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1960 United States presidential election in West Virginia

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1960 United States presidential election in West Virginia

← 1956 November 8, 1960[1] 1964 →

All 8 West Virginia votes to the Electoral College
 
Nominee John F. Kennedy Richard Nixon
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Massachusetts California
Running mate Lyndon B. Johnson Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Electoral vote 8 0
Popular vote 441,786 395,995
Percentage 52.73% 47.27%

County Results

President before election

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican

Elected President

John F. Kennedy
Democratic

The 1960 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. West Virginia voters chose eight[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

West Virginia was won by Senator John F. Kennedy (DMassachusetts), running with Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, with 52.73 percent of the popular vote against incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon (RCalifornia), running with United States Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., with 47.27 percent of the popular vote.[3][4]

Democratic Primary

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The 1960 West Virginia Democratic primary election on May 20 was seen as a turning point in the Democratic primaries. John F Kennedy had shown that he could win a primary election against the liberal Senator Hubert Humphrey in the Wisconsin primary. Although Kennedy defeated Humphrey in Wisconsin, his reliance on heavily Catholic areas left many party bosses unconvinced. Kennedy thus faced Humphrey in the heavily Protestant state of West Virginia. Humphrey's campaign was low on money and could not compete with the well-organized, well-financed Kennedy team. Kennedy's siblings combed the state looking for votes, leading Humphrey to complain that he "felt like an independent merchant running against a chain store."[5] On primary day, Kennedy crushed Humphrey with over 60% of the vote, and Humphrey withdrew from the race.

In West Virginia, Kennedy sought to show that he could win the support of Protestant voters and to remove Humphrey from the race, securing the party's liberal wing and setting up a showdown with Johnson for the nomination. Humphrey had high expectations, given that the state's population was rural, working class, ninety-five percent Protestant, and its delegates had backed him against Kennedy in the vice presidential contest four years prior.[6]

Kennedy met the religious issue head-on, hoping to redefine the race as one of "tolerance against intolerance," rather than Catholic against Protestant. He also brought Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. to campaign in the state; Roosevelt then raised the issue of Humphrey's failure to serve in World War II. Though Humphrey had tried and failed to serve due to physical disability,[7] Roosevelt attacked his lack of service record, publicly telling audiences, "I don't know where [Humphrey] was in World War Two," and distributing flyers that accused him of draft dodging. After the primary was over, Roosevelt apologized to Humphrey and retracted the claims,[6] which he later called his greatest political regret.[8]

Kennedy continued to outspend Humphrey heavily in West Virginia; though he publicly claimed expenditures of $100,000, later estimates placed his family's overall spending at $1.5 million, dwarfing Humphrey's $23,000.[9] Humphrey traveled the state in a rented bus, while the Kennedys used a family-owned airplane.[10] Humphrey later wrote of the West Virginia campaign, "as a professional politician I was able to accept and indeed respect the efficacy of the Kennedy campaign. But underneath the beautiful exterior, there was an element of ruthlessness and toughness that I had trouble either accepting or forgetting."[11]

On May 4, 1960, Humphrey and Kennedy took part in a televised one-on-one debate at WCHS-TV in Charleston, West Virginia, ahead of the state's primary.[12]

Kennedy defeated Humphrey soundly in West Virginia, and Humphrey announced his withdrawal from the race that night.

Results

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1960 United States presidential election in West Virginia
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John F. Kennedy 441,786 52.73%
Republican Richard Nixon 395,995 47.27%
Total votes 837,781 100.00%

Results by county

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County[13] John F. Kennedy
Democratic
Richard Nixon
Republican
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # %
Barbour 3,818 48.80% 4,006 51.20% -188 -2.40% 7,824
Berkeley 7,072 45.80% 8,369 54.20% -1,297 -8.40% 15,441
Boone 8,058 66.26% 4,104 33.74% 3,954 32.52% 12,162
Braxton 4,185 58.43% 2,977 41.57% 1,208 16.86% 7,162
Brooke 7,838 57.67% 5,754 42.33% 2,084 15.34% 13,592
Cabell 20,911 43.66% 26,988 56.34% -6,077 -12.68% 47,899
Calhoun 1,975 50.37% 1,946 49.63% 29 0.74% 3,921
Clay 2,859 54.30% 2,406 45.70% 453 8.60% 5,265
Doddridge 1053 30.48% 2,402 69.52% -1,349 -39.04% 3,455
Fayette 18,109 70.61% 7,537 29.39% 10,572 41.22% 25,646
Gilmer 2,075 58.93% 1,446 41.07% 629 17.86% 3,521
Grant 908 21.41% 3,333 78.59% -2,425 -57.18% 4,241
Greenbrier 8,343 55.71% 6,633 44.29% 1,710 11.42% 14,976
Hampshire 2,849 52.86% 2,541 47.14% 308 5.72% 5,390
Hancock 11,176 58.19% 8,031 41.81% 3,145 16.38% 19,207
Hardy 2,465 54.69% 2,042 45.31% 423 9.38% 4,507
Harrison 20,727 53.00% 18,378 47.00% 2,349 6.00% 39,105
Jackson 3,615 39.51% 5,535 60.49% -1,920 -20.98% 9,150
Jefferson 4,352 60.12% 2,887 39.88% 1,465 20.24% 7,239
Kanawha 54,484 48.81% 57,130 51.19% -2,646 -2.38% 111,614
Lewis 3,649 41.44% 5,157 58.56% -1,508 -17.12% 8,806
Lincoln 5,023 52.31% 4,579 47.69% 444 4.62% 9,602
Logan 16,360 67.61% 7,836 32.39% 8,524 35.22% 24,196
Marion 17,903 55.88% 14,138 44.12% 3,765 11.76% 32,041
Marshall 9,197 50.14% 9,147 49.86% 50 0.28% 18,344
Mason 4,522 41.31% 6,424 58.69% -1,902 -17.38% 10,946
McDowell 19,501 74.84% 6,555 25.16% 12,946 49.68% 26,056
Mercer 17,289 59.60% 11,719 40.40% 5,570 19.20% 29,008
Mineral 4,164 39.80% 6,299 60.20% -2,135 -20.40% 10,463
Mingo 11,259 69.66% 4,903 30.34% 6,356 39.32% 16,162
Monongalia 13,103 53.21% 11,523 46.79% 1,580 6.42% 24,626
Monroe 2,910 48.11% 3,139 51.89% -229 -3.78% 6,049
Morgan 1,369 33.22% 2,752 66.78% -1,383 -33.56% 4,121
Nicholas 5,774 57.33% 4,297 42.67% 1,477 14.66% 10,071
Ohio 18,423 51.48% 17,367 48.52% 1,056 2.96% 35,790
Pendleton 2,057 51.59% 1,930 48.41% 127 3.18% 3,987
Pleasants 1,742 46.78% 1,982 53.22% -240 -6.44% 3,724
Pocahontas 2,822 53.34% 2,469 46.66% 353 6.68% 5,291
Preston 4,221 37.93% 6,908 62.07% -2,687 -24.14% 11,129
Putnam 4,968 46.56% 5,702 53.44% -734 -6.88% 10,670
Raleigh 20,448 62.85% 12,088 37.15% 8,360 25.70% 32,536
Randolph 6,989 58.21% 5,018 41.79% 1,971 16.42% 12,007
Ritchie 1,591 28.60% 3,972 71.40% -2,381 -42.80% 5,563
Roane 3,280 42.47% 4,443 57.53% -1,163 -15.06% 7,723
Summers 4,622 59.57% 3,137 40.43% 1,485 19.14% 7,759
Taylor 3,489 46.64% 3,992 53.36% -503 -6.72% 7,481
Tucker 2,090 52.55% 1,887 47.45% 203 5.10% 3,977
Tyler 1,558 30.58% 3,537 69.42% -1,979 -38.84% 5,095
Upshur 2,590 33.58% 5,123 66.42% -2,533 -32.84% 7,713
Wayne 9,140 52.93% 8,128 47.07% 1,012 5.86% 17,268
Webster 3,479 67.32% 1,689 32.68% 1,790 34.64% 5,168
Wetzel 4,338 45.73% 5,149 54.27% -811 -8.54% 9,487
Wirt 1,045 43.69% 1,347 56.31% -302 -12.62% 2,392
Wood 15,396 41.03% 22,131 58.97% -6,735 -17.94% 37,527
Wyoming 8,603 62.86% 5,083 37.14% 3,520 25.72% 13,686
Totals 441,786 52.73% 395,995 47.27% 45,791 5.46% 837,781

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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References

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  1. ^ "United States Presidential election of 1960 — Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  2. ^ "1960 Election for the Forty-Fourth Term (1961-65)". Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "1960 Presidential General Election Results — West Virginia". Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  4. ^ "The American Presidency Project — Election of 1960". Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  5. ^ Schlesinger, Arthur M. (2002) [1978]. Robert Kennedy and His Times. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 195. ISBN 0-618-21928-5.
  6. ^ a b Solberg 1984, p. 209.
  7. ^ Dallek, Robert (1998). Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961–1973. Oxford University Press. p. 256. ISBN 978-0195054651.
  8. ^ Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. (1996). Robert Kennedy and His Times. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 201.
  9. ^ Solberg 1984, pp. 210–11.
  10. ^ Bryan Ward Jr. (April 26, 2013). "Battleground West Virginia Electing the President in 1960". wvculture.org. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  11. ^ Humphrey 1976, p. 208.
  12. ^ Berquist, Goodwin F. Jr. (September 1, 1960). "The Kennedy‐Humphrey debate". Today's Speech. 8 (3): 2–31. doi:10.1080/01463376009385139. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  13. ^ "WV US President — November 08, 1960". Our Campaigns.

Works cited

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