Wallace Albert Brewer 691,425
Democratic Party George Wallace MacDonald Gallion 691,318
Democratic Party George Wallace Jim Allen 689,262
Democratic Party George Wallace Armistead Selden 689,009
Democratic Party George Wallace Agnes Baggett 687,876
Democratic Party George Wallace Frank Mizell 687,699
Democratic Party George Wallace Earl Morgan 687,664
Democratic Party George Wallace Richard "Dick" Beard 686,685
Democratic Party George Wallace Mabel S. Amos 686,667
Democratic Party George Wallace Ernest Stone 685,499
Republican Party Richard Nixon William H. Graham 146,923
Republican Party Richard Nixon Paul Lowery 146,876
Republican Party Richard Nixon James C. Van Antwerp, Jr. 146,717
Republican Party Richard Nixon George Howard Young 146,628
Republican Party Richard Nixon Huit Sullivan 146,613
Republican Party Richard Nixon M. J. Lyons, Jr. 146,591
Republican Party Richard Nixon Lee Clyde Traylor 146,368
Republican Party Richard Nixon Robert H. Maxwell 146,311
Republican Party Richard Nixon J. Smith Lanier, II 145,970
Republican Party Richard Nixon Robert D. Wilkinson, Jr. 145,694
Alabama Independent Democratic Party Hubert Humphrey Dot Little 142,435
Alabama Independent Democratic Party Hubert Humphrey Ben F. Ray 142,218
Alabama Independent Democratic Party Hubert Humphrey Lafayette Patterson 141,199
Alabama Independent Democratic Party Hubert Humphrey Roy D. McCord 141,124
Alabama Independent Democratic Party Hubert Humphrey Charles A. Bentley, Jr. 140,728
Alabama Independent Democratic Party Hubert Humphrey Isom Clemon 140,387
Alabama Independent Democratic Party Hubert Humphrey Coleman A. Lollar, Jr. 140,386
Alabama Independent Democratic Party Hubert Humphrey J. E. Brantley 140,342
Alabama Independent Democratic Party Hubert Humphrey James McArthur Reed 140,218
Alabama Independent Democratic Party Hubert Humphrey Joe L. Reed 140,093
National Democratic Party of Alabama Hubert Humphrey William McKinley Branch 54,144
National Democratic Party of Alabama Hubert Humphrey E. D. Bouier 53,700
National Democratic Party of Alabama Hubert Humphrey Robert Schwenn 53,666
National Democratic Party of Alabama Hubert Humphrey J. H. Davis 53,622
National Democratic Party of Alabama Hubert Humphrey R. E. Cordray 53,264
National Democratic Party of Alabama Hubert Humphrey Billy Joe Robinson 53,226
National Democratic Party of Alabama Hubert Humphrey Jack Drake 53,068
National Democratic Party of Alabama Hubert Humphrey Virginia Durr 53,015
National Democratic Party of Alabama Hubert Humphrey George DeBoer 52,909
National Democratic Party of Alabama Hubert Humphrey James Williams 52,464
American Independent Party George Wallace Steve E. Nation 10,960
American Independent Party George Wallace Aaron C. Edwards 10,518
American Independent Party George Wallace Ronald L. Pankey 10,437
American Independent Party George Wallace Bernice H. Morrison 10,365
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn D. N. Stephenson 4,022
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn Phoebe Cary Shoemaker 3,814
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn J. E. Dillard 3,770
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn Ogburn A. Gardner 3,661
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn Bertha Wallis Lee 3,638
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn Beulah K. Gray 3,615
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn Jerome B. Couch 3,589
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn Fred M. Burns 3,578
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn Lois Goodwin 3,523
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn Daisy Williams 3,420
Total votes 1,049,909

Results by county

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County George Wallace
American Independent 		Hubert Humphrey
Democratic 		Richard Nixon
Republican 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Autauga 5,523 71.03% 1,553 19.97% 606 7.79% 94 1.21% 3,970 51.06% 7,776
Baldwin 14,167 76.98% 1,821 9.89% 2,154 11.70% 262 1.42% 12,013[c] 65.28% 18,404
Barbour 5,491 69.10% 1,898 23.89% 386 4.86% 171 2.15% 3,593 45.21% 7,946
Bibb 3,746 80.16% 652 13.95% 263 5.63% 12 0.26% 3,094 66.21% 4,673
Blount 6,536 71.93% 331 3.64% 2,013 22.15% 206 2.27% 4,523[c] 49.78% 9,086
Bullock 2,161 49.71% 1,964 45.18% 190 4.37% 32 0.74% 197 4.53% 4,347
Butler 5,601 76.09% 1,240 16.85% 500 6.79% 20 0.27% 4,361 59.24% 7,361
Calhoun 19,211 71.75% 4,146 15.48% 3,061 11.43% 357 1.33% 15,065 56.27% 26,775
Chambers 7,885 74.14% 1,358 12.77% 1,082 10.17% 311 2.92% 6,527 61.37% 10,636
Cherokee 4,773 83.96% 462 8.13% 343 6.03% 107 1.88% 4,311 75.83% 5,685
Chilton 6,611 74.26% 566 6.36% 1,602 18.00% 123 1.38% 5,009[c] 56.26% 8,902
Choctaw 4,250 69.75% 1,641 26.93% 176 2.89% 26 0.43% 2,609 42.82% 6,093
Clarke 6,168 71.50% 1,717 19.90% 488 5.66% 253 2.93% 4,451 51.60% 8,626
Clay 4,048 80.25% 256 5.08% 706 14.00% 34 0.67% 3,342[c] 66.25% 5,044
Cleburne 3,314 82.95% 160 4.01% 485 12.14% 36 0.90% 2,829[c] 70.81% 3,995
Coffee 8,885 82.53% 1,071 9.95% 682 6.33% 128 1.19% 7,814 72.58% 10,766
Colbert 11,341 72.60% 2,291 14.67% 1,727 11.06% 262 1.68% 9,050 57.93% 15,621
Conecuh 3,828 71.60% 1,151 21.53% 186 3.48% 181 3.39% 2,677 50.07% 5,346
Coosa 2,830 74.26% 623 16.35% 330 8.66% 28 0.73% 2,207 57.91% 3,811
Covington 11,419 86.98% 791 6.03% 831 6.33% 87 0.66% 10,588[c] 80.65% 13,128
Crenshaw 4,513 82.35% 726 13.25% 209 3.81% 32 0.58% 3,787 69.10% 5,480
Cullman 11,063 64.08% 1,115 6.46% 4,964 28.75% 123 0.71% 6,099[c] 35.33% 17,265
Dale 8,109 83.55% 862 8.88% 607 6.25% 127 1.31% 7,247 74.67% 9,705
Dallas 8,798 52.89% 6,516 39.17% 1,246 7.49% 76 0.46% 2,282 13.72% 16,636
DeKalb 8,144 54.81% 1,274 8.57% 5,314 35.76% 127 0.85% 2,830[c] 19.05% 14,859
Elmore 9,038 76.52% 1,745 14.77% 801 6.78% 228 1.93% 7,293 61.75% 11,812
Escambia 8,474 78.72% 1,492 13.86% 680 6.32% 119 1.11% 6,982 64.86% 10,765
Etowah 21,416 68.67% 4,613 14.79% 4,351 13.95% 806 2.58% 16,803 53.88% 31,186
Fayette 4,683 75.07% 676 10.84% 827 13.26% 52 0.83% 3,856[c] 61.81% 6,238
Franklin 5,909 64.96% 588 6.46% 2,524 27.75% 75 0.82% 3,385[c] 37.21% 9,096
Geneva 7,871 91.73% 380 4.43% 284 3.31% 46 0.54% 7,491 87.30% 8,581
Greene 1,555 39.18% 2,229 56.16% 180 4.54% 5 0.13% -674 -16.98% 3,969
Hale 2,934 55.78% 2,003 38.08% 266 5.06% 57 1.08% 931 17.70% 5,260
Henry 4,233 79.99% 955 18.05% 84 1.59% 20 0.38% 3,278 61.94% 5,292
Houston 13,872 83.89% 1,488 9.00% 974 5.89% 202 1.22% 12,384 74.89% 16,536
Jackson 8,504 77.96% 1,022 9.37% 1,191 10.92% 191 1.75% 7,313[c] 67.04% 10,908
Jefferson 106,233 51.81% 55,845 27.24% 39,752 19.39% 3,203 1.56% 50,388 24.57% 205,033
Lamar 5,229 88.25% 302 5.10% 364 6.14% 30 0.51% 4,865[c] 82.11% 5,925
Lauderdale 13,467 71.32% 2,166 11.47% 2,952 15.63% 298 1.58% 10,515[c] 55.69% 18,883
Lawrence 6,253 83.05% 650 8.63% 580 7.70% 46 0.61% 5,603 74.42% 7,529
Lee 7,721 58.78% 2,803 21.34% 2,366 18.01% 246 1.87% 4,918 37.44% 13,136
Limestone 8,430 81.25% 889 8.57% 870 8.39% 186 1.79% 7,541 72.68% 10,375
Lowndes 1,822 55.84% 1,127 34.54% 234 7.17% 80 2.45% 695 21.30% 3,263
Macon 1,619 25.37% 4,450 69.74% 257 4.03% 55 0.86% -2,831 -44.37% 6,381
Madison 29,823 57.40% 8,004 15.41% 13,213 25.43% 913 1.76% 16,610[c] 31.97% 51,953
Marengo 5,185 56.64% 3,479 38.01% 457 4.99% 33 0.36% 1,706 18.63% 9,154
Marion 6,415 76.34% 365 4.34% 1,492 17.76% 131 1.56% 4,923[c] 58.58% 8,403
Marshall 12,742 76.39% 955 5.73% 2,725 16.34% 258 1.55% 10,017[c] 60.05% 16,680
Mobile 61,673 67.08% 18,615 20.25% 10,509 11.43% 1,139 1.24% 43,058 46.83% 91,936
Monroe 5,217 71.23% 1,673 22.84% 375 5.12% 59 0.81% 3,544 48.39% 7,324
Montgomery 27,202 58.47% 12,088 25.98% 6,746 14.50% 489 1.05% 15,114 32.49% 46,525
Morgan 16,841 75.60% 1,878 8.43% 3,043 13.66% 515 2.31% 13,798[c] 61.94% 22,277
Perry 2,768 49.85% 2,457 44.25% 308 5.55% 20 0.36% 311 5.60% 5,553
Pickens 4,549 71.89% 1,434 22.66% 321 5.07% 24 0.38% 3,115 49.23% 6,328
Pike 6,038 72.39% 1,565 18.76% 658 7.89% 80 0.96% 4,473 53.63% 8,341
Randolph 5,103 75.00% 666 9.79% 839 12.33% 196 2.88% 4,264[c] 62.67% 6,804
Russell 7,584 67.44% 2,707 24.07% 704 6.26% 250 2.22% 4,877 43.37% 11,245
St. Clair 7,050 72.70% 869 8.96% 1,635 16.86% 143 1.47% 5,415[c] 55.84% 9,697
Shelby 7,736 71.83% 1,105 10.26% 1,706 15.84% 223 2.07% 6,030[c] 55.99% 10,770
Sumter 2,158 44.89% 2,336 48.60% 303 6.30% 10 0.21% -178 -3.71% 4,807
Talladega 13,505 72.00% 3,099 16.52% 1,935 10.32% 217 1.16% 10,406 55.48% 18,756
Tallapoosa 9,043 76.50% 1,331 11.26% 1,205 10.19% 242 2.05% 7,712 65.24% 11,821
Tuscaloosa 18,611 65.60% 5,556 19.58% 3,822 13.47% 382 1.35% 13,055 46.02% 28,371
Walker 14,416 74.37% 1,971 10.17% 2,628 13.56% 370 1.91% 11,788[c] 60.81% 19,385
Washington 4,545 79.98% 902 15.87% 200 3.52% 36 0.63% 3,643 64.11% 5,683
Wilcox 2,511 56.62% 1,658 37.38% 237 5.34% 29 0.65% 853 19.24% 4,435
Winston 3,032 54.86% 258 4.67% 2,174 39.33% 63 1.14% 858[c] 15.53% 5,527
Totals 691,425 65.86% 196,579 18.72% 146,923 13.99% 14,990 1.42% 494,846 47.14% 1,049,917

Counties that flipped from Republican to American Independent

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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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Counties that flipped from Unpledged to Democratic

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Counties that flipped from Unpledged to American Independent

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Results by congressional district

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This table shows the results by congressional district in Alabama. The candidate who was the winning candidate is listed first. George Wallace won all 8 congressional districts in Alabama.[21]

District[22] Nixon Humphrey Wallace
1st 9.8% 21.4% 68.8%
2nd 10.4% 18.8% 70.8%
3rd 7.7% 18.6% 73.7%
4th 11% 16.6% 72.4%
5th 10.3% 27.9% 61.8%
6th 23.5% 28.6% 48%
7th 20.2% 8.8% 71%
8th 17.4% 12.5% 70%

Analysis

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Wallace won his home state in a landslide, receiving 65.86 percent of the vote to Democrat Hubert Humphrey's 18.72 percent, a 47.13-point margin. Republican Richard Nixon, while winning the election nationally, finished a distant third in Alabama with only 13.99 percent, gaining significant support only in a few northern counties with historical Unionist sympathies and higher-income urban areas.[23] Wallace's 65.86 percent of the popular vote would make Alabama not only his best-performing state in the 1968 election, but the strongest-performing state out of any candidate, with only Humphrey's performance in Washington D.C. being stronger.[24]

Wallace won 64 of the state's 67 counties. As African-Americans in the South were slowly gaining the right to vote as a result of federal civil rights legislation passed in 1964 and 1965, Wallace's weakest region was the Black Belt, where he won most counties with narrow majorities or pluralities.[25]

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Mobile County, Shelby County, Baldwin County, Lee County, and Houston County were not carried by the Republican candidate,[26] the last election in which the Republican candidate won the election without Alabama, and the last election in which Wilcox County, Lowndes County, and Bullock County were not carried by the national Democratic candidate.[26]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ “I” refers to Wallace's national status as the candidate of the American Independent Party, although the Alabama Democratic Party had him listed on the state ballot as the “Democratic” candidate
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v In this county where Nixon rather than Humphrey ran second behind Wallace, margin given is Wallace vote minus Nixon vote and percentage margin Wallace percentage minus Nixon percentage.

References

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  1. ^ Bullock, Charles S.; Gaddie, Ronald Keith. The Triumph of Voting Rights in the South. pp. 41–42. ISBN 0806185309.
  2. ^ Bullock, Charles S.; Gaddie, Ronald Keith. The Triumph of Voting Rights in the South. pp. 41–42. ISBN 0806185309..
  3. ^ a b Walton, Hanes (1972). Black Political Parties: An Historical and Political Analysis. New York Free Press. p. 149.
  4. ^ McDannald, Alexander Hopkins (1965). Yearbook of the Encyclopedia Americana (Report). p. 63.
  5. ^ Cleghorn, Reece (August 13, 1964). "Who Speaks for Mississippi". The Reporter. pp. 31–33.
  6. ^ Grimes, Roy (October 11, 1964). "Look Away, Look Away…". The Victoria Advocate. p. 4A.
  7. ^ Bennett, James (January 1, 1968). "State Politics Will Heat Up". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. 2.
  8. ^ "Alabama in Bewildering Political State". The Columbus Ledger. Columbus, Georgia. May 11, 1968. p. A-2.
  9. ^ Bennett, James (August 26, 1968). "Most State Delegates To Sign Loyalty Oath". Birmingham Post-Herald. pp. 1, 2.
  10. ^ a b "1968 Presidential General Election Results — Alabama". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  11. ^ Black & Black 1992, p. 147.
  12. ^ Black & Black 1992, p. 295.
  13. ^ Black & Black 1992, p. 335.
  14. ^ "Politics…in County, State and Nation". Lebanon Daily News. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. September 17, 1968. p. 4.
  15. ^ Murray, David. "Wallace Might Take 6 Southern States". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. 51.
  16. ^ "In South It's Nixon vs. Wallace". The Charlotte News. Charlotte, North Carolina. October 12, 1968. pp. 1, 3.
  17. ^ "Nixon Leads in 26 States: Wallace Will Run Strong: AP". The Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. Associated Press. October 21, 1968. p. 3.
  18. ^ Broder, David S. (November 3, 1968). "After Hoopla Finished, Nixon Still Winning, Survey Shows". Shreveport Times. p. 4-B.
  19. ^ "Summary of 50 States on Coming Election". The Selma Times-Journal. Selma, Alabama. November 3, 1968. p. 5.
  20. ^ Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1971. 1971. pp. 396–410.
  21. ^ Park-Egan, Kiernan. "1968 United States Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District". U.S. Presidential Election Results by Congressional District, 1952 to 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  22. ^ Park-Egan, Kiernan. "1968 United States Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District". U.S. Presidential Election Results by Congressional District, 1952 to 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  23. ^ Phillips, Kevin P. The Emerging Republican Majority. p. 227. ISBN 9780691163246..
  24. ^ "1968 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  25. ^ Phillips. The Emerging Republican Majority; p. 258
  26. ^ a b Menendez, Albert J. The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0786422173..

Works cited

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