See main article: 1968 United States presidential election.
| Election Name: | 1968 United States presidential election in California |
| Country: | California |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1964 United States presidential election in California |
| Previous Year: | 1964 |
| Next Election: | 1972 United States presidential election in California |
| Next Year: | 1972 |
| Turnout: | 85.75% (of registered voters) 2.63 pp 62.34% (of eligible voters) 3.66 pp[1] |
| 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: | 40 |
| Popular Vote1: | 3,467,664 |
| Percentage1: | 47.82% |
| Nominee2: | Hubert Humphrey |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Home State2: | Minnesota |
| Running Mate2: | Edmund Muskie |
| Electoral Vote2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 3,244,318 |
| Percentage2: | 44.74% |
| Image3: | George Wallace (D-AL) (3x4).jpg |
| Nominee3: | George Wallace |
| Party3: | American Independent Party |
| Colour3: | ff9955 |
| Home State3: | Alabama |
| Running Mate3: | Curtis LeMay |
| Electoral Vote3: | 0 |
| Popular Vote3: | 487,270 |
| Percentage3: | 6.72% |
| Map Size: | 325px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Richard Nixon |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1968 United States presidential election in California took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election. State voters chose 40 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
California narrowly voted for the Republican nominee, former Vice President Richard Nixon of New York, over the Democratic nominee, Vice President Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. The American Independent Party candidate, former Alabama governor George Wallace, performed rather well in California despite being thousands of miles away from his base in the Deep South.
Although Nixon was born and raised in California, he had moved to New York, following his failed 1962 gubernatorial bid, and thus identified New York as his home state in this election. After he won the election, Nixon moved his residency back to California. Nixon had previously defeated John F. Kennedy in California in 1960, and would later win the state again against George McGovern in 1972. Had Humphrey come out victorious in California, Nixon would have earned only 261 electoral votes, and thus, the election would have been sent to the United States House of Representatives.
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time that a Democrat had won Kings County.[2]
Nixon also became the first-ever Republican to win the White House without carrying Alameda County, as well as the first to do so without carrying Santa Clara County since Ulysses Grant in 1868, and the first to do so without carrying Napa or San Mateo Counties since Abraham Lincoln in 1860.
Nixon's victory was the first of six consecutive Republican victories in the state, as California would not vote for a Democratic candidate again until Bill Clinton in 1992. Since then it has become a safe Democratic state. This is also the last election where California did not have the highest number of electoral votes.
| 1968 United States presidential election in California[3] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | ||
| Republican | Richard Nixon | 3,467,664 | 47.82% | 40 | ||
| Democratic | Hubert Humphrey | 3,244,318 | 44.74% | 0 | ||
| American Independent | George Wallace | 487,270 | 6.72% | 0 | ||
| Peace and Freedom | Eldridge Cleaver | 27,707 | 0.38% | 0 | ||
| No party | Eugene McCarthy (write-in) | 20,721 | 0.29% | 0 | ||
| No party | Dick Gregory (write-in) | 3,230 | 0.04% | 0 | ||
| No party | Henning A. Blomen (write-in) | 341 | 0.00% | 0 | ||
| No party | Charlene Mitchell (write-in) | 260 | 0.00% | 0 | ||
| No party | E. Harold Munn (write-in) | 59 | 0.00% | 0 | ||
| No party | Write-ins | 17 | 0.00% | 0 | ||
| Invalid or blank votes | — | |||||
| Totals | 7,251,587 | 100.00% | 40 | |||
| Voter turnout | — | |||||
| County | Richard Nixon Republican | Hubert Humphrey Democratic | George Wallace American Independent | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Alameda | 153,285 | 37.63% | 219,545 | 53.90% | 28,426 | 6.98% | 6,093 | 1.50% | -66,260 | -16.27% | 407,349 | ||||||||||||
| Alpine | 150 | 59.29% | 83 | 32.81% | 20 | 7.91% | 0 | 0.00% | 67 | 26.48% | 253 | ||||||||||||
| Amador | 2,269 | 42.10% | 2,440 | 45.27% | 660 | 12.24% | 21 | 0.39% | -171 | -3.17% | 5,390 | ||||||||||||
| Butte | 22,225 | 56.68% | 12,887 | 32.87% | 3,891 | 9.92% | 208 | 0.53% | 9,338 | 23.81% | 39,211 | ||||||||||||
| Calaveras | 3,042 | 52.16% | 2,134 | 36.59% | 643 | 11.03% | 13 | 0.22% | 908 | 15.57% | 5,832 | ||||||||||||
| Colusa | 2,361 | 51.58% | 1,858 | 40.59% | 344 | 7.52% | 14 | 0.31% | 503 | 10.99% | 4,577 | ||||||||||||
| Contra Costa | 97,486 | 44.53% | 101,668 | 46.44% | 18,330 | 8.37% | 1,433 | 0.65% | -4,182 | -1.91% | 218,917 | ||||||||||||
| Del Norte | 2,387 | 46.19% | 2,236 | 43.27% | 495 | 9.58% | 50 | 0.97% | 151 | 2.92% | 5,168 | ||||||||||||
| El Dorado | 7,468 | 49.00% | 6,054 | 39.72% | 1,676 | 11.00% | 43 | 0.28% | 1,414 | 9.28% | 15,241 | ||||||||||||
| Fresno | 59,901 | 43.60% | 65,153 | 47.42% | 11,292 | 8.22% | 1,050 | 0.76% | -5,252 | -3.82% | 137,396 | ||||||||||||
| Glenn | 3,848 | 53.91% | 2,466 | 34.55% | 808 | 11.32% | 16 | 0.22% | 1,382 | 19.36% | 7,138 | ||||||||||||
| Humboldt | 16,719 | 46.17% | 16,476 | 45.50% | 2,759 | 7.62% | 260 | 0.72% | 243 | 0.67% | 36,214 | ||||||||||||
| Imperial | 10,818 | 52.91% | 7,481 | 36.59% | 2,100 | 10.27% | 47 | 0.23% | 3,337 | 16.32% | 20,446 | ||||||||||||
| Inyo | 3,641 | 54.45% | 2,314 | 34.60% | 714 | 10.68% | 18 | 0.27% | 1,327 | 19.85% | 6,687 | ||||||||||||
| Kern | 53,990 | 46.61% | 49,284 | 42.55% | 12,309 | 10.63% | 249 | 0.21% | 4,706 | 4.06% | 115,832 | ||||||||||||
| Kings | 7,796 | 43.07% | 8,643 | 47.75% | 1,640 | 9.06% | 22 | 0.12% | -847 | -4.68% | 18,101 | ||||||||||||
| Lake | 4,464 | 49.00% | 3,777 | 41.46% | 838 | 9.20% | 32 | 0.35% | 687 | 7.54% | 9,111 | ||||||||||||
| Lassen | 2,553 | 41.06% | 2,930 | 47.12% | 712 | 11.45% | 23 | 0.37% | -377 | -6.06% | 6,218 | ||||||||||||
| Los Angeles | 1,266,480 | 47.65% | 1,223,251 | 46.02% | 151,050 | 5.68% | 17,201 | 0.65% | 43,229 | 1.63% | 2,657,982 | ||||||||||||
| Madera | 6,229 | 43.55% | 6,932 | 48.47% | 1,120 | 7.83% | 22 | 0.15% | -703 | -4.92% | 14,303 | ||||||||||||
| Marin | 41,422 | 50.05% | 36,278 | 43.84% | 3,801 | 4.59% | 1,254 | 1.52% | 5,144 | 6.21% | 82,755 | ||||||||||||
| Mariposa | 1,496 | 49.92% | 1,187 | 39.61% | 302 | 10.08% | 12 | 0.40% | 309 | 10.31% | 2,997 | ||||||||||||
| Mendocino | 8,305 | 46.39% | 7,935 | 44.32% | 1,554 | 8.68% | 110 | 0.61% | 370 | 2.07% | 17,904 | ||||||||||||
| Merced | 11,595 | 40.90% | 14,453 | 50.98% | 2,248 | 7.93% | 53 | 0.19% | -2,858 | -10.08% | 28,349 | ||||||||||||
| Modoc | 1,713 | 52.43% | 1,264 | 38.69% | 284 | 8.69% | 6 | 0.18% | 449 | 13.74% | 3,267 | ||||||||||||
| Mono | 1,130 | 64.28% | 465 | 26.45% | 156 | 8.87% | 7 | 0.40% | 665 | 37.83% | 1,758 | ||||||||||||
| Monterey | 33,670 | 50.16% | 28,261 | 42.10% | 4,800 | 7.15% | 393 | 0.59% | 5,409 | 8.06% | 67,124 | ||||||||||||
| Napa | 14,270 | 43.76% | 14,762 | 45.27% | 3,476 | 10.66% | 104 | 0.32% | -492 | -1.51% | 32,612 | ||||||||||||
| Nevada | 6,061 | 51.39% | 4,607 | 39.06% | 1,078 | 9.14% | 48 | 0.41% | 1,454 | 12.33% | 11,794 | ||||||||||||
| Orange | 314,905 | 63.14% | 148,869 | 29.85% | 33,034 | 6.62% | 1,899 | 0.38% | 166,036 | 33.29% | 498,707 | ||||||||||||
| Placer | 12,427 | 42.64% | 14,050 | 48.21% | 2,574 | 8.83% | 93 | 0.32% | -1,623 | -5.57% | 29,144 | ||||||||||||
| Plumas | 2,097 | 37.37% | 2,961 | 52.77% | 529 | 9.43% | 24 | 0.43% | -864 | -15.40% | 5,611 | ||||||||||||
| Riverside | 83,414 | 52.90% | 61,146 | 38.78% | 12,432 | 7.88% | 678 | 0.43% | 22,268 | 14.12% | 157,670 | ||||||||||||
| Sacramento | 97,177 | 41.66% | 118,769 | 50.92% | 16,269 | 6.98% | 1,031 | 0.44% | -21,592 | -9.26% | 233,246 | ||||||||||||
| San Benito | 2,961 | 47.54% | 2,809 | 45.10% | 447 | 7.18% | 12 | 0.19% | 152 | 2.44% | 6,229 | ||||||||||||
| San Bernardino | 111,974 | 50.07% | 89,418 | 39.99% | 21,187 | 9.47% | 1,037 | 0.46% | 22,556 | 10.08% | 223,616 | ||||||||||||
| San Diego | 261,540 | 56.26% | 167,669 | 36.07% | 33,340 | 7.17% | 2,314 | 0.50% | 93,871 | 20.19% | 464,863 | ||||||||||||
| San Francisco | 100,970 | 33.66% | 177,509 | 59.18% | 17,332 | 5.78% | 4,136 | 1.38% | -76,539 | -25.52% | 299,947 | ||||||||||||
| San Joaquin | 47,293 | 47.97% | 42,073 | 42.68% | 8,923 | 9.05% | 300 | 0.30% | 5,220 | 5.29% | 98,589 | ||||||||||||
| San Luis Obispo | 19,420 | 51.27% | 15,828 | 41.78% | 2,416 | 6.38% | 217 | 0.57% | 3,592 | 9.49% | 37,881 | ||||||||||||
| San Mateo | 98,654 | 43.72% | 106,519 | 47.20% | 14,720 | 6.52% | 5,775 | 2.56% | -7,865 | -3.48% | 225,668 | ||||||||||||
| Santa Barbara | 50,068 | 53.59% | 37,565 | 40.21% | 5,083 | 5.44% | 704 | 0.75% | 12,503 | 13.38% | 93,420 | ||||||||||||
| Santa Clara | 163,446 | 45.61% | 173,511 | 48.42% | 18,754 | 5.23% | 2,656 | 0.74% | -10,065 | -2.81% | 358,367 | ||||||||||||
| Santa Cruz | 25,365 | 50.79% | 20,492 | 41.03% | 3,465 | 6.94% | 622 | 1.25% | 4,873 | 9.76% | 49,944 | ||||||||||||
| Shasta | 11,821 | 40.44% | 14,510 | 49.64% | 2,815 | 9.63% | 84 | 0.29% | -2,689 | -9.20% | 29,230 | ||||||||||||
| Sierra | 548 | 45.93% | 559 | 46.86% | 85 | 7.12% | 1 | 0.08% | -11 | -0.93% | 1,193 | ||||||||||||
| Siskiyou | 6,334 | 46.13% | 6,260 | 45.59% | 1,088 | 7.92% | 50 | 0.36% | 74 | 0.54% | 13,732 | ||||||||||||
| Solano | 17,683 | 34.71% | 27,271 | 53.52% | 5,810 | 11.40% | 188 | 0.37% | -9,588 | -18.81% | 50,952 | ||||||||||||
| Sonoma | 38,088 | 48.79% | 33,587 | 43.03% | 5,875 | 7.53% | 509 | 0.65% | 4,501 | 5.76% | 78,059 | ||||||||||||
| Stanislaus | 29,573 | 45.45% | 31,316 | 48.13% | 3,973 | 6.11% | 201 | 0.31% | -1,743 | -2.68% | 65,063 | ||||||||||||
| Sutter | 8,665 | 59.57% | 4,624 | 31.79% | 1,228 | 8.44% | 28 | 0.19% | 4,041 | 27.78% | 14,545 | ||||||||||||
| Tehama | 5,198 | 47.26% | 4,565 | 41.50% | 1,216 | 11.06% | 20 | 0.18% | 633 | 5.76% | 10,999 | ||||||||||||
| Trinity | 1,426 | 43.12% | 1,433 | 43.33% | 432 | 13.06% | 16 | 0.48% | -7 | -0.21% | 3,307 | ||||||||||||
| Tulare | 29,314 | 52.17% | 22,180 | 39.47% | 4,580 | 8.15% | 115 | 0.20% | 7,134 | 12.70% | 56,189 | ||||||||||||
| Tuolumne | 4,330 | 47.48% | 3,913 | 42.91% | 865 | 9.49% | 11 | 0.12% | 417 | 4.57% | 9,119 | ||||||||||||
| Ventura | 59,705 | 51.35% | 47,794 | 41.11% | 8,234 | 7.08% | 528 | 0.45% | 11,911 | 10.24% | 116,261 | ||||||||||||
| Yolo | 11,123 | 38.41% | 15,833 | 54.67% | 1,742 | 6.02% | 262 | 0.90% | -4,710 | -16.26% | 28,960 | ||||||||||||
| Yuba | 5,371 | 48.17% | 4,461 | 40.01% | 1,296 | 11.62% | 22 | 0.20% | 910 | 8.16% | 11,150 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 3,467,664 | 47.82% | 3,244,318 | 44.74% | 487,270 | 6.72% | 52,335 | 0.72% | 223,346 | 3.08% | 7,251,587 | ||||||||||||