1968 Republican Party presidential primaries

From February 3 to July 13, 1968, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1968 United States presidential election. Former vice president Richard Nixon was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1968 Republican National Convention held from August 5 to August 8, 1968, in Miami Beach, Florida.^[2]

1968 Republican presidential primaries

← 1964 February 3 to July 13, 1968 1972 →
1,333 delegates to the Republican National Convention 667 (majority) votes needed to win
Candidate Richard Nixon Nelson Rockefeller Ronald Reagan Home state New York[a] New York California Delegate count 619[1] 267[1] 192[1] Contests won 10 2 1 Popular vote 1,679,443 164,340 1,696,632 Percentage 37.5% 3.7% 37.9%
Results by popular vote First place by delegate allocation Results by convention roll call      Nixon      Rockefeller      Reagan      Romney      Favorite Sons[b]      Uncommitted
Previous Republican nominee Barry Goldwater Republican nominee Richard Nixon

Schedule and results

1968 Republican primaries and state conventions

Richard Nixon campaign rally

Note:^[c]

Date (daily totals)	Contest	Total pledged delegates
			Delegates won and popular vote
			Richard Nixon	Nelson Rockefeller	Ronald Reagan	George Romney	Favorite Sons	Harold Stassen	Others	Uncommitted
February 3	Pennsylvania State Committee[3]	10 (of 64)	-	-	-	-	10 Del.[d]	-	-	-
February 10	Oklahoma District Conventions[4][5]	12 (of 22)	10 Del.[e]	-	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-
	North Carolina District Conventions[f][6]	12 (of 26)	10 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	2 Del.
February 18	North Carolina District Conventions[g][6]	10 (of 26)	5 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	5 Del.
February 24	Oklahoma State Convention[5]	10 (of 22)	7 Del.	-	3 Del.	-	0 Del.[h]	-	-	-
March 2	North Carolina State Convention[7]	4 (of 26)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4 Del.
	Tennessee 5th District Convention[8]	2 (of 28)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[i]	-	-	-
March 9	Kansas 4th District Convention[9]	2 (of 20)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[j]	-	-	-
March 12	New Hampshire Primary[10] 103,938	8 (of 8)	8 Del. 80,666 (77.61%)	11,241 WI (10.82%)	362 WI (0.35%)	1,743 (1.68%)	-	429 (0.41%)	9,497 WI[k] (9.14%)	-
March 16	Kansas 2nd District Convention[11]	2 (of 20)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[l]	-	-	-
	Virginia 1st District Convention[12][13]	2 (of 24)	1 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	1 Del.
March 23	Kansas 1st District Convention[14]	2 (of 20)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[m]	-	-	-
March 28	Tennessee 9th District Convention[n][15][16]	2 (of 28)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[o]	-	-	-
March 30	Kansas 5th District Convention[17]	2 (of 20)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[p]	-	-	-
	South Carolina State Convention[18]	22 (of 22)	-	-	-	-	22 Del.[q]	-	-	-
	Tennessee 3rd District Convention[19]	2 (of 28)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[r]	-	-	-
April 2	Wisconsin Primary[20] 490,739	30 (of 30)	30 Del. 390,368 (79.55%)	7,995 WI (1.63%)	50,727 (10.34%)	2,087 WI (0.43%)	-	28,531 (5.81%)	4,268 WI[s] (0.87%)	6,763 (1.38%)
April 4	Tennessee 8th District Convention[21]	2 (of 28)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[t]	-	-	-
April 6	Kansas 3rd District Convention[22]	2 (of 20)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[u]	-	-	-
	Tennessee 1st District Convention[23]	2 (of 28)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[v]	-	-	-
	Virginia 2nd and 4th District Conventions[24]	4 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	2 Del.
April 13	Tennessee 6th District Convention[25]	2 (of 28)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[w]	-	-	-
	Virginia 5th District Convention[26]	2 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
April 15	Virginia 3rd District Convention[27]	2 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
April 16	Iowa District Conventions[28]	14 (of 24)	9 Del.	5 Del.[x]	-	-	-	-	-	-
April 17	Iowa State Convention[29]	10 (of 26)	7 Del.[y]	-	-	-	-	-	-	3 Del.
April 19	Kentucky District Conventions[30]	14 (of 24)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	14 Del.[z]
April 20	Kentucky State Convention[30]	10 (of 24)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10 Del.[aa]
	Minnesota 6th District Convention[31]	2 (of 26)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Virginia 8th District Convention[32]	2 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
April 23	Pennsylvania Pres. Primary[33] 288,384	0 (of 64)	171,815 WI (59.58%)	52,915 WI (18.35%)	8,636 WI (3.00%)	-	-	-	55,018 WI[ab] (19.08%)	6,763 (1.38%)
	Pennsylvania Del. Primary[33]	54 (of 64)	-	-	-	-	54 Del.[ac]	-	-	-
April 26	Tennessee 7th District Convention[34]	2 (of 28)	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[ad]	-	-	-
	Virginia 10th District Convention[35]	2 (of 24)	1 Del.	1 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-
April 27	Arizona State Convention[36]	16 (of 16)	13 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	3 Del.
	Kansas State Convention[37]	10 (of 20)	-	-	-	-	10 Del.[ae]	-	-	-
	Michigan State Convention[38]	48 (of 48)	-	-	-	48 Del.	-	-	-	-
	Minnesota 3rd, 5th and 7th District Conventions[39][40]	6 (of 26)	4 Del.	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Nevada State Convention[41]	12 (of 12)	8 Del.	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	2 Del.
	Tennessee 2nd and 4th District Conventions[42][43]	4 (of 28)	-	-	-	-	4 Del.[af]	-	-	-
	Virginia 7th District Convention[44]	2 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
April 30	Delaware State Convention[45]	12 (of 12)	7 Del.	5 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Massachusetts Primary[46] 106,521	34 (of 34)	27,447 WI (25.77%)	34 Del. 31,964 WI (30.01%)	1,770 WI (1.66%)	49 WI (0.05%)	31,465[ag] (29.54%)	-	13,826 WI[ah] (12.98%)	-
May 4	Minnesota 1st and 4th District Conventions[47]	4 (of 26)	4 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Virginia State Convention[48]	4 (of 24)	4 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
May 5	Georgia State Convention[49]	30[ai] (of 30)	23 Del.	1 Del.	6 Del.	-	-	-	-	-
May 7	Indiana Primary[50] 508,362	26 (of 26)	26 Del. 508,362 (100.00%)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Ohio Pres. Primary[51] 614,492	0 (of 58)	-	-	-	-	614,492[aj] (100.00%)	-	-	-
	Ohio Del. Primary[51] 508,362	58 (of 58)	2 Del.	-	-	-	55 Del.[ak]	1 Del.	-	-
	Washington, D.C. Primary[52] 13,430	9 (of 9)	9 Del.[al] 12,102 (90.11%)		1,328[am] (9.89%)	-	-	-	-	-
May 11	Hawaii State Convention[53]	14 (of 14)	-	-	-	-	14 Del.[an]	-	-	-
	Maine State Convention[54]	12 (of 12)	4 Del.	6 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	4 Del.
	Minnesota 2nd and 8th District Conventions[55]	4 (of 26)	4 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Wyoming State Convention[56]	12 (of 12)	10 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[ao]
May 12	Alaska State Convention[57]	12 (of 12)	-	-	-	-	12 Del.[ap]	-	-	-
May 14	Nebraska Pres. Primary[58] 200,707	0 (of 10)	140,336 (69.92%)	10,225 WI (5.09%)	42,703 (21.28%)	40 WI (0.02%)	-	2,638 (1.31%)	4,765 WI[aq] (2.37%)	-
	Nebraska Del. Primary[58][59]	16 (of 16)	15 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	1 Del.
	West Virginia Del. Primary[60]	14 (of 14)	7 Del.	1 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	6 Del.
May 15	Missouri 3rd District Convention[61]	2 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Rhode Island State Convention[62]	14 (of 14)	-	14 Del.[ar]	-	-	-	-	-	-
May 17	Missouri 6th District Convention[63]	2 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
May 18	Missouri 2nd District Convention[64]	2 (of 24)	1 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	1 Del.
	Vermont State Convention[65]	12 (of 12)	9 Del.	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	1 Del.
May 22	Louisiana 8th District Convention[66]	2 (of 26)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Missouri 1st District Convention[67]	2 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
May 23	Louisiana 5th District Convention[68]	2 (of 26)	-	-	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-
May 25	Colorado 1st District Convention[69]	2 (of 18)	1 Del.	-	1 Del.	-	-	-	-	-
	Louisiana 4th and 6th District Conventions[70][71][72]	4 (of 26)	4 Del.[as]	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Missouri 4th, 9th and 10th District Convention[73][64]	6 (of 24)	6 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Tennessee State Convention[74]	10 (of 28)	10 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
May 26	Louisiana 3rd District Convention[75]	2 (of 26)	-	-	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-
May 28	Florida Primary[76] 51,509	36 (of 36)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	36 Del. 51,509 (100.00%)
	Louisiana 7th District Convention[77]	2 (of 26)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2 Del.[at]
	Missouri 5th District Convention[78]	2 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Oregon Primary[79] 312,159	18 (of 18)	18 Del. 203,037 (65.04%)	36,305 WI (11.63%)	63,707 (20.41%)	-	-	-	9,110 WI[au] (2.92%)	-
May 30	Louisiana 1st and 2nd District Conventions[av][80]	4 (of 26)	4 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
June 1	Mississippi State Convention[81]	20 (of 20)	7 Del.	-	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	11 Del.[aw]
June 4	California Primary[82] 1,525,091	86 (of 86)	-	-	86 Del. 1,525,091 (100.00%)	-	-	-	-	-
	Colorado 2nd District Convention[83]	2 (of 18)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	New Jersey Pres. Primary[84] 88,592	0 (of 40)	71,809 WI (81.06%)	11,530 WI (13.02%)	2,737 WI (3.09%)	-	-	-	2,516 WI[ax] (2.84%)	-
	New Jersey Del. Primary[84]	40 (of 40)	-	-	-	-	40 Del.[ay]	-	-	-
	South Dakota Primary[85] 68,113	14 (of 14)	14 Del. 68,113 (100.00%)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
June 7	Colorado 3rd and 4th District Convention[86]	4 (of 18)	4 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Missouri 8th District Convention[87]	2 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
June 8	Colorado State Convention[88]	10 (of 18)	8 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	2 Del.
	Missouri 7th District Convention[89]	2 (of 24)	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
June 11	Illinois Pres. Primary[90] 22,403	0 (of 58)	17,490 WI (78.07%)	2,165 WI (9.66%)	1,601 WI (7.15%)	16 WI (0.07%)	-	-	1,131 WI[az] (5.05%)	-
	Illinois Del. Primary[90]	48 (of 58)	40 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	8 Del.
	Texas State Convention[91]	56 (of 56)	-	-	-	-	56 Del.[ba]	-	-	-
June 14	Minnesota State Convention[92]	4 (of 26)	3 Del.	7 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-
	North Dakota State Convention[93]	8 (of 8)	6 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	2 Del.
June 15	Connecticut State Convention[94]	16 (of 16)	3 Del.	13 Del.[bb]	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Idaho State Convention[95]	14 (of 14)	8 Del.	-	6 Del.	-	-	-	-	-
June 18	New York Del. Primary[96]	82 (of 82)	4 Del.	78 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-
June 22	Louisiana State Convention[97]	20 (of 30)	7 Del.	-	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	1 Del.
	Maryland State Convention[98]	26 (of 26)	-	-	-	-	26 Del.[bc]	-	-	-
	Montana State Convention[99]	14 (of 14)	13 Del.	-	1 Del.	-	-	-	-	-
	New Mexico State Convention[100]	12 (of 12)	6 Del.	-	3 Del.	-	-	-	-	5 Del.[bd]
	Washington State Convention[101]	24 (of 24)	23 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	1 Del.
June 28	Alabama District Conventions[102]	16 (of 26)	7 Del.	-	2 Del.	-	-	-	-	7 Del.[be]
June 29	Alabama State Convention[29]	10 (of 26)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10 Del.
	Arkansas State Convention[103]	18 (of 18)	-	-	-	-	18 Del.[bf]	-	-	-
	Illinois State Convention[104]	10 (of 58)	8 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	2 Del.
	Missouri State Convention[105]	4 (of 24)	1 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	3 Del.
	Virginia 6th and 9th District Conventions[106]	4 (of 24)	4 Del.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
July 13	Utah State Convention[107]	8 (of 8)	3 Del.	-	5 Del.	-	-	-	-	-
1,333 delegates 4,473,551 votes			475 1,679,443 (37.54%)	174 164,340 (3.67%)	123 1,696,632 (37.93%)	48 4,447 (0.10%)	345 645,957 (14.44%)	1 31,655 (0.71%)	0 110,438 (2.47%)	151 140,639 (3.14%)
Suspected delegate count August 4, 1968[108]			619 (46.44%)	267 (20.03%)	192 (14.40%)	48 (3.60%)	157 (11.78%)	-	-	50 (3.75%)

Candidates

The following political leaders were candidates for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination:

Nominee

Candidate			Most recent office	Home state	Campaign Withdrawal date	Popular vote	Contests won	Running mate
Richard Nixon			Vice President of the United States (1953–1961)	New York	(Campaign) Secured nomination: August 8, 1968	1,679,443 (37.5%)	10	Spiro Agnew

Other major candidates

These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.

Candidate			Most recent office	Home state	Campaign Withdrawal date
Nelson Rockefeller			Governor of New York (1959–1973)	New York	(Campaign)
Ronald Reagan			Governor of California (1967–1975)	California	(Campaign) Accepted draft: August 5, 1968
George W. Romney			Governor of Michigan (1963–1969)	Michigan	(Campaign) Announced: Nov. 18, 1967 Withdrew: February 28, 1968

Favorite sons

The following candidates ran only in their home state's primary, caucus, or convention. They ran for the purpose of controlling their state's respective delegate slate at the national convention and did not appear to be considered national candidates by the media. The media referred to them as "favorite son" candidates.

• Governor Spiro Agnew of Maryland (endorsed Nixon)^[109]
• Governor Dewey F. Bartlett of Oklahoma (endorsed Nixon)^[110]
• Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas^[111]
• Senator Clifford Case of New Jersey^[112]
• Governor Daniel J. Evans of Washington^[113]
• Senator Hiram Fong of Hawaii (endorsed Nixon)^[114]
• Governor Wally Hickel of Alaska (endorsed Nixon)^[115]
• Governor James A. Rhodes of Ohio (endorsed Rockefeller)^[116]
• Governor Raymond P. Shafer of Pennsylvania (endorsed Rockefeller)^[117]
• Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina (endorsed Nixon)^[118]
• Senator John Tower of Texas (endorsed Nixon)^[119]
• Governor John Volpe of Massachusetts (endorsed Nixon)^[120]

Declined to run

The following persons were listed in two or more major national polls or were the subject of media speculation surrounding their potential candidacy, but declined to actively seek the nomination.

• Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois
• Retired Lt. General James M. Gavin
• Former Senator and 1964 GOP presidential nominee Barry Goldwater of Arizona (ran for U.S. Senate)
• Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon
• Governor Claude R. Kirk Jr. of Florida (endorsed Rockefeller)
• Mayor of New York City John Lindsay (endorsed Rockefeller)
• Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts
• Former Governor John Davis Lodge of Connecticut (endorsed Nixon)
• Senator Thruston Ballard Morton of Kentucky (endorsed Rockefeller)
• Senator Charles H. Percy of Illinois (endorsed Rockefeller)
• Former Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania
• Representative Robert Taft Jr. of Ohio

Polling

National polling

Graph of opinion polls conducted

Before November 1966

Poll source	Publication	Everett Dirksen	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.	Barry Goldwater	Richard Nixon	Ronald Reagan	George Romney	Nelson Rockefeller	William Scranton	Other	Undecided
Gallup[121]	Jan. 10, 1965	–	18%	15%	27%	–	14%	6%	8%	9%[bg]	3%
Gallup[122]	March 24, 1965	–	16%	11%	36%	–	14%	4%	8%	8%[bh]	3%
Gallup[123]	June 27, 1965	7%	14%	13%	25%	3%	11%	6%	7%	11%[bi]	3%
Gallup[124]	Sep. 26, 1965	5%	12%	9%	28%	2%	15%	7%	8%	9%[bj]	8%
Gallup[125]	Oct. 1965	6%	11%	12%	26%	3%	15%	7%	7%	6%[bk]	7%
Gallup[125]	Dec. 5, 1965	5%	12%	13%	34%	1%	11%	4%	5%	10%[bl]	5%
Gallup[126]	Feb. 6, 1966	5%	15%	11%	33%	3%	10%	5%	5%	11%[bm]	2%
Gallup[127]	April 10, 1966	7%	12%	13%	27%	4%	14%	5%	6%	3%[bn]	9%
Gallup[128]	April 1966	–	–	–	–	11%	34%	–	17%	18%[bo]	20%
Gallup[128]	July 10, 1966	–	–	–	–	17%	38%	–	20%	11%[bp]	14%

1. Nixon's official state of residence was New York because he moved there to practice law after his defeat in the 1962 California gubernatorial election. During his first term as president, Nixon re-established his residency in California. Consequently, most reliable reference books, including the January 6, 1969 edition of the Congressional Record, list his home state as New York.
2. Favorite sons received the support of Alaska (Wally Hickel), Hawaii (Hiram Fong), New Jersey (Clifford Case), South Carolina (Strom Thurmond), Ohio (Jim Rhodes), Pennsylvania (Raymond Shafer), Maryland (Spiro Agnew), Texas (John Tower), Kansas (Frank Carlson), and Tennessee (Howard Baker).
3. This should not be taken as a finalized list of results. While a significant amount of research was done, there were a number of Delegates who were not bound by the instruction, or "Pledged" to a candidate, though an attempt has been made to display their initial preferences. Some states also held primaries for the delegate positions, and these on occasion were where slates or candidates pledge to a certain candidate might be elected; however, as these elections allowed for a single person to vote for multiple candidates, as many as the number of positions being filled, it is difficult to determine how many people actually voted in these primaries. For this reason, while the results of some are in the table, they are not included in the popular vote summaries at the bottom of the table. Also information on Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, who elected five and three delegates respectively to the Republican Convention, was not found.
4. Committed to Governor Raymond Shafer of Pennsylvania.
5. Two delegates initially refused to commit to a candidate, but later backed Nixon.
6. Only six of eleven districts held conventions on this date.
7. Only five of eleven districts held conventions on this date.
8. A resolution was passed endorsing Governor Dewey Bartlett as a favorite-son, but he withdrew himself from consideration.
9. Committed to Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee.
10. Committed to Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas.
11. Includes 5,511 Write-In votes (5.30%) for Eugene McCarthy, 1,778 Write-In votes (1.71%) for Lyndon Johnson, 527 votes (0.51%) for Willis Stone, 374 Write-In votes (5.30%) for Paul Fisher, and 247 Write-In votes (0.24%) for Herbert Hoover
12. Committed to Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas.
13. Committed to Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas.
14. The date is assumed; while scheduled for this date, it may have been interrupted by the Memphis Riots.
15. Committed to Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee.
16. Committed to Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas.
17. Committed to Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.
18. Committed to Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee.
19. Includes 585 Write-In votes (0.12%) for George Wallace and 301 Write-In votes (0.06%) for Robert Kennedy
20. Committed to Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee.
21. Committed to Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas.
22. Committed to Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee.
23. Committed to Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee.
24. This is an estimate, as no hard number was provided in the source.
25. The source claims that Nixon could call upon 16 of the 24 Iowa delegates; the estimate of 7 accounts for the minimum 9 elected in the District Conventions.
26. No poll was done on the delegation, so preferences are not known.
27. No poll was done on the delegation, so preferences are not known.
28. Includes 18,800 Write-In votes (6.52%) for Eugene McCarthy, 13,290 Write-In votes (4.61%) for George Wallace, 10,431 Write-In votes (3.62%) for Robert Kennedy, 4,651 Write-In votes (1.61%) for Hubert Humphrey, 3,088 Write-In votes (1.07%) for Lyndon Johnson, and 1,271 Write-In votes (0.44%) for Raymond Shafer
29. Loosely Committed to Governor Raymond Shafer of Pennsylvania.
30. Committed to Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee.
31. Committed to Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas.
32. Committed to Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee.
33. All votes for Governor John Volpe of Massachusetts.
34. Includes 9,758 Write-In votes (9.16%) for Eugene McCarthy, 1,184 Write-In votes (1.11%) for Robert Kennedy, 828 Write-In votes (0.78%) for Hubert Humphrey, 297 Write-In votes (0.28%) for George Wallace, and 70 Write-In votes (0.07%) for Charles Percey
35. District Conventions were held the earlier on April 20; preferences are not known amongst those delegates, however.
36. All votes for Governor James Rhodes of Ohio.
37. Committed to Governor James Rhodes of Ohio.
38. The local Nixon and Rockefeller camapigns ran a unified slate. The delegates were divided six to Nixon, three to Rockefeller
39. Nominally unpledged, the slate was reportedly for Reagan.
40. Committed to Senator Hiram Fong of Hawaii.
41. Both favored either Rockefeller or Reagan.
42. Committed to Governor Walter Hickel of Alaska.
43. Includes 1,544 Write-In votes (0.77%) for Eugene McCarthy, 1,302 votes (0.65%) for Americus Liberator, 885 Write-In votes (0.44%) for Robert Kennedy, 533 Write-In votes (0.27%) for George Wallace, 219 Write-In votes (0.11%) for Hubert Humphrey, 32 Write-In votes (0.02%) for John Lindsay, and 19 Write-In votes (0.01%) for Lyndon Johnson.
44. Nominally uncommitted, the delegates were reportedly solidly behind Rockefeller
45. In the 4th District there was a resolution passed advocating for the nomination of Charlton Lyons, the '64 Republican nominee for Governor, as a Favorite Son for the Louisiana delegation.
46. Preferences are not known.
47. Includes 7,387 Write-In votes (2.37%) for Eugene McCarthy, and 1,723 Write-In votes (0.55%) for Robert Kennedy.
48. The date is assumed from the source, as hard data on the 1st and 2nd District Conventions could not be found.
49. Two delegates not polled are included here; seven delegates leaned towards either Nixon or Reagan equally.
50. Includes 1,358 Write-In votes (1.53%) for Eugene McCarthy, 616 Write-In votes (0.70%) for George Wallace, 227 Write-In votes (0.26%) for Robert Kennedy, 145 Write-In votes (0.16%) for Hubert Humphrey, and 6 Write-In votes (0.01%) for Lyndon Johnson.
51. Committed to Senator Clifford Case of New Jersey.
52. Includes 586 Write-In votes (2.62%) for George Wallace, 162 Write-In votes (0.72%) for Eugene McCarthy, and 120 Write-In votes (0.54%) for Charles Percy.
53. Committed to Senator John Tower of Texas.
54. Nominally uncommitted, the delegates were reportedly behind Rockefeller
55. Committed to Governor Spiro Agnew of Maryland.
56. Three were said to favor either Reagan or Nixon.
57. Two delegates were supportive of either Nixon or Reagan in opposition to Rockefeller; the other five were Uncommitted.
58. Committed to Governor Winthrop Rockefeller of Arkansas.
59. Robert Taft Jr. with 4%, Mark Hatfield with 3%, and Charles Percy with 2%
60. Robert Taft Jr. with 4%, Mark Hatfield and Charles Percy with 2% each
61. John Lindsay with 5%, Robert Taft Jr. with 3%, Mark Hatfield with 2%, and Charles Percy with 1%
62. John Lindsay with 3%, Robert Taft Jr. with 3%, Mark Hatfield with 2%, and Charles Percy with 1%
63. John Lindsay with 2%, Robert Taft Jr. with 2%, Mark Hatfield and Charles Percy with 1% each
64. John Lindsay with 4%, Robert Taft Jr. with 3%, Mark Hatfield with 2%, and Charles Percy with 1%
65. John Lindsay with 4%, Robert Taft Jr. with 4%, Charles Percy with 2% and Mark Hatfield with 1%
66. John Lindsay with 2% and Mark Hatfield with 1%
67. John Lindsay with 11% and Mark Hatfield with 7%
68. John Lindsay with 6% and Mark Hatfield with 5%

After November 1966

Poll source	Publication	Richard Nixon	Charles Percy	Ronald Reagan	George Romney	Nelson Rockefeller	Other	Undecided
Gallup[129]	Nov. 25, 1966	31%	–	8%	39%	5%	11%[a]	7%
Gallup[130][b]	Feb. 12, 1967	39%	6%	7%	28%	11%	5%[c]	4%
Gallup[131]	March 19, 1967	39%	4%	8%	30%	9%	6%[d]	4%
Gallup[132]	May 21, 1967	43%	6%	7%	28%	7%	5%[e]	4%
Gallup[133]	July 12, 1967	39%	7%	11%	25%	10%	4%[f]	4%
Gallup[134]	Aug. 23, 1967	33%	6%	15%	26%	12%	5%[g]	3%
Gallup[135]	Aug. 22–26, 1967	35%	6%	11%	24%	14%	4%[h]	6%
Gallup[135]	Sep. 15–19, 1967	40%	9%	16%	14%	17%	2%[i]	2%
Gallup[136]	Nov. 19, 1967	42%	5%	13%	14%	15%	6%[j]	5%
Gallup[137]	Jan 1968	42%	5%	8%	12%	27%	4%[k]	2%
Gallup[137]	Feb. 21, 1968	51%	3%	8%	7%	25%	5%[l]	1%
Gallup[138]	July 28, 1968	60%	2%	7%	–	23%	6%[m]

1. Mark Hatfield with 3% and John Lindsay with 2%
2. This poll was withdrawn from national newspapers by the Gallup organization after allegations of inconsistent methodology.
3. Mark Hatfield with 3% and John Lindsay with 2%
4. Mark Hatfield with 4% and John Lindsay with 2%
5. Mark Hatfield with 3% and John Lindsay with 2%
6. Mark Hatfield and John Lindsay with 2% each
7. Charles Percy with 6%, John Lindsay with 3%, and Mark Hatfield with 2%
8. Mark Hatfield and John Lindsay with 2% each
9. Mark Hatfield and John Lindsay with 1% each
10. Mark Hatfield and John Lindsay with 3% each
11. Mark Hatfield with 2%, John Lindsay and James M. Gavin with 1% each
12. Mark Hatfield with 2%, John Lindsay with 2%, and James M. Gavin with 1%
13. John Lindsay with 4%, Mark Hatfield with 1%, and Harold Stassen with 1%

Head-to-head polling

Nixon v. Romney

Poll source	Date(s)	Richard Nixon	George Romney	Undecided
Gallup[139]	Nov. 25, 1965	55%	38%	7%
Gallup[128]	July 10, 1966	55%	40%	5%
Gallup[140]	Nov. 1967	65%	31%	4%
Gallup[140]	Jan. 31, 1968	68%	26%	6%

Statewide polling

New Hampshire

Poll source	Publication	Richard Nixon	George Romney	Nelson Rockefeller	Other
Roper Research Associates[129]	March 4, 1968	65%	9%	13%	13%[a]

Primary race

Nixon was the front-runner for the Republican nomination and to a great extent the story of the Republican primary campaign and nomination is the story of one Nixon opponent after another entering the race and then dropping out.

Nixon's first challenger was Michigan Governor George W. Romney. Romney's grandfather, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had emigrated to Mexico in 1886 with his three wives and their children, after the U.S. federal government outlawed polygamy. However Romney's parents (monogamous under new church doctrine) retained their U.S. citizenship and returned to the United States with him and his siblings in 1912.^[141] Questions were occasionally asked about Romney's eligibility to hold the office of President due to his birth in Mexico, given an asserted ambiguity in the United States Constitution over the phrase "natural-born citizen".^[142][143] By February 1967, some newspapers were questioning Romney's eligibility given his Mexican birth.^[144]

A Gallup poll in mid-1967 showed Nixon with 39%, followed by Romney with 25%. However, in a slip of the tongue, Romney told a news reporter that he had been "brainwashed" by the military and the diplomatic corps into supporting the Vietnam War; the remark led to weeks of ridicule in the national news media. As the year 1968 opened, Romney was opposed to further American intervention in Vietnam and had decided to run as the Republican version of Eugene McCarthy (The New York Times 2/18/1968). Romney's support slowly faded and he withdrew from the race on February 28, 1968. (The New York Times 2/29/1968).

Nixon won a resounding victory in the important New Hampshire primary on March 12, winning 78% of the vote. Anti-war Republicans wrote in the name of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, the leader of the GOP's liberal wing, who received 11% of the vote and became Nixon's new challenger. Nixon led Rockefeller in the polls throughout the primary campaign. Rockefeller defeated Nixon in the Massachusetts primary on April 30 but otherwise fared poorly in the state primaries and conventions.

By early spring, California Governor Ronald Reagan, the leader of the GOP's conservative wing, had become Nixon's chief rival. In the Nebraska primary on May 14, Nixon won with 70% of the vote to 21% for Reagan and 5% for Rockefeller. While this was a wide margin for Nixon, Reagan remained Nixon's leading challenger. Nixon won the next primary of importance, Oregon, on May 15 with 65% of the vote and won all the following primaries except for California (June 4), where only Reagan appeared on the ballot. Reagan's margin in California gave him a plurality of the nationwide primary vote, but when the Republican National Convention assembled, Nixon had 656 delegates according to a UPI poll (with 667 needed for the nomination).

Total popular vote

• Ronald Reagan – 1,696,632 (37.93%)
• Richard Nixon – 1,679,443 (37.54%)
• James A. Rhodes – 614,492 (13.74%)
• Nelson A. Rockefeller – 164,340 (3.67%)
• Unpledged – 140,639 (3.14%)
• Eugene McCarthy (write-in) – 44,520 (1.00%)
• Harold Stassen – 31,655 (0.71%)
• John Volpe – 31,465 (0.70%)
• Others – 21,456 (0.51%)
• George Wallace (write-in) – 15,291 (0.34%)
• Robert F. Kennedy (write-in) – 14,524 (0.33%)
• Hubert Humphrey (write-in) – 5,698 (0.13)
• Lyndon Johnson (write-in) – 4,824 (0.11%)
• George Romney – 4,447 (0.10%)
• Raymond P. Shafer – 1,223 (0.03%)
• William W. Scranton – 724 (0.02%)
• Charles H. Percy – 689 (0.02%)
• Barry M. Goldwater – 598 (0.01%)
• John V. Lindsay – 591 (0.01%)

Endorsements

List of Nelson Rockefeller endorsements

U.S. Senators

• Edward Brooke (R-MA)^[145]
• Clifford Case (R-NJ)^[146]
• Mark Hatfield (R-OR)^[147]
• Jacob Javits (R-NY)^[148]
• Thruston Morton (R-KY)^[149]
• Charles H. Percy (R-IL)^[145]
• Hugh Scott (R-PA)^[150]

U.S. Representatives

• Edward G. Biester Jr. (R-PA)
• Daniel Button (R-NY)
• Silvio Conte (R-MA)
• Paul Findley (R-IL)^[151]
• Gilbert Gude (R-MD)^[152]
• Seymour Halpern (R-NY)
• Margaret Heckler (R-MA)^[153]
• Frank Horton (R-NY)
• John Lindsay (R-NY)^[154]
• Pete McCloskey (R-CA)
• William E. Miller (R-NY)^[145]
• Ogden Reid (R-NY)
• Richard Schweiker (R-PA)
• Charles W. Whalen Jr. (R-OH)

Governors

• John Chafee (R-RI)^[155]
• Daniel J. Evans (R-WA)^[156]
• Claude R. Kirk Jr. (R-FL)^[157]
• John A. Love (R-CO)^[158]
• Tom McCall (R-OR)^[145]
• Winthrop Rockefeller (R-AR)
• George W. Romney (R-MI)^[145]
• Raymond P. Shafer (R-PA)^[145]

Celebrities

• Nancy Ames,^[159] singer
• Kitty Carlisle,^[159] actress
• Billy Daniels,^[159] singer
• Hildegarde,^[159] singer
• Teresa Wright,^[159] actress

Individuals

• Ralph Abernathy, civil rights activist^[160]
• Philip Johnson, architect^[159]
• Maria Tallchief, dancer^[159]

List of George Romney endorsements

Representatives

• Charles Mathias (R-MD)
• Don Riegle (R-MI)

Governors

• David Cargo (R-MN)^[161]
• William Scranton (R-PA)^[162]

Lieutenant governors

• William Milliken (R-MI)^[163]

The convention

At the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida, Reagan and Rockefeller planned to unite their forces in a stop-Nixon movement, but the strategy fell apart when neither man agreed to support the other for the nomination. Rockefeller in particular was seen as unacceptable to Southern Conservatives. Nixon won the nomination on the first ballot. He was able to secure the nomination because of the support of many Southern delegates, after he and his subordinates made concessions to Strom Thurmond and Harry Dent.^[164] Nixon then chose Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew to be his Vice-Presidential candidate, despite complaints from within the GOP that Agnew was an unknown quantity, and that a better-known and more popular candidate, such as Romney, should have been the Vice-Presidential nominee. However, Agnew was seen as a candidate who could appeal to Rockefeller Republicans, was acceptable to Southern Conservatives, and had a solid law-and-order record.^[165] It was also reported that Nixon's first choice for running mate was his longtime friend and ally, Robert Finch, who was the lieutenant governor of California since 1967 and later his HEW Secretary, but Finch declined the offer.

The Republican Convention tally (667 needed to secure nomination)^[166]

President	(before switches)	(after switches)	Vice president	Vice-presidential votes
Richard M. Nixon	692	1238	Spiro T. Agnew	1119
Nelson Rockefeller	277	93	George Romney	186
Ronald Reagan	182	2	John V. Lindsay	10
Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes	55	—	Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke	1
Michigan Governor George Romney	50	—	James A. Rhodes	1
New Jersey Senator Clifford Case	22	—	Not voting	16
Kansas Senator Frank Carlson	20	—	—
Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller	18	—	—
Hawaii Senator Hiram Fong	14	—	—
Harold Stassen	2	—	—
New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay	1	—	—

See also

• 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries

Notes

1. "widely distributed"