1960 United States presidential election in Ohio
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 County Results
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Ohio |
|---|
 |
The 1960 United States presidential election in Ohio of November 8, 1960 was part of the 1960 United States presidential election. Voters chose 25 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President.
Ohio was won by Republican Party candidate, incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon with a 53.28% popular vote majority over Democratic Party candidate John F. Kennedy’s 46.72%.
This was the last time that Ohio, a bellwether state, was on the losing end of the presidential election. This anomaly was due to strong anti-Catholic voting amidst an overall nationwide pro-Democratic swing in the Appalachia-influenced and heavily Baptist southern and western parts of the state.[1] From 1964 onward, the candidate who won Ohio won the election nationwide.[2] This was also the last time Ottawa County voted for the losing candidate.
Primaries
Democratic primary
Governor Michael DiSalle won the state's primary as a favorite son pledged to support Kennedy.[3][4]
Ohio was one of the largest states to hold a primary, with 64 delegates to the DNC.[4] Its primary, held on May 3, coincided with that of neighboring Indiana.[4]
Kennedy had campaigned in Ohio numerous times in the two years prior to announcing his official candidacy.[4] While his internal polling was positive, it also showed that he could still lose if a strong candidate launched a favorite son campaign against him.[4] His campaign was particularly worried about Frank Lausche launching such a challenge.[4] In November 1959 their polling showed a race between him and Kennedy resulting in a statistical tie.[4] Those polls showed that Kennedy would win race a race between him and DiSalle 62 to 38%.[4]
In 1959, during his many visits to the state, Kennedy won the backing of Cuyahoga County Democratic Party leader Raymond T. Miller and Cleveland mayor Anthony J. Celebrezze.[4]
Kennedy felt that he could not compete in both the Ohio and Wisconsin due to time limitations preventing him from being able to spend adequate time in both states.[4] Kennedy saw Wisconsin as providing him an opportunity to potentially deliver an early and fatal blow to Hubert Humphrey's campaign.[4] Thus, he chose to compete there instead of in Ohio.[4]
Kennedy felt that he needed to secure DiSalle's endorsement ahead of declaring his candidacy in order to demonstrate appeal outside of New England.[4] Thus, in December of 1959, Kennedy and DiSalle brokered an agreement in which DiSalle would run as a favorite son committed to Kennedy, and would endorse Kennedy and announce his intention to run as a favorite son to assist his candidacy in a January 6 press announcement (four days after Kennedy's formal announcement of his candidacy).[4]
DiSalle won with a wide margin against Albert S. Porter.[5]
Republican primary
Nixon carried the state's Republican primary.[3]
Results
| 1960 United States presidential election in Ohio[6] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Richard Nixon | Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. | 2,217,611 | 53.28% | 25 | |
| Democratic | John F. Kennedy | Lyndon B. Johnson | 1,944,248 | 46.72% | 0 | |
| Totals | 4,161,859 | 100.00% | 25 | |||
| Voter turnout (registered voters) | % | |||||
Results by county
| Richard Milhous Nixon Republican |
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Democratic |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # |
| Adams | 5,996 | 60.59% | 3,900 | 39.41% | 2,096 | 21.18% | 9,896 |
| Allen | 28,007 | 65.54% | 14,725 | 34.46% | 13,282 | 31.08% | 42,732 |
| Ashland | 13,112 | 69.70% | 5,700 | 30.30% | 7,412 | 39.40% | 18,812 |
| Ashtabula | 22,406 | 53.91% | 19,155 | 46.09% | 3,251 | 7.82% | 41,561 |
| Athens | 10,747 | 58.76% | 7,542 | 41.24% | 3,205 | 17.52% | 18,289 |
| Auglaize | 11,183 | 64.03% | 6,282 | 35.97% | 4,901 | 28.06% | 17,465 |
| Belmont | 18,146 | 43.26% | 23,805 | 56.74% | -5,659 | -13.49% | 41,951 |
| Brown | 6,461 | 55.73% | 5,133 | 44.27% | 1,328 | 11.45% | 11,594 |
| Butler | 46,518 | 58.66% | 32,778 | 41.34% | 13,740 | 17.33% | 79,296 |
| Carroll | 6,095 | 63.60% | 3,488 | 36.40% | 2,607 | 27.20% | 9,583 |
| Champaign | 9,141 | 66.72% | 4,560 | 33.28% | 4,581 | 33.44% | 13,701 |
| Clark | 30,588 | 57.67% | 22,456 | 42.33% | 8,132 | 15.33% | 53,044 |
| Clermont | 18,802 | 61.60% | 11,723 | 38.40% | 7,079 | 23.19% | 30,525 |
| Clinton | 8,464 | 65.30% | 4,498 | 34.70% | 3,966 | 30.60% | 12,962 |
| Columbiana | 28,414 | 58.64% | 20,037 | 41.36% | 8,377 | 17.29% | 48,451 |
| Coshocton | 9,913 | 64.75% | 5,396 | 35.25% | 4,517 | 29.51% | 15,309 |
| Crawford | 14,558 | 67.59% | 6,981 | 32.41% | 7,577 | 35.18% | 21,539 |
| Cuyahoga | 288,056 | 40.17% | 429,030 | 59.83% | -140,974 | -19.66% | 717,086 |
| Darke | 14,048 | 64.55% | 7,715 | 35.45% | 6,333 | 29.10% | 21,763 |
| Defiance | 8,912 | 63.12% | 5,207 | 36.88% | 3,705 | 26.24% | 14,119 |
| Delaware | 11,391 | 68.11% | 5,334 | 31.89% | 6,057 | 36.22% | 16,725 |
| Erie | 15,092 | 57.94% | 10,954 | 42.06% | 4,138 | 15.89% | 26,046 |
| Fairfield | 17,743 | 66.03% | 9,128 | 33.97% | 8,615 | 32.06% | 26,871 |
| Fayette | 7,085 | 64.11% | 3,966 | 35.89% | 3,119 | 28.22% | 11,051 |
| Franklin | 161,178 | 59.37% | 110,283 | 40.63% | 50,895 | 18.75% | 271,461 |
| Fulton | 9,695 | 74.76% | 3,274 | 25.24% | 6,421 | 49.51% | 12,969 |
| Gallia | 7,602 | 68.49% | 3,498 | 31.51% | 4,104 | 36.97% | 11,100 |
| Geauga | 12,491 | 59.44% | 8,522 | 40.56% | 3,969 | 18.89% | 21,013 |
| Greene | 19,642 | 58.12% | 14,155 | 41.88% | 5,487 | 16.24% | 33,797 |
| Guernsey | 10,396 | 61.41% | 6,532 | 38.59% | 3,864 | 22.83% | 16,928 |
| Hamilton | 211,068 | 54.50% | 176,215 | 45.50% | 34,853 | 9.00% | 387,283 |
| Hancock | 17,059 | 71.76% | 6,712 | 28.24% | 10,347 | 43.53% | 23,771 |
| Hardin | 9,042 | 64.41% | 4,996 | 35.59% | 4,046 | 28.82% | 14,038 |
| Harrison | 5,191 | 58.77% | 3,641 | 41.23% | 1,550 | 17.55% | 8,832 |
| Henry | 8,251 | 70.73% | 3,415 | 29.27% | 4,836 | 41.45% | 11,666 |
| Highland | 8,948 | 62.26% | 5,423 | 37.74% | 3,525 | 24.53% | 14,371 |
| Hocking | 5,262 | 56.47% | 4,057 | 43.53% | 1,205 | 12.93% | 9,319 |
| Holmes | 4,432 | 69.41% | 1,953 | 30.59% | 2,479 | 38.83% | 6,385 |
| Huron | 12,261 | 61.94% | 7,534 | 38.06% | 4,727 | 23.88% | 19,795 |
| Jackson | 7,973 | 58.96% | 5,549 | 41.04% | 2,424 | 17.93% | 13,522 |
| Jefferson | 21,186 | 44.01% | 26,955 | 55.99% | -5,769 | -11.98% | 48,141 |
| Knox | 12,711 | 65.94% | 6,565 | 34.06% | 6,146 | 31.88% | 19,276 |
| Lake | 32,038 | 48.94% | 33,425 | 51.06% | -1,387 | -2.12% | 65,463 |
| Lawrence | 13,159 | 60.32% | 8,656 | 39.68% | 4,503 | 20.64% | 21,815 |
| Licking | 23,653 | 63.95% | 13,335 | 36.05% | 10,318 | 27.90% | 36,988 |
| Logan | 11,311 | 68.18% | 5,279 | 31.82% | 6,032 | 36.36% | 16,590 |
| Lorain | 39,361 | 47.51% | 43,487 | 52.49% | -4,126 | -4.98% | 82,848 |
| Lucas | 94,679 | 47.94% | 102,825 | 52.06% | -8,146 | -4.12% | 197,504 |
| Madison | 7,256 | 66.37% | 3,677 | 33.63% | 3,579 | 32.74% | 10,933 |
| Mahoning | 51,927 | 38.73% | 82,143 | 61.27% | -30,216 | -22.54% | 134,070 |
| Marion | 15,210 | 61.31% | 9,598 | 38.69% | 5,612 | 22.62% | 24,808 |
| Medina | 16,123 | 62.21% | 9,796 | 37.79% | 6,327 | 24.41% | 25,919 |
| Meigs | 6,976 | 66.77% | 3,472 | 33.23% | 3,504 | 33.54% | 10,448 |
| Mercer | 7,735 | 50.02% | 7,730 | 49.98% | 5 | 0.03% | 15,465 |
| Miami | 22,151 | 65.30% | 11,770 | 34.70% | 10,381 | 30.60% | 33,921 |
| Monroe | 4,106 | 56.63% | 3,144 | 43.37% | 962 | 13.27% | 7,250 |
| Montgomery | 109,602 | 52.71% | 98,325 | 47.29% | 11,277 | 5.42% | 207,927 |
| Morgan | 4,424 | 70.82% | 1,823 | 29.18% | 2,601 | 41.64% | 6,247 |
| Morrow | 6,357 | 69.91% | 2,736 | 30.09% | 3,621 | 39.82% | 9,093 |
| Muskingum | 21,518 | 61.88% | 13,254 | 38.12% | 8,264 | 23.77% | 34,772 |
| Noble | 3,951 | 65.99% | 2,036 | 34.01% | 1,915 | 31.99% | 5,987 |
| Ottawa | 9,260 | 58.34% | 6,612 | 41.66% | 2,648 | 16.68% | 15,872 |
| Paulding | 4,961 | 63.72% | 2,825 | 36.28% | 2,136 | 27.43% | 7,786 |
| Perry | 7,658 | 59.60% | 5,191 | 40.40% | 2,467 | 19.20% | 12,849 |
| Pickaway | 7,821 | 61.63% | 4,870 | 38.37% | 2,951 | 23.25% | 12,691 |
| Pike | 3,684 | 45.92% | 4,339 | 54.08% | -655 | -8.16% | 8,023 |
| Portage | 19,634 | 51.45% | 18,528 | 48.55% | 1,106 | 2.90% | 38,162 |
| Preble | 8,802 | 61.69% | 5,467 | 38.31% | 3,335 | 23.37% | 14,269 |
| Putnam | 6,834 | 53.09% | 6,039 | 46.91% | 795 | 6.18% | 12,873 |
| Richland | 27,317 | 58.17% | 19,645 | 41.83% | 7,672 | 16.34% | 46,962 |
| Ross | 14,075 | 60.90% | 9,036 | 39.10% | 5,039 | 21.80% | 23,111 |
| Sandusky | 14,566 | 64.06% | 8,171 | 35.94% | 6,395 | 28.13% | 22,737 |
| Scioto | 21,771 | 56.67% | 16,647 | 43.33% | 5,124 | 13.34% | 38,418 |
| Seneca | 15,772 | 61.20% | 10,001 | 38.80% | 5,771 | 22.39% | 25,773 |
| Shelby | 8,766 | 56.08% | 6,866 | 43.92% | 1,900 | 12.15% | 15,632 |
| Stark | 82,881 | 55.22% | 67,205 | 44.78% | 15,676 | 10.44% | 150,086 |
| Summit | 109,066 | 49.59% | 110,852 | 50.41% | -1,786 | -0.81% | 219,918 |
| Trumbull | 40,724 | 46.46% | 46,928 | 53.54% | -6,204 | -7.08% | 87,652 |
| Tuscarawas | 20,637 | 56.20% | 16,083 | 43.80% | 4,554 | 12.40% | 36,720 |
| Union | 7,838 | 71.55% | 3,116 | 28.45% | 4,722 | 43.11% | 10,954 |
| Van Wert | 9,666 | 65.68% | 5,050 | 34.32% | 4,616 | 31.37% | 14,716 |
| Vinton | 3,043 | 59.97% | 2,031 | 40.03% | 1,012 | 19.94% | 5,074 |
| Warren | 14,505 | 64.61% | 7,945 | 35.39% | 6,560 | 29.22% | 22,450 |
| Washington | 14,197 | 64.38% | 7,856 | 35.62% | 6,341 | 28.75% | 22,053 |
| Wayne | 21,273 | 69.10% | 9,511 | 30.90% | 11,762 | 38.21% | 30,784 |
| Williams | 10,319 | 71.84% | 4,044 | 28.16% | 6,275 | 43.69% | 14,363 |
| Wood | 18,952 | 64.17% | 10,581 | 35.83% | 8,371 | 28.34% | 29,533 |
| Wyandot | 6,786 | 65.81% | 3,526 | 34.19% | 3,260 | 31.61% | 10,312 |
| Totals | 2,217,611 | 53.28% | 1,944,248 | 46.72% | 273,363 | 6.57% | 4,161,859 |
References
- ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 357-358, 395 ISBN 9780691163246
- ^ "Last President who didn't win Ohio". The Blade. 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
- ^ a b "RESULTS OF 1960 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PRIMARIES". John F. Kennedy presidential library. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oliphant, Thomas; Wilkie, Curtis (2017). The road to Camelot: Inside JFK's Five-Year Campaign. Simon & Schuster.
- ^ Our Campaigns – OH US President – D Primary Race – May 3, 1960
- ^ Leip, David (2016). "1960 Presidential General Election Results - Ohio". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
