1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

The 1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election. State voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

← 1964 November 5, 1968 1972 →
 
Nominee Richard Nixon Hubert Humphrey George Wallace
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Home state New York[a] Minnesota Alabama
Running mate Spiro Agnew Edmund Muskie S. Marvin Griffin
Electoral vote 12 0 0
Popular vote 809,997 748,804 127,835
Percentage 47.89% 44.27% 7.56%


President before election

Lyndon B. Johnson
Democratic

Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

The 1958 midterm elections saw a major change in Wisconsin politics, as Gaylord A. Nelson became only the state's second Democratic Governor since 1895, and the state also elected Democrats to the position of treasurer and Senator, besides that party gaining a majority in the State Assembly for only the second time since the middle 1890s. They maintained a close balance in the early 1960s, signaling the state's transition to a swing state. The predicted racial backlash from urban Polish-Americans, seen in the 1964 primaries when George Wallace received over 30 percent of Wisconsin's vote,[1] did not affect Lyndon B. Johnson’s big victory in the state in 1964, but would have severe effects when racial unrest began in 1966.

Anti-war Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy would easily win Wisconsin’s 1968 Democratic presidential primary against incumbent President Johnson, who soon announced he would not run for re-election in 1968.[2] Former Vice-President and 1960 Republican nominee Richard Nixon won eighty percent of the vote in the state’s Republican primary.[2]

At the beginning of the campaign, the deep divisions within the Democratic Party were worrisome for political scientists and for the party itself.[3] The first poll said that Nixon was certain to carry Wisconsin,[4] and this opinion was repeated early in October.[5]

Hopes remained dim as the election neared despite the belief by local Representative Clement J. Zablocki that the independent candidacy of George Wallace was losing its impact in the racial-unrest-stricken southern urban counties around Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha,[6] where Wallace had campaigned extensively in September in his effort to put the election into the House of Representatives.[7] Although the gap would narrow in the last polls,[8] Wisconsin would be carried by Nixon with 47.89 percent of the vote, over Humphrey with 44.27 percent and Wallace with 7.56 percent. Wallace fared best in rural northern areas away from Lake Superior and in southern suburbs affected by racial conflict.

Wisconsin weighed in for this election as 2.92% more Republican than the nation at large. This was the last election until 1996 that Wisconsin was the most Republican of the three Rust Belt swing states (also consisting of Michigan and Pennsylvania). Wisconsin would vote more Democratic than both Michigan and Pennsylvania in all but one election from 1972 to 1988.

Results

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1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin[9][10]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Richard Nixon 809,997 47.89% 12
Democratic Hubert Humphrey 748,804 44.27% 0
Independent George Wallace 127,835 7.56% 0
Socialist Labor[b] Henning A. Blomen 1,338 0.08% 0
Socialist Workers[c] Fred Halstead 1,222 0.07% 0
Write-in Scattering[d] 2,342 0.14% 0
Totals 1,691,538 100.0% 12

Results by county

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County[9][10] Richard Nixon
Republican
Hubert Humphrey
Democratic
George Wallace
Independent
All Others
Various
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Adams 1,691 44.81% 1,614 42.77% 461 12.22% 8 0.21% 77 2.04% 3,774
Ashland 2,557 35.74% 4,147 57.96% 401 5.60% 50 0.70% -1,590 -22.22% 7,155
Barron 7,526 55.38% 5,183 38.14% 867 6.38% 13 0.10% 2,343 17.24% 13,589
Bayfield 2,333 40.91% 3,036 53.24% 323 5.66% 11 0.19% -703 -12.33% 5,703
Brown 30,133 53.65% 21,615 38.48% 4,341 7.73% 76 0.14% 8,518 15.17% 56,165
Buffalo 2,992 54.20% 2,112 38.26% 413 7.48% 3 0.05% 880 15.94% 5,520
Burnett 2,056 45.81% 2,010 44.79% 414 9.22% 8 0.18% 46 1.02% 4,488
Calumet 5,792 56.73% 3,609 35.35% 792 7.76% 16 0.16% 2,183 21.38% 10,209
Chippewa 7,772 47.37% 7,335 44.71% 1,282 7.81% 18 0.11% 437 2.66% 16,407
Clark 6,325 51.18% 4,601 37.23% 1,398 11.31% 34 0.28% 1,724 13.95% 12,358
Columbia 8,633 52.49% 6,698 40.72% 1,067 6.49% 49 0.30% 1,935 11.77% 16,447
Crawford 3,316 54.05% 2,391 38.97% 419 6.83% 9 0.15% 925 15.08% 6,135
Dane 39,917 38.05% 59,951 57.15% 3,771 3.59% 1,265 1.21% -20,034 -19.10% 104,904
Dodge 14,909 57.87% 8,948 34.73% 1,875 7.28% 31 0.12% 5,961 23.14% 25,763
Door 5,647 63.28% 2,728 30.57% 535 6.00% 14 0.16% 2,919 32.71% 8,924
Douglas 5,656 29.56% 12,506 65.37% 930 4.86% 39 0.20% -6,850 -35.81% 19,131
Dunn 5,415 51.42% 4,392 41.71% 709 6.73% 14 0.13% 1,023 9.72% 10,530
Eau Claire 11,799 46.64% 12,302 48.63% 1,169 4.62% 29 0.11% -503 -1.99% 25,299
Florence 821 48.32% 718 42.26% 157 9.24% 3 0.18% 103 6.06% 1,699
Fond du Lac 18,184 55.54% 12,563 38.37% 1,934 5.91% 62 0.19% 5,621 17.17% 32,743
Forest 1,264 40.14% 1,470 46.68% 412 13.08% 3 0.10% -206 -6.54% 3,149
Grant 10,789 62.49% 5,414 31.36% 1,054 6.11% 7 0.04% 5,375 31.13% 17,264
Green 6,502 60.97% 3,501 32.83% 641 6.01% 20 0.19% 3,001 28.14% 10,664
Green Lake 4,893 63.65% 2,299 29.91% 488 6.35% 7 0.09% 2,594 33.75% 7,687
Iowa 4,005 53.96% 2,897 39.03% 509 6.86% 11 0.15% 1,108 14.93% 7,422
Iron 1,137 34.26% 1,913 57.64% 262 7.89% 7 0.21% -776 -23.38% 3,319
Jackson 3,172 52.85% 2,293 38.20% 529 8.81% 8 0.13% 879 14.65% 6,002
Jefferson 12,478 54.91% 8,716 38.35% 1,470 6.47% 62 0.27% 3,762 16.55% 22,726
Juneau 3,828 53.55% 2,595 36.30% 712 9.96% 13 0.18% 1,233 17.25% 7,148
Kenosha 17,089 40.54% 21,427 50.83% 3,548 8.42% 94 0.22% -4,338 -10.29% 42,158
Kewaunee 4,467 57.24% 2,622 33.60% 703 9.01% 12 0.15% 1,845 23.64% 7,804
La Crosse 17,433 55.73% 11,570 36.99% 2,214 7.08% 63 0.20% 5,863 18.74% 31,280
Lafayette 4,084 55.00% 2,853 38.42% 470 6.33% 18 0.24% 1,231 16.58% 7,425
Langlade 3,712 49.41% 3,064 40.78% 718 9.56% 19 0.25% 648 8.63% 7,513
Lincoln 4,793 51.37% 3,858 41.35% 670 7.18% 9 0.10% 935 10.02% 9,330
Manitowoc 13,562 44.20% 15,298 49.86% 1,790 5.83% 30 0.10% -1,736 -5.66% 30,680
Marathon 16,907 44.36% 18,063 47.39% 3,051 8.00% 94 0.25% -1,156 -3.03% 38,115
Marinette 7,134 48.21% 6,415 43.35% 1,223 8.27% 25 0.17% 719 4.86% 14,797
Marquette 2,374 61.15% 1,228 31.63% 279 7.19% 1 0.03% 1,146 29.52% 3,882
Menominee 179 24.19% 531 71.76% 30 4.05% 0 0.00% -352 -47.57% 740
Milwaukee 160,022 39.75% 206,027 51.18% 35,056 8.71% 1,470 0.37% -46,005 -11.43% 402,575
Monroe 6,938 57.70% 4,012 33.37% 1,056 8.78% 18 0.15% 2,926 24.33% 12,024
Oconto 5,680 53.74% 3,737 35.36% 1,141 10.80% 11 0.10% 1,943 18.38% 10,569
Oneida 5,077 48.50% 4,435 42.37% 941 8.99% 14 0.13% 642 6.13% 10,467
Outagamie 25,080 59.25% 14,224 33.61% 2,956 6.98% 67 0.16% 10,856 25.65% 42,327
Ozaukee 12,155 58.04% 7,246 34.60% 1,505 7.19% 36 0.17% 4,909 23.44% 20,942
Pepin 1,493 49.95% 1,263 42.25% 231 7.73% 2 0.07% 230 7.69% 2,989
Pierce 4,990 48.73% 4,783 46.71% 453 4.42% 14 0.14% 207 2.02% 10,240
Polk 5,583 48.79% 5,179 45.26% 656 5.73% 24 0.21% 404 3.53% 11,442
Portage 6,180 36.02% 10,014 58.36% 900 5.25% 64 0.37% -3,834 -22.35% 17,158
Price 3,096 47.43% 2,794 42.80% 621 9.51% 17 0.26% 302 4.63% 6,528
Racine 28,028 44.75% 27,045 43.18% 7,457 11.90% 109 0.17% 983 1.57% 62,639
Richland 4,141 59.76% 2,288 33.02% 485 7.00% 15 0.22% 1,853 26.74% 6,929
Rock 25,229 50.92% 20,567 41.51% 3,655 7.38% 100 0.20% 4,662 9.41% 49,551
Rusk 2,666 44.71% 2,559 42.91% 726 12.18% 12 0.20% 107 1.79% 5,963
Sauk 8,608 53.54% 6,406 39.84% 1,019 6.34% 45 0.28% 2,202 13.70% 16,078
Sawyer 2,475 52.16% 1,830 38.57% 435 9.17% 5 0.11% 645 13.59% 4,745
Shawano 8,444 63.75% 3,602 27.20% 1,181 8.92% 18 0.14% 4,842 36.56% 13,245
Sheboygan 17,764 44.82% 20,170 50.89% 1,592 4.02% 108 0.27% -2,406 -6.07% 39,634
St. Croix 6,595 46.58% 6,807 48.08% 735 5.19% 20 0.14% -212 -1.50% 14,157
Taylor 3,043 43.95% 2,910 42.03% 959 13.85% 11 0.16% 133 1.92% 6,923
Trempealeau 4,861 50.67% 3,971 41.39% 747 7.79% 14 0.15% 890 9.28% 9,593
Vernon 5,824 55.15% 3,666 34.72% 1,062 10.06% 8 0.08% 2,158 20.44% 10,560
Vilas 3,339 58.09% 1,798 31.28% 598 10.40% 13 0.23% 1,541 26.81% 5,748
Walworth 15,040 61.82% 7,505 30.85% 1,755 7.21% 28 0.12% 7,535 30.97% 24,328
Washburn 2,425 47.62% 2,273 44.64% 384 7.54% 10 0.20% 152 2.99% 5,092
Washington 12,439 54.89% 8,104 35.76% 2,065 9.11% 53 0.23% 4,335 19.13% 22,661
Waukesha 47,557 54.93% 31,947 36.90% 6,921 7.99% 160 0.18% 15,610 18.03% 86,585
Waupaca 10,606 67.10% 3,978 25.17% 1,206 7.63% 17 0.11% 6,628 41.93% 15,807
Waushara 4,187 65.35% 1,652 25.78% 566 8.83% 2 0.03% 2,535 39.57% 6,407
Winnebago 25,361 53.80% 18,605 39.47% 3,045 6.46% 128 0.27% 6,756 14.33% 47,139
Wood 11,795 48.25% 10,921 44.68% 1,695 6.93% 34 0.14% 874 3.58% 24,445
Totals 809,997 47.89% 748,804 44.27% 127,835 7.56% 4,902 0.29% 61,193 3.62% 1,691,538

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Electors

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These were the names of the electors on each ticket.[9]

Richard M. Nixon
& Spiro Agnew
Republican Party
Hubert Humphrey
& Edmund Muskie
Democratic Party
George Wallace
& S. Marvin Griffin
Independent
Henning A. Blomen
& George S. Taylor
Socialist Labor Party
Fred Halstead
& Paul Boutelle
Socialist Workers Party
  • Warren P. Knowles
  • William Kellett
  • Russell A. Olson
  • Byron Wackatt
  • Peter Hurtgen
  • James C. Devitt
  • Janet Norris
  • J. Curtis McKay
  • Emily Baldwin
  • Harold V. Froelich
  • Ody J. Fish
  • Willis J. Hutnik
  • Gaylord A. Nelson
  • Bronson C. La Follette
  • George Molinaro
  • Elizabeth Tarkow
  • Etta Close
  • Robert Dejewski
  • Ann Brigham
  • Carl Otte
  • Frank Nikolay
  • Ralph Heller
  • Jeanette Swed
  • Art Henning
  • John Sahy
  • Karl Koehler
  • Ronald Hartung
  • John Harmon
  • Bernice Habeck
  • Lloyd G. Herbstreith
  • R. D. Pennings
  • J. J. Birkenstock
  • Mrs. Arthur Krueger
  • H. S. Tuttle
  • Edward J. Duquaine
  • Theodore Grob
  • Martin Tobert
  • Percy Steuber
  • Henry A. Ochsner
  • Arthur Wepfer
  • Georgia Cozzini
  • Alfred Teichert
  • Clarence Wardall
  • Robert E. Nordlander
  • Bruce O. Cozzini
  • Anton Jonas
  • Frank Brlas
  • Marko J. Bolobich
  • Charles H. Wheeler
  • Robert Wilkinson
  • William O. Hart
  • John P. Schuster
  • Edward T. Heisler
  • Wesley W. Weinhold
  • Kristin J. Penn
  • Lee E. Steinberg
  • Linda G. Hansen
  • Margaret Midelfort
  • Robin A. David
  • Lewis D. Pepper

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. ^ "Independent Socialist Labor"
  3. ^ "Independent Socialist Workers"
  4. ^ Not listed in the 1969 Blue Book, but are shown separately by county in the Board of Canvassers report

References

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  1. ^ Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 396
  2. ^ a b Kenworthy, E.W.; ‘M‘Carthy Wins Wisconsin: Polls 57% to Johnson’s 35; G.O.P. Gives 80% to Nixon: Reagan Gets 10% Kennedy Write-in 6%’; Special to The New York Times ; April 3, 1968, p. 1
  3. ^ Otten, Allen L.; ‘A Party Divided: Democrats’ Rifts Pose Problems for Candidates As Campaign Develops’; The Wall Street Journal, August 29, 1968, p. 1
  4. ^ Broder, David; ‘Nixon, Wallace have 22 states all sewed up’, The Boston Globe, September 11, 1968, p. 15
  5. ^ ‘Electoral Vote: Nixon 359, HHH 46’; The Boston Globe, October 7, 1968, p. 24
  6. ^ Lyons, Richard L.; ‘Wisconsin’s Nelson Likely to Buck GOP Tide: Campaign '68 House Fight Sees Wallace Decline Knowles Popular’; The Washington Post and Times-Herald, October 29, 1968, p. A4
  7. ^ Evans, Rowland and Novak, Robert; ‘Growing Wallace Strength Poses a Threat to Nixon in Key States’; The Washington Post, September 20, 1968, p. A25
  8. ^ ‘A Final State-by-State Political Survey...: ...A Last Reading on the Campaign of 1968’; The Washington Post and Times-Herald, November 3, 1968, p. B4
  9. ^ a b c Wisconsin Historical Society, Statement of Board of State Canvassers for President, Vice President and Presidential Electors - General Election - 1968
  10. ^ a b Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Vote For President And Vice President By County". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1969. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 167.