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June 6, 1968

Humphrey leads the Democratic delegate count

In the race for the Democratic nomination, Vice President Hubert Humphrey leads the pack in the delegate count despite never entering a primary. Since his entry into the race on April 27, Humphrey has picked up considerable support among party delegates using “favorite sons” as stand-ins in state primaries. Humphrey currently leads at 561 delegates, followed by Senator Robert Kennedy at 393, with Senator Eugene McCarthy trailing behind at 258. [1]

Despite his current second place status in the delegate count, Kennedy believes he still has a shot. [2] He defeated rival McCarthy in the California and South Dakota primaries two days ago. Many delegates are still uncommitted, and there are almost three months to the convention. Kennedy also has considerable support among the public and he is polling well against Romney, Reagan, and Nixon. Nevertheless, recent polls show that in a 3-way matchup, Humphrey gets 40% of likely Democratic voters’ support, compared to 31% for Kennedy and 19% for McCarthy. [3]