The Maryland Democratic Primary
May 19th, 1964 was the scheduled date of the Maryland primary.
It was an important primary for many reasons. Most of all however, a victory for George Wallace would be a significant feather in the cap of the segregationist movement.
And there was a real concern Wallace could win, after a number of race riots inflame racial tensions in the state.
Another cause for concern was Wallace’s already strong showing in Wisconsin, where he won almost 40% of the vote against Governor John W. Reynolds, who was acting as a surrogate for Kennedy.
The result shocked virtually everyone, including Wallace himself, and President Kennedy.
Wallace hoped to parlay this success into a potential victory in one of the upcoming states – Indiana or Maryland.
Indiana had a history of KKK activity, so Wallace hoped and believed his message would resonate there – and it did, for a certain kind of citizen.
However, the Democratic Party quickly galvanized to halt Wallace’s momentum. Ted and Bobby Kennedy personality campaigned in the state, along with several other political heavy hitters.
Once again, Wallace gained nearly 40% of the vote, shocking political pundits and Kennedy’s political allies.
By the time Maryland rolled around, there was a genuine fear that Wallace could win in the state. Especially given that Wallace was running against controversial Governor J. Millard Tawes.
Tawes’ pro-civil rights position, as well as his recent decision to increase the state income tax, were two avenues of attack Wallace used to attack the Governor.
With election day coming up, it looked very likely Wallace would win.
Unfortunately for Wallace, civil rights activists knew this too.
Black voters and liberal voters turned out in massive numbers to thwart the surging candidacy of George Wallace.
In the end, Wallace would lose by a razor thin margin of less than 2,000 votes.
Wallace was publicly angered by the result of the election:
-- Governor George Wallace, following the result of the Maryland Democratic primary
While Wallace’s vague commitment to continue the work of 1964 led many to believe he would pursue a 3rd party run, for now, President Kennedy had a clear shot to re-nomination, free from the annoyance that was Alabama’s Governor.
The Maryland Republican Primary
The Republican Primary occurred that same day, and the status of that race was far more competitive and in doubt.
The momentum of Rockefeller’s win in New Hampshire, and the energetic campaigning of Henry Calbot Lodge, saw the Governor pick up victories in New Jersey, Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Oregon.
Some of these victories were close-run things, but it was fair to say Nelson Rockefeller was the front runner.
But he was hardly assured of victory. The details of his divorce and remarriage still followed him around.
Though many voters were more concerned about Goldwater’s apparent flippancy with regard to nuclear weapons, many social conservatives could never support Rockefeller.
This created the distinct possibility of a brokered convention.
Indeed, many expected such a thing to take place. The field was badly splintered, with Rockefeller’s victories generally coming with less than 40% of the vote.
John Byrnes had won Wisconsin, William Scranton in Pennsylvania while Barry Goldwater won in Illinois, Texas, Indiana, and Nebraska.
Maryland saw John W. Steffey, a Goldwater surrogate, achieve only 20% of the vote, soundly losing to unpledged delegates.
It appeared that all roads led to California.
LBJ retires
On May 20th, 1964, Lyndon Banes Johnson announced his retirement from the Senate, citing health reasons.
The Senate Majority Leader had suffered a serious heart attack in 1955, and in his final speech before the Senate, mentioned that his health had deteriorated in recent months:
While those were his official reasons, few insiders really believed this was the case.
The investigation into Bobby Baker threatened to completely embarrass LBJ, not only destroying his legacy and career, but also derailing Kennedy’s legislative agenda.
With this in mind, Johnson used the massive media storm around Vietnam to quietly retire from the Senate and return to his ranch in Texas.
Texas Governor John Conally appointed Representative Jim Wright to serve as Senator, with a special election scheduled to take place during the Presidential election of 1964.
Mike Mansfield, Senator from Montana, became Senate Majority Leader following Johnson’s resignation. It was up to him to shepherd the Civil Rights Act through the Senate.
The end of Johnson’s career as an elected official brought with it the end of an era. No one in history had been as effective in the position as he had been.
But Johnson’s time as a party elder and back-room power broker had only just begun.
Renewing the New Frontier
On the 22nd of May 1964, John F. Kennedy gave one a major, memorable speech as President, when he gave the commencement speech to the University of Michigan.
The event was attended by 100,000 people at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
During the speech, Kennedy reaffirmed his commitment to the Great Society and embraced the themes of service that had become such a staple of his Presidency.
Many students in the crowd recounted in the years and decades subsequently, that Kennedy’s speech proved the inspiration that inspired them to enter public service, the military, or take a risk on a new business venture.
While President Kennedy was certainly an older, more experienced, slightly more jaded political figure than he was in 1960 when his Presidential campaign began, he had not lost his ability to inspire with high minded political rhetoric.
This would serve him well, with re-election right around the corner.
Enter: Reagan
On May 23rd, 1964, Barry Goldwater again references atomic weapons in a speech:
Goldwater’s statement was designed to clear up confusion and remove concern over his views on nuclear weapons.
However, in doing so, he reminded many voters of his past controversial comments, as well as those of campaign surrogates like Curtis LeMay.
It was clear Goldwater’s campaign needed a shot in the arm if he was going to win in California. Luckily for him, he was about to get it.
On May 26th, 1964, a major televised program was first aired by the “Citizens for Goldwater” group, to be broadcast across California and strengthen the candidacy of Barry Goldwater before the scheduled primary on June 2nd.
The program, entitled “A Choice, Not an Echo”, featured numerous conservative speakers endorsing Goldwater and criticising the ethos of liberal Republicans.
Speakers included Phyllis Schlafly, Curtis LeMay, Norris Cotton, William Knowland, Governor Paul Fanin and more. The event also included media clips of Nixon making positive comments about Goldwater, though he made no official endorsement of any candidate and promised to support the Republican nominee.
However, the most impactful speech came from actor and SAG leader, Ronald Reagan:
-- An excerpt of Ronald Reagan’s “A Time For Choosing” speech.
The speech was instantly a hit and made Ronald Reagan a political star overnight.
At a speech at a California fundraiser shortly after, President Kennedy referred to the speech, to laughter from the audience:
The outcome of the Republican primary content in California was up in the air. The winner was likely to be the man to challenge Kennedy in 1964.