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1960 United States presidential election

November 8, 1960
537 members of the Electoral College 269 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout	63.8% 3.6 pp
Nominee Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy Party Republican Democratic Home state California Massachusetts Running mate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Lyndon B. Johnson Electoral vote 272 260 States carried 30 18 Popular vote 34,315,861 34,019,027 Percentage 49.85% 49.42%
President before election Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican Elected President Richard Nixon Republican
1961 contingent U.S. vice presidential election
January 10, 1961
100 United States senators 51 votes needed to win
Candidate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Lyndon B. Johnson Party Republican Democratic Senate vote 64 36 Percentage 64% 36%

Dick's Dastardly Deal

Many Southern Democrats were opposed to voting rights for African Americans living in the South. There was a call from segregationists for electoral votes to be withheld, or to be cast for Virginia senator Harry F. Byrd, a segregationist Democrat, as an independent candidate. The Democrats in Alabama put up a mixed slate of five electors loyal to Kennedy and six unpledged electors. The Democrats in Mississippi put up two distinct slates – one of Kennedy loyalists, and one of unpledged electors.

In total, 14 unpledged Democratic electors won election from the voters and chose not to vote for Kennedy, eight from Mississippi and six from Alabama. This resulted in neither candidate receiving a clear electoral majority in the immediate aftermath of the election. Upon learning of the deadlock, Nixon directed his campaign to contact the unpledged electors, in hopes of striking a deal before the convening of the Electoral College on January 6th. The Kennedy Camp, hoping to overturn the results of the election in Illinois and New Jersey because of theorized voter fraud, hesitated to contact the unpledged electors, which they believed could backfire publicly.

On November 30th, the New York Times published an article which detailed a deal made between Richard Nixon and the unpledged electors: Nixon would receive the votes required to obtain a majority in exchange for a commitment to halt any advances made by the Civil Rights movement, and to appoint only pro-segregation justices to the Supreme Court. The revelation shocked the electorate, and the now-hostile media labeled the exchange, "Dick's Dastardly Deal".

1961 Contingent Election for Vice-President

In the frantic negotiations in the aftermath of the apparent electoral deadlock the unpledged electors had given Richard Nixon an electoral majority but had withheld their votes from his running mate, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., as retaliation for his promise to appoint an African-American to the cabinet. The unpledged electors instead attempted to ensure a majority for Kennedy's running mate, Lyndon B. Johnson, whom they believed was the better of the two options.

Johnson quickly learned of this maneuver and, dreading subordination to a Republican Administration, arranged for the electors from Texas to instead vote for Vice-President his wife, Lady Bird Johnson. As a result, she became the first woman in American history to have received an electoral vote in a presidential election.

"Race to the Bottom"

Having forced a contingent election in the Senate, Johnson now attempted to escape the Vice-Presidency by rallying the Senate to vote for Lodge. Soon thereafter, Lodge, who was furious over Nixon's "deal with the devil", promised to resign if elected, which would embarrass the Republicans. The Senate Republicans, wanting to avoid that situation, rallied instead to elect Johnson to the Vice-Presidency, which would also force a special election in Texas, which Republicans thought they could flip.

The strange result was an election in which neither candidate wanted to win, and instead endorsed their opponents in order to avoid the burden of the office. On January 10th, 1961, the vote was held and, reflecting the strange circumstances, proceeded among reverse party lines, with 64 Democrats voting for Republican Lodge, and 36 Republicans voting for Democrat Johnson.

The media covered this chain of events very closely, with one often-quoted article by