1968 United States presidential election in Washington (state) explained

See main article: 1968 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1968 United States presidential election in Washington (state)
Country:	Washington
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1964 United States presidential election in Washington (state)
Previous Year:	1964
Next Election:	1972 United States presidential election in Washington (state)
Next Year:	1972
Election Date:	November 5, 1968^[1]
Image1:	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:	9
Popular Vote1:	616,037
Percentage1:	47.23%
Nominee2:	Richard Nixon
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:	New York
Running Mate2:	Spiro Agnew
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	588,510
Percentage2:	45.12%
Image3:	George Wallace (D-AL) (3x4).jpg
Nominee3:	George Wallace
Party3:	American Independent
Home State3:	Alabama
Running Mate3:	Marvin Griffin
Electoral Vote3:	0
Popular Vote3:	96,990
Percentage3:	7.44%
Map Size:	350px
President
Before Election:	Lyndon B. Johnson
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Richard Nixon
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)
Colour3:	ff7f00

The 1968 United States presidential election in Washington took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election. State voters chose nine^[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Washington was won by the Democratic candidate, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, with 47.23 percent of the popular vote, against the Republican candidate, former Senator and Vice President Richard Nixon, with 45.12 percent of the popular vote. American candidate George Wallace also appeared on the ballot, finishing with 7.44 percent of the popular vote.^{[3] [4]}

Nixon became the first Republican to win the presidency without carrying Washington state since William McKinley in 1896. Despite Nixon losing the statewide election, he became the first Republican to carry Ferry County since Warren G. Harding did so in 1920.^[5] Along with Maine, Washington was one of only two states that Nixon lost in 1968 that he won in his unsuccessful attempt at the presidency in 1960.

George Wallace was most successful in Eastern Washington, which has a tradition of hostility to Washington D.C. interference, and also to Northeastern big business. Wallace possessed little appeal in heavily Yankee and Scandinavian-settled Western Washington.^[6]

This election would prove the last time the Democrats won any mainland postbellum state until Michael Dukakis carried Washington and Oregon in 1988 – in the intervening period many pundits spoke of a "Solid Republican West". This was the fifth and final election in which Washington voted for a different candidate than neighboring Oregon.

Campaign

Forecasts

This table lists election forecasts for Washington state in the 1968 presidential election.

Results

Results by county

County	Hubert Humphrey Democratic		Richard Nixon Republican		George Wallace American Independent		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"			data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%
	Adams		1,270		30.67%		2,572		62.11%		299		7.22%		0		0.00%		-1,302		-31.44%		4,141
	Asotin		2,693		49.56%		2,307		42.45%		433		7.97%		1		0.02%		386		7.11%		5,434
	Benton		10,878		38.06%		14,659		51.29%		3,024		10.58%		18		0.06%		-3,781		-13.23%		28,579
	Chelan		6,787		39.39%		9,093		52.77%		1,324		7.68%		26		0.15%		-2,306		-13.38%		17,230
	Clallam		7,030		49.39%		5,921		41.60%		1,248		8.77%		35		0.25%		1,109		7.79%		14,234
	Clark		23,046		51.82%		18,858		42.40%		2,514		5.65%		56		0.13%		4,188		9.42%		44,474
	Columbia		754		35.04%		1,221		56.74%		175		8.13%		2		0.09%		-467		-21.70%		2,152
	Cowlitz		13,363		51.90%		10,842		42.10%		1,507		5.85%		38		0.15%		2,521		9.80%		25,750
	Douglas		2,764		41.47%		3,234		48.52%		663		9.95%		4		0.06%		-470		-7.05%		6,665
	Ferry		596		42.97%		608		43.84%		182		13.12%		1		0.07%		-12		-0.87%		1,387
	Franklin		4,038		42.17%		4,234		44.22%		1,299		13.57%		4		0.04%		-196		-2.05%		9,575
	Garfield		602		37.96%		841		53.03%		143		9.02%		0		0.00%		-239		-15.07%		1,586
	Grant		5,773		40.18%		7,007		48.77%		1,574		10.96%		13		0.09%		-1,234		-8.59%		14,367
	Grays Harbor		13,480		59.43%		7,720		34.03%		1,426		6.29%		58		0.26%		5,760		25.40%		22,684
	Island		3,238		40.48%		4,077		50.96%		677		8.46%		8		0.10%		-839		-10.48%		8,000
	Jefferson		2,251		49.97%		1,827		40.55%		407		9.03%		20		0.44%		424		9.42%		4,505
	King		223,469		47.05%		218,457		46.00%		31,450		6.62%		1,559		0.33%		5,012		1.05%		474,935
	Kitsap		22,273		55.94%		14,520		36.47%		2,986		7.50%		36		0.09%		7,753		19.47%		39,815
	Kittitas		3,921		44.92%		4,212		48.25%		579		6.63%		17		0.19%		-291		-3.33%		8,729
	Klickitat		2,454		47.44%		2,355		45.52%		357		6.90%		7		0.14%		99		1.92%		5,173
	Lewis		8,444		45.23%		8,779		47.03%		1,428		7.65%		17		0.09%		-335		-1.80%		18,668
	Lincoln		1,721		34.06%		2,994		59.25%		337		6.67%		1		0.02%		-1,273		-25.19%		5,053
	Mason		4,540		52.85%		3,397		39.55%		638		7.43%		15		0.17%		1,143		13.30%		8,590
	Okanogan		4,379		44.08%		4,490		45.19%		1,064		10.71%		2		0.02%		-111		-1.11%		9,935
	Pacific		3,740		56.62%		2,491		37.71%		364		5.51%		10		0.15%		1,249		18.91%		6,605
	Pend Oreille		1,350		49.74%		1,117		41.16%		245		9.03%		2		0.07%		233		8.58%		2,714
	Pierce		72,670		53.54%		51,436		37.90%		11,391		8.39%		221		0.16%		21,234		15.64%		135,718
	San Juan		685		34.90%		1,164		59.30%		108		5.50%		6		0.31%		-479		-24.40%		1,963
	Skagit		10,529		46.60%		10,354		45.83%		1,667		7.38%		44		0.19%		175		0.77%		22,594
	Skamania		1,221		51.30%		968		40.67%		189		7.94%		2		0.08%		253		10.63%		2,380
	Snohomish		44,019		50.35%		36,252		41.47%		7,005		8.01%		148		0.17%		7,767		8.88%		87,424
	Spokane		49,423		44.69%		52,650		47.61%		8,420		7.61%		101		0.09%		-3,227		-2.92%		110,594
	Stevens		2,948		40.14%		3,435		46.77%		957		13.03%		5		0.07%		-487		-6.63%		7,345
	Thurston		14,228		46.65%		13,742		45.06%		2,493		8.17%		36		0.12%		486		1.59%		30,499
	Wahkiakum		899		53.67%		641		38.27%		131		7.82%		4		0.24%		258		15.40%		1,675
	Walla Walla		5,841		34.52%		10,042		59.34%		1,028		6.07%		12		0.07%		-4,201		-24.82%		16,923
	Whatcom		14,003		44.88%		14,695		47.10%		2,387		7.65%		114		0.37%		-692		-2.22%		31,199
	Whitman		5,218		37.84%		7,810		56.64%		710		5.15%		51		0.37%		-2,592		-18.80%		13,789
	Yakima		19,499		38.09%		27,488		53.69%		4,161		8.13%		50		0.10%		-7,989		-15.60%		51,198
Totals	616,037	47.23%	588,510	45.12%	96,990	7.44%	2,744	0.21%	27,527	2.11%	1,304,281

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Benton
• Chelan
• Columbia
• Douglas
• Ferry
• Franklin
• Garfield
• Island
• Kittitas
• Lewis
• Okanogan
• San Juan
• Spokane
• Stevens
• Walla Walla
• Whatcom
• Yakima

Results by congressional district

This table shows the results by congressional district. The candidate who won the largest amount of the vote nationally is shown first. Humphrey won 4 out of 7 of Washington's congressional districts while Nixon won the other 3 congressional districts.^[8]

District	Nixon	Humphrey	Wallace
	1st		50%		44.9%		5.1%
	2nd		44.5%		47.5%		8%
	3rd		41.8%		51.5%		6.7%
	4th		52.7%		38.7%		8.6%
	5th		48.3%		43.5%		8.2%
	6th		37.6%		54.2%		8.3%
	7th		40.4%		51.7%		7.9%

See also

• United States presidential elections in Washington (state)

Notes and References

1. Web site: United States Presidential election of 1968 - Encyclopædia Britannica. May 27, 2017.
2. Web site: 1968 Election for the Forty-Sixth Term (1969-73). May 27, 2017.
3. Web site: 1968 Presidential General Election Results – Washington. May 27, 2017.
4. Web site: The American Presidency Project - Election of 1968. May 27, 2017.
5. Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004; pp. 332-333
6. Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 559
7. News: Broder . David S. . State By State, Nixon's Ahead . November 27, 2024 . . 14-A . Google News Archive . 85 . 49.
8. Web site: Park-Egan . Kiernan . 1968 United States Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District . 6 November 2024 . U.S. Presidential Election Results by Congressional District, 1952 to 2020.