See main article: 1968 United States presidential election.
| Election Name: | 1968 United States presidential election in Maine |
| Country: | Maine |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1964 United States presidential election in Maine |
| Previous Year: | 1964 |
| Next Election: | 1972 United States presidential election in Maine |
| Next Year: | 1972 |
| Election Date: | November 5, 1968 |
| Image1: | File: Hubert Humphrey in New York, 1968 (3x4 crop).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Hubert Humphrey |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Home State1: | Minnesota |
| Running Mate1: | Edmund Muskie |
| Electoral Vote1: | 4 |
| Popular Vote1: | 217,312 |
| Percentage1: | 55.30% |
| Nominee2: | Richard Nixon |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Home State2: | New York |
| Running Mate2: | Spiro Agnew |
| Electoral Vote2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 169,254 |
| Percentage2: | 43.07% |
| Map Size: | 350px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Lyndon Johnson |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Richard Nixon |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1968 United States presidential election in Maine took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all fifty states and D.C. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Maine was won by incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey by twelve percentage points over Republican challenger and former Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Humphrey received 55.30% of the vote in Maine, which equated to 217,312 total votes to Nixon's 43.07% and 169,254 total votes. Despite Nixon squeaking by Humphrey nationwide, the Vice President's decisive victory in Maine made the state about thirteen percentage points more Democratic than the nation as a whole in 1968. Humphrey's win was almost certainly due to the popularity[1] and consequent "favorite son" status in Maine of his running mate Edmund Muskie.[2]
Alabama Governor George Wallace received 6,370 votes on the American Independent ticket with 1.62% of the vote. Despite his significant impact on the election as a whole, Wallace did not have a serious impact in Maine. Indeed, upstate Aroostook County was Wallace's weakest in the nation outside of the District of Columbia where he was not on the ballot.[3]
This election made Nixon the first Republican to ever win the presidency without carrying Maine. It would also prove to be the last time that a Democratic presidential nominee would carry the state until Bill Clinton in 1992, and the last time that a Democrat would win an absolute majority of the popular vote in the state until Clinton also did so in 1996. Humphrey was also the first losing Democrat to carry the state since Lewis Cass in 1848. This and the previous election also marked the first occasion since 1852 that the state voted Democratic in consecutive elections. The state swung heavily towards Richard Nixon in 1972, awarding him over 61 percent of the vote, which no presidential candidate of either party has surpassed since.
This is also the last time, as of the 2020 presidential election, that a Democrat received over 70% of the vote in any Maine county, which Humphrey did in Androscoggin County.
Maine was one of two states (the other being Washington) that supported Humphrey over Nixon in this election and Nixon over John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election.
| 1968 United States presidential election in Maine[4] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | ||
| Democratic | Hubert Humphrey | 217,312 | 55.30% | 4 | ||
| Republican | Richard Nixon | 169,254 | 43.07% | 0 | ||
| American Independent | 6,370 | 1.62% | 0 | |||
| Totals | 392,936 | 100.00% | 4 | |||
| County | Hubert Humphrey Democratic | Richard Nixon Republican | George Wallace American Independent | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Androscoggin | 26,820 | 71.04% | 10,390 | 27.52% | 542 | 1.44% | 16,430 | 43.52% | 37,752 | ||||||||||
| Aroostook | 15,044 | 51.46% | 13,919 | 47.61% | 273 | 0.93% | 1,125 | 3.85% | 29,236 | ||||||||||
| Cumberland | 44,697 | 57.27% | 32,275 | 41.35% | 1,076 | 1.38% | 12,422 | 15.92% | 78,048 | ||||||||||
| Franklin | 4,307 | 50.10% | 4,127 | 48.01% | 162 | 1.89% | 180 | 2.09% | 8,596 | ||||||||||
| Hancock | 4,979 | 35.10% | 8,929 | 62.95% | 277 | 1.95% | -3,950 | -27.85% | 14,185 | ||||||||||
| Kennebec | 21,752 | 56.81% | 16,009 | 41.81% | 531 | 1.38% | 5,743 | 15.00% | 38,292 | ||||||||||
| Knox | 5,119 | 42.95% | 6,585 | 55.25% | 214 | 1.80% | -1,466 | -12.30% | 11,918 | ||||||||||
| Lincoln | 3,380 | 36.50% | 5,659 | 61.11% | 222 | 2.39% | -2,279 | -24.61% | 9,261 | ||||||||||
| Oxford | 10,870 | 56.39% | 8,030 | 41.66% | 375 | 1.95% | 2,840 | 14.73% | 19,275 | ||||||||||
| Penobscot | 24,327 | 54.06% | 20,011 | 44.47% | 661 | 1.47% | 4,316 | 9.59% | 44,999 | ||||||||||
| Piscataquis | 3,561 | 51.47% | 3,199 | 46.24% | 158 | 2.29% | 362 | 5.23% | 6,918 | ||||||||||
| Sagadahoc | 5,553 | 56.16% | 4,126 | 41.73% | 209 | 2.11% | 1,427 | 14.43% | 9,888 | ||||||||||
| Somerset | 8,312 | 54.13% | 6,720 | 43.76% | 324 | 2.11% | 1,592 | 10.37% | 15,356 | ||||||||||
| Waldo | 3,525 | 41.08% | 4,821 | 56.19% | 234 | 2.73% | -1,296 | -15.11% | 8,580 | ||||||||||
| Washington | 6,249 | 52.16% | 5,523 | 46.10% | 208 | 1.74% | 726 | 6.06% | 11,980 | ||||||||||
| York | 28,817 | 59.23% | 18,931 | 38.91% | 904 | 1.86% | 9,886 | 20.32% | 48,652 | ||||||||||
| Totals | 217,312 | 55.30% | 169,254 | 43.07% | 6,370 | 1.63% | 48,058 | 12.23% | 392,936 | ||||||||||
This table lists the results by congressional district. Humphrey won all of the two congressional seats Maine had along with getting a majority of the vote in them.[5]
| District | Humphrey | Nixon | Wallace | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 55.1% | 43.2% | 1.7% | |
| 2nd | 55.5% | 42.9% | 1.6% |