1964 United States presidential election

1964 United States presidential election
Public domain · source
Election name	1964 United States presidential election
Country	United States
Type	presidential
Previous election	1960 United States presidential election
Previous year	1960
Next election	1968 United States presidential election
Next year	1968
Votes for election	538 members of the Electoral College
Needed votes	270 electoral
Turnout	61.9%
Election date	November 3, 1964
Nominee1	Lyndon B. Johnson
Party1	Democratic Party (United States)
Home state1	Texas
Running mate1	Hubert Humphrey
Electoral vote1	486
States carried1	44 + DC
Popular vote1	43,129,566
Percentage1	61.1%
Nominee2	Barry Goldwater
Party2	Republican Party (United States)
Home state2	Arizona
Running mate2	William E. Miller
Electoral vote2	52
Popular vote2	27,178,188
Percentage2	38.5%
Title	President
Before election	Lyndon B. Johnson
Before party	Democratic Party (United States)
After election	Lyndon B. Johnson
After party	Democratic Party (United States)

Contents

Background and political climate
Nomination process and candidates
Civil Rights as a central campaign issue
● Election|Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Movement|Leadership
● Election

1964 United States presidential election

The 1964 United States presidential election was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had succeeded to the presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, defeated Republican Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona in a historic landslide. The election is widely considered a defining national referendum on the role of the federal government, the pace of social change, and the future of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which Johnson had championed and signed into law earlier that year.

Background and political climate

The political landscape in 1964 was shaped by profound national trauma and social upheaval. President Lyndon B. Johnson, having assumed office in the tragic aftermath of President John F. Kennedy's death in Dallas, sought to unify the nation and enact an ambitious domestic agenda he called the Great Society. This agenda included major expansions of federal power in areas like healthcare with Medicare, education, and poverty alleviation. Simultaneously, the nation was grappling with the escalating Civil Rights Movement, marked by events like the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the Freedom Summer project in Mississippi. The Republican Party, meanwhile, was experiencing a significant internal struggle between its moderate, establishment Rockefeller Republican wing, represented by figures like Nelson Rockefeller and William Scranton, and a growing conservative movement energized by grassroots activism and intellectual foundations like National Review magazine.

Nomination process and candidates

The nomination process for both parties highlighted deep ideological divisions. At the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, President Lyndon B. Johnson was renominated without serious opposition. He selected Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, a passionate liberal and civil rights advocate, as his running mate, solidifying the ticket's commitment to progressive reform. The 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco was far more contentious. Senator Barry Goldwater, author of the book The Conscience of a Conservative, successfully mobilized a conservative coalition that defeated the party's Eastern establishment. His nomination, famously sealed with the declaration that "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," represented a sharp turn toward a philosophy of limited government, states' rights, and a more aggressive foreign policy stance against Communism.

Civil Rights as a central campaign issue

The recently enacted Civil Rights Act of 1964 became the central fault line of the campaign. President Johnson and the Democratic platform fully embraced the law as a moral and constitutional necessity, arguing it was essential for national unity and justice. The Johnson campaign framed the election as a choice between compassion and chaos, suggesting Goldwater's opposition to the act was out of step with mainstream American values. Senator Goldwater, who had voted against the Civil Rights Act on constitutional grounds related to states' rights and property rights, was portrayed by Democrats as hostile to civil rights. This perception was amplified by Goldwater's opposition to the War on Poverty and his rhetoric, which resonated with white voters in the Deep South who were resistant to desegregation. Key civil rights organizations, including the NAACP and Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, actively supported Johnson.

● Election|Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Movement|Leadership

● Election

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