1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin explained

See main article: article and 1968 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Country:	Wisconsin
Flag Year:	1913
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1964 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Previous Year:	1964
Next Election:	1972 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Next Year:	1972
Election Date:	November 5, 1968
Image1:	Nixon_30-0316a_(cropped).jpg
Nominee1:	Richard Nixon
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:	New York
Running Mate1:	Spiro Agnew
Electoral Vote1:	12
Popular Vote1:	809,997
Percentage1:	47.89%
Nominee2:	Hubert Humphrey
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	Minnesota
Running Mate2:	Edmund Muskie
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	748,804
Percentage2:	44.27%
Image3:	George Wallace (D-AL) (3x4).jpg
Nominee3:	George Wallace
Party3:	Independent
Color3:	DDDDCC
Home State3:	Alabama
Running Mate3:	S. Marvin Griffin
Electoral Vote3:	0
Popular Vote3:	127,835
Percentage3:	7.56%
Map Size:	310px
President
Before Election:	Lyndon B. Johnson
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Richard Nixon
After Party:	Republican

The 1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election. State voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

The 1958 midterm elections saw a major change in Wisconsin politics, as Gaylord A. Nelson became only the state's second Democratic Governor since 1895, and the state also elected Democrats to the position of treasurer and Senator, besides that party gaining a majority in the State Assembly for only the second time since the middle 1890s. They maintained a close balance in the early 1960s, signaling the state's transition to a swing state. The predicted racial backlash from urban Polish-Americans, seen in the 1964 primaries when George Wallace received over 30 percent of Wisconsin's vote,^[1] did not affect Lyndon B. Johnson’s big victory in the state in 1964, but would have severe effects when racial unrest began in 1966.

Anti-war Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy would easily win Wisconsin’s 1968 Democratic presidential primary against incumbent President Johnson, who soon announced he would not run for re-election in 1968.^[2] Former Vice-President and 1960 Republican nominee Richard Nixon won eighty percent of the vote in the state’s Republican primary.^[2]

At the beginning of the campaign, the deep divisions within the Democratic Party were worrisome for political scientists and for the party itself.^[3] The first poll said that Nixon was certain to carry Wisconsin,^[4] and this opinion was repeated early in October.^[5]

Hopes remained dim as the election neared despite the belief by local Representative Clement J. Zablocki that the independent candidacy of George Wallace was losing its impact in the racial-unrest-stricken southern urban counties around Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha,^[6] where Wallace had campaigned extensively in September in his effort to put the election into the House of Representatives.^[7] Although the gap would narrow in the last polls,^[8] Wisconsin would be carried by Nixon with 47.89 percent of the vote, over Humphrey with 44.27 percent and Wallace with 7.56 percent. Wallace fared best in rural northern areas away from Lake Superior and in southern suburbs affected by racial conflict.

Wisconsin weighed in for this election as 2.92% more Republican than the nation at large. This was the last election until 1996 that Wisconsin was the most Republican of the three Rust Belt swing states (also consisting of Michigan and Pennsylvania). Wisconsin would vote more Democratic than both Michigan and Pennsylvania in all but one election from 1972 to 1988.

Results

1968 United States presidential election in Wisconsin^[9] ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Richard Nixon	809,997	47.89%	12
	Democratic	Hubert Humphrey	748,804	44.27%	0
	Independent	George Wallace	127,835	7.56%	0
	Socialist Labor	Henning A. Blomen	1,338	0.08%	0
	Socialist Workers	Fred Halstead	1,222	0.07%	0
	Write-in	Scattering	2,342	0.14%	0
Totals			1,691,538	100.0%	12

Results by county

County	Richard Nixon Republican		Hubert Humphrey Democratic		George Wallace Independent		All Others Various		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Adams		1,691		44.81%		1,614		42.77%		461		12.22%		8		0.21%		77		2.04%		3,774
	Ashland		2,557		35.74%		4,147		57.96%		401		5.60%		50		0.70%		-1,590		-22.22%		7,155
	Barron		7,526		55.38%		5,183		38.14%		867		6.38%		13		0.10%		2,343		17.24%		13,589
	Bayfield		2,333		40.91%		3,036		53.24%		323		5.66%		11		0.19%		-703		-12.33%		5,703
	Brown		30,133		53.65%		21,615		38.48%		4,341		7.73%		76		0.14%		8,518		15.17%		56,165
	Buffalo		2,992		54.20%		2,112		38.26%		413		7.48%		3		0.05%		880		15.94%		5,520
	Burnett		2,056		45.81%		2,010		44.79%		414		9.22%		8		0.18%		46		1.02%		4,488
	Calumet		5,792		56.73%		3,609		35.35%		792		7.76%		16		0.16%		2,183		21.38%		10,209
	Chippewa		7,772		47.37%		7,335		44.71%		1,282		7.81%		18		0.11%		437		2.66%		16,407
	Clark		6,325		51.18%		4,601		37.23%		1,398		11.31%		34		0.28%		1,724		13.95%		12,358
	Columbia		8,633		52.49%		6,698		40.72%		1,067		6.49%		49		0.30%		1,935		11.77%		16,447
	Crawford		3,316		54.05%		2,391		38.97%		419		6.83%		9		0.15%		925		15.08%		6,135
	Dane		39,917		38.05%		59,951		57.15%		3,771		3.59%		1,265		1.21%		-20,034		-19.10%		104,904
	Dodge		14,909		57.87%		8,948		34.73%		1,875		7.28%		31		0.12%		5,961		23.14%		25,763
	Door		5,647		63.28%		2,728		30.57%		535		6.00%		14		0.16%		2,919		32.71%		8,924
	Douglas		5,656		29.56%		12,506		65.37%		930		4.86%		39		0.20%		-6,850		-35.81%		19,131
	Dunn		5,415		51.42%		4,392		41.71%		709		6.73%		14		0.13%		1,023		9.72%		10,530
	Eau Claire		11,799		46.64%		12,302		48.63%		1,169		4.62%		29		0.11%		-503		-1.99%		25,299
	Florence		821		48.32%		718		42.26%		157		9.24%		3		0.18%		103		6.06%		1,699
	Fond du Lac		18,184		55.54%		12,563		38.37%		1,934		5.91%		62		0.19%		5,621		17.17%		32,743
	Forest		1,264		40.14%		1,470		46.68%		412		13.08%		3		0.10%		-206		-6.54%		3,149
	Grant		10,789		62.49%		5,414		31.36%		1,054		6.11%		7		0.04%		5,375		31.13%		17,264
	Green		6,502		60.97%		3,501		32.83%		641		6.01%		20		0.19%		3,001		28.14%		10,664
	Green Lake		4,893		63.65%		2,299		29.91%		488		6.35%		7		0.09%		2,594		33.75%		7,687
	Iowa		4,005		53.96%		2,897		39.03%		509		6.86%		11		0.15%		1,108		14.93%		7,422
	Iron		1,137		34.26%		1,913		57.64%		262		7.89%		7		0.21%		-776		-23.38%		3,319
	Jackson		3,172		52.85%		2,293		38.20%		529		8.81%		8		0.13%		879		14.65%		6,002
	Jefferson		12,478		54.91%		8,716		38.35%		1,470		6.47%		62		0.27%		3,762		16.55%		22,726
	Juneau		3,828		53.55%		2,595		36.30%		712		9.96%		13		0.18%		1,233		17.25%		7,148
	Kenosha		17,089		40.54%		21,427		50.83%		3,548		8.42%		94		0.22%		-4,338		-10.29%		42,158
	Kewaunee		4,467		57.24%		2,622		33.60%		703		9.01%		12		0.15%		1,845		23.64%		7,804
	La Crosse		17,433		55.73%		11,570		36.99%		2,214		7.08%		63		0.20%		5,863		18.74%		31,280
	Lafayette		4,084		55.00%		2,853		38.42%		470		6.33%		18		0.24%		1,231		16.58%		7,425
	Langlade		3,712		49.41%		3,064		40.78%		718		9.56%		19		0.25%		648		8.63%		7,513
	Lincoln		4,793		51.37%		3,858		41.35%		670		7.18%		9		0.10%		935		10.02%		9,330
	Manitowoc		13,562		44.20%		15,298		49.86%		1,790		5.83%		30		0.10%		-1,736		-5.66%		30,680
	Marathon		16,907		44.36%		18,063		47.39%		3,051		8.00%		94		0.25%		-1,156		-3.03%		38,115
	Marinette		7,134		48.21%		6,415		43.35%		1,223		8.27%		25		0.17%		719		4.86%		14,797
	Marquette		2,374		61.15%		1,228		31.63%		279		7.19%		1		0.03%		1,146		29.52%		3,882
	Menominee		179		24.19%		531		71.76%		30		4.05%		0		0.00%		-352		-47.57%		740
	Milwaukee		160,022		39.75%		206,027		51.18%		35,056		8.71%		1,470		0.37%		-46,005		-11.43%		402,575
	Monroe		6,938		57.70%		4,012		33.37%		1,056		8.78%		18		0.15%		2,926		24.33%		12,024
	Oconto		5,680		53.74%		3,737		35.36%		1,141		10.80%		11		0.10%		1,943		18.38%		10,569
	Oneida		5,077		48.50%		4,435		42.37%		941		8.99%		14		0.13%		642		6.13%		10,467
	Outagamie		25,080		59.25%		14,224		33.61%		2,956		6.98%		67		0.16%		10,856		25.65%		42,327
	Ozaukee		12,155		58.04%		7,246		34.60%		1,505		7.19%		36		0.17%		4,909		23.44%		20,942
	Pepin		1,493		49.95%		1,263		42.25%		231		7.73%		2		0.07%		230		7.69%		2,989
	Pierce		4,990		48.73%		4,783		46.71%		453		4.42%		14		0.14%		207		2.02%		10,240
	Polk		5,583		48.79%		5,179		45.26%		656		5.73%		24		0.21%		404		3.53%		11,442
	Portage		6,180		36.02%		10,014		58.36%		900		5.25%		64		0.37%		-3,834		-22.35%		17,158
	Price		3,096		47.43%		2,794		42.80%		621		9.51%		17		0.26%		302		4.63%		6,528
	Racine		28,028		44.75%		27,045		43.18%		7,457		11.90%		109		0.17%		983		1.57%		62,639
	Richland		4,141		59.76%		2,288		33.02%		485		7.00%		15		0.22%		1,853		26.74%		6,929
	Rock		25,229		50.92%		20,567		41.51%		3,655		7.38%		100		0.20%		4,662		9.41%		49,551
	Rusk		2,666		44.71%		2,559		42.91%		726		12.18%		12		0.20%		107		1.79%		5,963
	Sauk		8,608		53.54%		6,406		39.84%		1,019		6.34%		45		0.28%		2,202		13.70%		16,078
	Sawyer		2,475		52.16%		1,830		38.57%		435		9.17%		5		0.11%		645		13.59%		4,745
	Shawano		8,444		63.75%		3,602		27.20%		1,181		8.92%		18		0.14%		4,842		36.56%		13,245
	Sheboygan		17,764		44.82%		20,170		50.89%		1,592		4.02%		108		0.27%		-2,406		-6.07%		39,634
	St. Croix		6,595		46.58%		6,807		48.08%		735		5.19%		20		0.14%		-212		-1.50%		14,157
	Taylor		3,043		43.95%		2,910		42.03%		959		13.85%		11		0.16%		133		1.92%		6,923
	Trempealeau		4,861		50.67%		3,971		41.39%		747		7.79%		14		0.15%		890		9.28%		9,593
	Vernon		5,824		55.15%		3,666		34.72%		1,062		10.06%		8		0.08%		2,158		20.44%		10,560
	Vilas		3,339		58.09%		1,798		31.28%		598		10.40%		13		0.23%		1,541		26.81%		5,748
	Walworth		15,040		61.82%		7,505		30.85%		1,755		7.21%		28		0.12%		7,535		30.97%		24,328
	Washburn		2,425		47.62%		2,273		44.64%		384		7.54%		10		0.20%		152		2.99%		5,092
	Washington		12,439		54.89%		8,104		35.76%		2,065		9.11%		53		0.23%		4,335		19.13%		22,661
	Waukesha		47,557		54.93%		31,947		36.90%		6,921		7.99%		160		0.18%		15,610		18.03%		86,585
	Waupaca		10,606		67.10%		3,978		25.17%		1,206		7.63%		17		0.11%		6,628		41.93%		15,807
	Waushara		4,187		65.35%		1,652		25.78%		566		8.83%		2		0.03%		2,535		39.57%		6,407
	Winnebago		25,361		53.80%		18,605		39.47%		3,045		6.46%		128		0.27%		6,756		14.33%		47,139
	Wood		11,795		48.25%		10,921		44.68%		1,695		6.93%		34		0.14%		874		3.58%		24,445
Totals	809,997	47.89%	748,804	44.27%	127,835	7.56%	4,902	0.29%	61,193	3.62%	1,691,538

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Adams
• Barron
• Brown
• Buffalo
• Burnett
• Calumet
• Chippewa
• Clark
• Columbia
• Crawford
• Door
• Dodge
• Dunn
• Florence
• Fond du Lac
• Grant
• Green
• Green Lake
• Iowa
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Juneau
• Kewaunee
• La Crosse
• Lafayette
• Langlade
• Lincoln
• Marinette
• Marquette
• Monroe
• Oconto
• Oneida
• Outagamie
• Ozaukee
• Pepin
• Pierce
• Polk
• Price
• Racine
• Richland
• Rock
• Rusk
• Sauk
• Sawyer
• Shawano
• Taylor
• Trempealeau
• Vernon
• Vilas
• Washburn
• Washington
• Waukesha
• Winnebago
• Wood

Electors

These were the names of the electors on each ticket.^[9]

See also

• United States presidential elections in Wisconsin

Notes and References

1. Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 396
2. Kenworthy, E.W.; ‘M‘Carthy Wins Wisconsin: Polls 57% to Johnson’s 35; G.O.P. Gives 80% to Nixon: Reagan Gets 10% Kennedy Write-in 6%’; Special to The New York Times ; April 3, 1968, p. 1
3. Otten, Allen L.; ‘A Party Divided: Democrats’ Rifts Pose Problems for Candidates As Campaign Develops’; The Wall Street Journal, August 29, 1968, p. 1
4. Broder, David; ‘Nixon, Wallace have 22 states all sewed up’, The Boston Globe, September 11, 1968, p. 15
5. ‘Electoral Vote: Nixon 359, HHH 46’; The Boston Globe, October 7, 1968, p. 24
6. Lyons, Richard L.; ‘Wisconsin’s Nelson Likely to Buck GOP Tide: Campaign '68 House Fight Sees Wallace Decline Knowles Popular’; The Washington Post and Times-Herald, October 29, 1968, p. A4
7. Evans, Rowland and Novak, Robert; ‘Growing Wallace Strength Poses a Threat to Nixon in Key States’; The Washington Post, September 20, 1968, p. A25
8. ‘A Final State-by-State Political Survey...: ...A Last Reading on the Campaign of 1968’; The Washington Post and Times-Herald, November 3, 1968, p. B4
9. Wisconsin Historical Society, Statement of Board of State Canvassers for President, Vice President and Presidential Electors - General Election - 1968
10. Book: The Wisconsin Blue Book 1969. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. Vote For President And Vice President By County. Madison, Wisconsin. 167.