1968 Republican National Convention

1968 Republican National Convention

1968 presidential election
Nominees Nixon and Agnew
Convention
Date(s)	August 5–8, 1968
City	Miami Beach, Florida
Venue	Miami Beach Convention Center
Keynote speaker	Daniel J. Evans
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Richard Nixon of New York
Vice-presidential nominee	Spiro Agnew of Maryland
Voting
Total delegates	1,333
Votes needed for nomination	667 (majority)
Results (president)	Nixon (NY): 1,238 (92.87%) Rockefeller (NY): 93 (6.98%) Reagan: (CA): 2 (0.15%)
Results (vice president)	Agnew (MD): 1,119 (83.95%) Romney (MI): 186 (13.95%) Lindsay (NY): 10 (0.75%) Others: 2 (0.15%) Not Voting: 16 (1.20%)

The 1968 Republican National Convention was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, USA, from August 5 to August 8, 1968, to select the party's nominee in the general election. It nominated former Vice President Richard Nixon for president and Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew for vice president. It was the fourth time Nixon had been nominated on the Republican ticket as either its vice presidential (1952 and 1956) or presidential candidate (1960). Symbolic of the South's changing political affiliation, this was the first Republican National Convention held in a prior Confederate State.

Political context

Main article: 1968 Republican Party presidential primaries

The Miami Beach Convention Center was the site of the 1968 Republican National Convention.

Former Vice President Richard Nixon, emerged as the frontrunner again for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination. Nixon had been the Republican Party nominee in the 1960 presidential election, and lost to Democratic Party candidate John F. Kennedy.

The so-called "New Nixon" in the 1968 presidential election devised a "Southern strategy," taking advantage of the region's opposition to racial integration and other progressive/liberal policies of the Democratic Party and President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Nixon was nominated on the first ballot with 692 votes to 277 votes for Nelson Rockefeller, 182 votes for California Governor Ronald Reagan and the rest scattered. He was able to secure the nomination to the support of many Southern delegates, after he and his subordinates made concessions to Strom Thurmond and Harry Dent on civil rights, the Supreme Court, and the selection of a vice presidential candidate.

Nixon decided not to re-select his 1960 running mate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and House Minority Leader Gerald Ford of Michigan proposed New York City Mayor John Lindsay for vice president. Nixon turned instead to another perceived moderate, Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew. Agnew, former Baltimore County Executive in the Baltimore City suburbs (1963–1967), and since Governor of Maryland, had come to Republican leaders and Nixon's attention when he summoned several Black civic, religious, and political leaders in Baltimore to the local State Office Building complex, following the disastrous April 1968 riots which enveloped Black sections of East and West Baltimore in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. Agnew complained of the Black leaders' lack of support after a number of what he perceived to be positive projects, programs and support by his Republican administration for the minority communities in the city. Agnew's biting comments caused many in the audience to walk out. Agnew was seen as a candidate who could appeal to Rockefeller Republicans, was acceptable to Southern Conservatives, and had a solid law-and-order record.

In his acceptance speech, Nixon deplored the state of the union and urged a return to law and order both at home and abroad:

When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down for four years in Vietnam with no end in sight, when the richest nation in the world can't manage its own economy, when the nation with the greatest tradition of the rule of law is plagued by unprecedented racial violence, when the President of the United States cannot travel abroad or to any major city at home, then it's time for new leadership for the United States of America.

Nixon also said that he had "a good teacher", referring to Eisenhower, and made the delegates happy with the statement "Let's win this one for Ike!" Eisenhower was not present during Nixon's speech nor during any part of the convention. Due to failing health, he was under doctor's orders not to travel, but addressed the convention by telephone. He died the following March.

Balloting

The following were placed into nomination:

Nominated for President

• 
  Former Vice President
  Richard Nixon
  from New York
• 
  Governor
  Ronald Reagan
  of California
• 
  Governor
  Nelson Rockefeller
  of New York
• 
  Governor
  George Romney
  of Michigan
• 
  Governor
  James A. Rhodes
  of Ohio
• 
  Senator
  Clifford Case
  of New Jersey
• 
  Senator
  Frank Carlson
  of Kansas
• 
  Senator
  Hiram Fong
  of Hawaii

Nominated for Vice President

• 
  Governor
  Spiro Agnew
  of Maryland
• 
  Governor
  George Romney
  of Michigan

The Republican Convention Tally results

This was the last time during the 20th Century that two siblings (the Rockefeller brothers) received votes at a convention.

The Republican Convention Tally

President	(before switches)	(after switches)	Vice President	Vice-Presidential votes
Richard M. Nixon	692	1238	Spiro T. Agnew	1119
Nelson Rockefeller	277	93	George Romney	186
Ronald Reagan	182	2	John V. Lindsay	10
Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes	55	—	Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke	1
Michigan Governor George Romney	50	—	James A. Rhodes	1
New Jersey Senator Clifford Case	22	—	Not Voting	16
Kansas Senator Frank Carlson	20	—	—
Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller	18	—	—
Hawaii Senator Hiram Fong	14	—	—
Harold Stassen	2	—	—
New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay	1	—	—

Results by state

Results of the convention by state
     Nixon      Rockefeller      Reagan      Romney      Various

Nixon supporters at the convention

Rockefeller supporters at the convention

Reagan supporters at the convention

The balloting by state was as follows:

State	Nixon	N. Rockefeller	Reagan	Rhodes	Romney	Case	Carlson	W. Rockefeller	Fong	Stassen	Lindsay
Alabama	14		12
Alaska	11	1
Arizona	16
Arkansas								18
California			86
Colorado	14	3	1
Connecticut	4	12
Delaware	9	3
Florida	32	1	1
Georgia	21	2	7
Hawaii									14
Idaho	9		5
Illinois	50	5	3
Indiana	26
Iowa	13	8	3
Kansas							20
Kentucky	22	2
Louisiana	19		7
Maine	7	7
Maryland	18	8
Massachusetts		34
Michigan	4				44
Minnesota	9	15								1	1
Mississippi	20
Missouri	16	5	3
Montana	11		3
Nebraska	16
Nevada	9	3
New Hampshire	8
New Jersey	18					22
New Mexico	8	1	5
New York	4	88
North Carolina	9	1	16
North Dakota	5	2	1
Ohio	2			55						1
Oklahoma	14	1	7
Oregon	18
Pennsylvania	22	41	1
Rhode Island		14
South Carolina	22
South Dakota	14
Tennessee	28
Texas	41		15
Utah	2				6
Vermont	9	3
Virginia	22	2
Washington	15	3	6
West Virginia	11	3
Wisconsin	30
Wyoming	12
District of Columbia	6	3
Puerto Rico		5
U.S. Virgin Islands	2	1
Total	692	277	182	55	50	22	20	18	14	2	1

See also

• History of the United States Republican Party
• List of Republican National Conventions
• United States presidential nominating convention
• 1968 Democratic National Convention
• 1968 United States presidential election
• Richard Nixon 1968 presidential campaign
• 1968 Miami riot

Bibliography

• Troy, Gil; Schlesinger, Arthur M.; Israel, Fred L. (2012). History of American Presidential Elections, 1789–2008. Vol. 3 (4 ed.). New York City: Facts on File. ISBN 978-0-8160-8220-9.

External links

• Republican Party platform of 1968 at The American Presidency Project
• Nixon nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC (transcript) at The American Presidency Project
• Video of Nixon nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC from C-SPAN (via YouTube)
• Audio of Nixon nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC
• Video of Agnew nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC (via YouTube)

Preceded by 1964 Daly City, California

Republican National Conventions

Succeeded by 1972 Miami Beach, Florida