I couldn't sleep, so I bring this!
Event Date: 1-3-1967
Event Description: Richard Nixon swears in as California's 33rd governor in the Rotunda of the State Capital. He is sworn in by State Supreme Court Justice Marshall F. McComb. In his inaugural speech, Governor Nixon calls for low taxes, low spending, and law and order. "Under my watch, students at our public universities will be required to follow reasonable rules and regulations, and if they are not willing to do so, then they can get their education elsewhere," says Nixon in his inaugural address. "We have paid for students to riot for too long!' Not everything will be easy for the new Governor though, he faces Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress.
Event Date: 2-2-1967
Event Description: George Romney goes on a tour of Alaska and the Rocky Mountain states. It is clear to pundits that Romney is preparing for a Presidential run. Nevertheless, he makes several gaffes during several interviews and speeches, which causes major decreases in his poll numbers.
Event Date: 2-19-1967
Event Description: California State Senator Anthony Beilenson unveils the Therapeutic Abortion Act of 1967, which liberalizes California's abortion laws to allow abortions in cases of rape, incest, or to save the health (mental or physical) of the mother. Additionally, abortions will be allowed if there is a substantial risk the child will be left deformed. The bill is not expected to stand a chance in the legislature.
Event Date: 2-21-1967
Event Description: President pro Tempore of the California State Senate, Hugh Burns, is convinced to assign the bill to the Judiciary Committe by his lobbyist friend Daniel Creedon.
Event Date: 3-28-1967
Event Description: Governor Richard Nixon comes out in support of the abortion bill. Although he does not like abortion, he believes it necessary in times of rape and miscegnation.
Event Date: 4-12-1967
Event Description: The California State Government performs the death penalty on Aaron Mitchell, who murdered a police officer in 1963. Nixon has denied Mitchell Clemency. After receiving his last wish of a cigarette, Mitchell is escorted into into the gas chamber screaming: "I am Jesus Christ!"
Event Date: 4-27-1967
Event Descirption: The California Senate Judiciary Committee begins its hearing on the Therapeutic Abortion Bill. Many witnesses argue during the hearing, including the Catholic Bishop of Sacramento Alden J. Bell and the bill's sponsor: Anthony Beilenson.
Event Date: 4-28-1967
Event Description: After hearing bitter arguments on both sides, the Therapeutic Abortion Bill passes the California Senate Judiciary Committe by a bare majority of seven votes.
Event Date: 5-20-1967
Event Description: Governor Nixon pays several burglars to intrude the house of Jesse Unruh, The Speaker of the California State Assembly. They will wiretap Unruh's phones, and will install several listening devices in Unruh's house. As Speaker, Unruh is one of Governor Nixon's greatest political enemies (for right now), and many whisper that he could be a potential challenger for the Governorship in 1970. To maintain his position as Governor, Nixon will need to keep a watch on Unruh's activities, and this spying will enable Nixon to do so. The burglary is deemed a success, and nobody, save for Nixon, a of his closest few staff members, and the burglars, knows anything about Nixon's surreptitious affairs.
Event Date: 6-1-1967
Event Description: Happy Rockefeller gives birth to another child: Nelson Rockefeller Jr.
Event Date: 6-13-1967
Event Description: The California State Assembly passes the Therapeutic Abortion Act by a measure of 46-34, and the bill will now go to the Senate.
Event Date: 6-14-1967
Event Description: The California State Senate passes the Therapeutic Abortion Act by a vote of 23-17.
Event Date: 6-17-1967
Event Description: Governor Nixon signs the Therapeutic Abortion Act into law. The rate of abortion skyrockets, but abortion is not an issue that presently inflames conservatives, and Nixon mainly takes flack from Catholics.
Event Date: 7-16-1967
Event Description: John Coltrane dies. As Bill Clinton hears the news, he cannot stop the tears from flowing down his eyes. Ever since he heard John Coltrane play live, Bill Clinton has practiced everyday as well as keeping up with his studies. In addition to being a great student, Bill Clinton is easily considered the best saxophonist at Georgetown University. Clinton has transcribed thousands of saxophone soloes, and is a skilled improviser as well. When asked why Coltrane's death affected him so, Bill Clinton responds: "I really wanted him to hear me play. I really wanted to tell him what an influence he was on my life." Bill Clinton has a new ambition: to fill in the empty void that John Coltrane's death has left in the jazz world.
John Coltrane: September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967
Event Date: 8-15-1967
Event Description: Richard Nixon signs the largest tax increase in California history. In his remarks while signing the bill, Nixon says: "I know that such increases are tough, but in this fiscal bind that we arer in, such tax increases are necessary to eliminate the deficit." The bill containing the tax increase also contains several measures to cut down domestic spending, though these measures have heavily been watered down by the Democratic legislature, specifically, "that damned bastard Unruh."
Event Date: 8-31-1967
Event Description: George Romney makes a major gaffe in an interview with Lou Gordon of WKBD-TV in Detroit when he says: "When I came back from Vietnam, I'd just had the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get...I no longer believe that it was necessary for us to get involved in South Vietnam to stop Communist aggression in Southeast Asia." Polling shows that this brainwashing gaffe was a terrible mistake, and Romney's poll numbers go to shreds overnight.
Event Date: 11-13-1967
Event Description: Barry Goldwater announces he will run for President. He has made a name for himself as a conservative Senator who has consistently stood up to the Lyndon Johnson agenda. In his announcement, he will not only attack the Johnson Administration for their massive expansions of Government, but he will also attack the lawlessness and decay of society: "Is moral responsibility out of style? Our papers and our newsreels and yes, our own observations, tell us that immorality surrounds us as never before. We as a nation are not far from the kind of moral decay that has brought on the fall of other nations and people.... [The] philosophy of something for nothing, [the] cult of individual and governmental irresponsibility, is an insidious cancer that will destroy us unless we recognize it and root it out now."
Event Date: 11-15-1967
Event Description: Richard Nixon holds a dinner with his friends at the Governor's mansion in Sacramento. They discuss whether Nixon should run in 1968. A clear majority of them, including Nixon's wife, tell him not to. "Hm, I guess I shouldn't have said I would serve for the next four years," sighed Richard Nixon. "Dick, even if you hadn't said you were going to serve your four years of Governor, you still would have an obligation to your constituents." says Nixon's friend Robert Finch. "They voted for you to solve their problems, and though you've done a great job so far, you're not finished yet. If you ran, they would see you as simply using the Governorship as a stepping stone for the Presidency, and they would be quite angry."
Event Date: 11-16-1967
Event Description: Richard Nixon has made his decision: he will not actively seek the presidency. However, Nixon knows that the fight for the GOP nomination will most likely be between the moderate to liberal George Romney and the conservative Barry Goldwater. If the fight between the two should be deadlocked at the Republican National Convention, Richard Nixon would accept nomination as a compromise candidate. Nixon tells his wife, Pat, about this plan, and she approves. Nixon will not endorse anybody for primary season, leaving it all to fate.
Event Date: 11-18-1967
Event Description: Michigan Governor George Romney announces that he will run for President at the Veteran's Memorial Building in Detroit, Michigan:
"A New American requires leadership which, by word and deed, merits the confidence of the people and is worthy of God’s blessing.
Because I believe that, working together, we can build a New America, I will work toward this goal with all my heart, mind, and new spirit. I pledge energy and honesty to the task."
Event Date: 11-30-1967
Event Description: Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy announces that he will challenge incumbent President Lyndon Johnson for the Democratic nomination in 1968. McCarthy's Presidential bid becomes popular with students, anti-war activists, and hippies. Many hippies cut their hair to be "Clean With Gene."
Event Date: 12-21-1967
Event Description: "The Graduate" is released in theaters and is a smashing success. Ronald Reagan is lauded for his portrayal of Benjamin's father, and has suddenly received much attention by the media for his acting. This is a great victory for Reagan, as his career never seriously took off after World War II.
Event Date: 2-19-1968
Event Description: Nixon's burglars break into the Calfornia Democratic Party Headquarters: they wiretap the place for spying purposes. Midterm elections for California will be held this year, and Nixon wants to know everything the Democratic Party is planning.
Event Date: 2-28-1968
Event Description: George Romney drops out of the race and endorses nobody. Romney's standing has diminished with Repubicans due to his brainwashing comment, and his poll numbers are low.
Event Date: 3-3-1968
Event Description: Massachusetts Governor John Volpe announces that he will seek the Republican nomination for the President of the United States. It seems that Volpe is now taking the mantle of the Rockefeller Republicans, who had originally banked on George Romney.
Event Date: 3-6-1968
Event Description: Nelson Rockefeller endorses John Volpe and makes a joint appearance with him in Nashua.
Event Date: 3-12-1968
Event Description: The New Hampshire primary is held today. On the Democratic side, Eugene McCarthy does exceptionally well for an insurgent candidate, winning 42% to 49%. This gives the McCarthy campaign momentum, and McCarthy supporters are elated. Lyndon Johnson is stunned, and worried about his electability in the fall. On the Republican side, Barry Goldwater easily defeats John Volpe, winning the primary 68-29%. This gives the Barry Goldwater campaign momentum. Not only is the New Hampshire primary important to winnning the GOP Nomination, but the fact that Barry Goldwater was able to defeat a New Englander in New England has enthused the Barry Goldwater campaign. Pundits theorize that Volpe declared himself as a serious candidate too late. Had he been running seriously for longer, he might have been able to make his candidacy known to more Granite State voters, and could have taken Goldwater down. Nevertheless, Goldwater has won the New Hampshire primary.
Event Date: 3-14-1968
Event Description: Richard Nixon signs a crime package, authored by Senator George Deukmejian. The crime package increases penalties for persons convicted of inflicting great bodily harm on their victims during a robbery, burglary, or rape from five to fifteen years. Additionally, the package increases penalties for criminals who illegally use guns.
Event Date: 3-16-1968
Event Description: New York Senator and former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy announces that he will seek the Democratic Party's nomination for the President of United States. It seems that Kennedy has decided to run after seeing McCarthy's success in the New Hampshire primary. This angers McCarthy supporters, who see Kennedy's candidacy as an opportunistic betrayal. Immediately the young Kennedy has a following of Catholics, minorities, and some anti-war Democrats. This, however, means war between the McCarthy and Kennedy factions of the Democratic Party, even though the two are not immensely different (though Kennedy is more pragmatic than McCarthy).
Event Date: 3-29-1968
Event Description: With various politicians challenging Johnson for re-election, Johnson publicly announces in a televised appearance that he will not run for re-election.
"With America's sons in the fields far away, with America's future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office--the Presidency of your country.
Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President."
It seems that with the country falling apart, the Vietnam War, riots, conservative backlash, and the possibility of defeat, Lyndon Johnson does not want to deal with the task of re-election. The Democratic field is wide open.
Event Date: 3-30-1968
Event Description: Goldwater publicly criticizes John Volpe as not doing enough to stand up against the Johnson administration: "Would Governor Volpe be better than a Democrat? Yes, but his ideas are watered down ideas of Johnson. You can only trust me to roll back the problems of the Johnson administration!"
Event Date: 4-2-1968
Event Description: The Wisconsin primaries are held today. Barry Goldwater wins the Republican primary easily, with 56% of the vote. It seems that Goldwater is caught up in the perfect storm, as his main opponent, Governor Volpe, has no momentum, and is not a great campaigner. Meanwhile Eugene McCarthy has won on the Democratic side.
Event Date: 4-6-1968
Event Description: "2001: A Space Odyssey" is released in movie theaters nationwide. The film is directed, produced, and written by Stanley Kubrick. The film stars Keir Dullea as Dr. David Bowman and Ronald Reagan as the voice of the HAL-9000. Although the film receives lukewarm reviews initially, it is now regarded as one of the greatest classics of all time. Despite some negative reviews about the film itself, Ronald Reagan is universally lauded by critics for his portrayal of the HAL-9000.
Event Date: 4-10-1968
Event Description: The Academy Awards are held, and "The Graduate" has been nominated for several awards: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screeplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. In the end, "The Graduate" only wins one Oscar: Mike Nichols for best director. Nevertheless, the cast of "The Graduate" is proud, and Ronald Reagan is beaming.
Event Date: 4-30-1968
Event Description: Pennsylvania holds its primaries today. Eugene McCarthy wins on the Democratic side, while on the Republican side, John Volpe gets his first taste of victory, winning it 53%-47%. Although Goldwater is disappointed, this isn't a big surprise. With a Governor like William Scranton, Pennsylvania is more of a moderate state, and went for the moderate candidate.
Event Date: 4-27-1968
Event Description: Vice President Hubert Humphrey announces that he will run for President. He will skip the primaries, as one can still win the nomination without touching the primaries at all. He is considered the establishment favorites, and despite a lack of word from President Johnson, he is considered to be Johnson's natural endorsement.
Event Date: 5-7-1968
Event Description: Three primaries are held today in Indiana, Ohio, and Washington D.C. On the Republican side, Barry Goldwater wins a 62%-38% victory in Indiana, while favorite son James Rhodes wins unanimously in Ohio, and John Volpe wins in D.C. by a 60%-40% measure. On the Democratic side, D.C. goes unpledged, Robert Kennedy wins in Indiana with 44% of the vote, and favorite son Stephen Young wins the Ohio primary.
Event Date: 5-14-1968
Event Description: Two primaries are held: Nebraska's and West Virginia's. West Virginia's primaries go unpledged on both sides. For Nebraska, Barry Goldwater wins with 63% of the vote, and Robert Kennedy wins with 54%. Barry Goldwater's large victory in Nebraska can be attributed to his western conservatism, which was popular in the state.
Event Date: 5-28-1968
Event Description: Florida and Oregon's primaries are held today. The Florida primary is unpledged for Republicans, but on the Democratic side, favorite son George Smathers wins. In Oregon, Barry Goldwater wins with 55% of the vote, while Eugene McCarthy wins his first victory in a while with 46%.
Event Date: 6-4-1968
Event Description: The important California primary is held today. Robert Kennedy wins it with 48% of the vote, while on the Republican side, Barry Goldwater wins with 52%. Though some Californians pressure Governor Nixon to be on the ballot as a favorite son, Nixon refuses. Additionally, the South Dakota and New Jersey primaries are held. Goldwater carries South Dakota with 56%, but Volpe carries New Jersey with 54%. McCarthy wins New Jersey with 36% but Robert Kennedy wins South Dakota with 51%.
Event Date: 6-5-1968
Event Description: Tragedy strikes, as Robert Kennedy is shot by Sirhan Sirhan in the kitchen of The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Kennedy was shot due to his support for Israel. Kennedy will die the next day. Despite Robert Kennedy's tragic death, his supporters are bitter at McCarthy, and will not support him.
Robert Francis Kennedy (D-NY): November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968
Event Date: 6-8-1968
Event Description: Bill Clinton graduates from Georgetown University with flying colors. Though he has the grades to get into law school if he wanted, Bill Clinton decides to take at least a year off and move to New York City, where he hopes to make a name for himself as a jazz musician.
Event Date: 6-11-1968
Event Description: The last primary is held In Illiois. Goldwater, with the help of Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, captures the state with 61% of the vote, while McCarthy wins with a plurality of 43%.
Event Date: 7-24-1968
Event Description: Ronald Reagan auditions for a Western film titled "True Grit," directed by Henry Hathaway. John Wayne is slated to star as the main character: "Rooster" Cogburn. Reagan auditions well, and Hathaway tells him the day after that he has beaten Robert Duvall to play Lucky Ned Pepper, the villain. Reagan is delighted to star with John Wayne, hoping the experience will further his acting career.
Event Date: 8-5-1968
Event Description: The Republican National Convention is held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. Barry Goldwater has a plurality of delegates to win the nomination, though balloting will still be required. Despite several efforts by Rockefeller Republicans for a "Stop Goldwater" movement, Goldwater is closely nominated on the first ballot with 689 delegates (with the help of several favorite sons, such as James Rhodes). In Goldwater's nomination speech, he speaks for the silent majority of Americans and lays down the need for new leadership: "When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down for four years in a war in Vietnam with no end in sight; when the richest nation in the world can't manage its own economy; when the nation with the greatest tradition of the rule of law is plagued by unprecedented lawlessness; when a nation that has been known for a century for equality of opportunity is torn by unprecedented racial violence; and when the President of the United States cannot travel abroad or to any major city at home without fear of a hostile demonstration -- then it's time for new leadership for the United States of America."
To win over moderate Rockefeller Republicans, Barry Goldwater will choose moderate Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME) as his running mate. The pick works, and very few moderate to liberal Republicans walk out on the GOP convention. Even the runner up to the Republican nomination, Governor John Volpe, endorses the Goldwater-Smith ticket, though he is disappointed he wasn't picked as the running mate. Smith is the first woman ever to be on a national ticket.
Despite Goldwater's pick of Margaret Chase Smith as his running mate, the GOP platform this year is very conservative. Several items on the GOP platform include military victory in Vietnam, massive tax cuts, reduction of federal spending, reduction of big government, opposition to civil rights, and law and order.
Hillary Rodham, a college student at Wellesley, is overjoyed to see Barry Goldwater win the Republican Nomination. Rodham and her family had idolized Goldwater and "his western ways," and were disappointed when he lost the nomination in 1964. She will campaign for Goldwater in Massachusetts, though nobody denies that his chances of winning the Bay State are slim.
With Republican enthusiasm, the Goldwater/Smith ticket is ready to roll.
Event Date: 8-9-1968
Event Description: Following Goldwater's nomination, Richard Nixon has a strategy in mind. He will back Goldwater up to the fullest extent that he can. He will laud Goldwater's conservatism and make himself nationally known to be a Goldwater conservative (Californians already see him as a fairly conservative governor, but Nixon hasn't picked up this reputation nationwide). The reason for this strategy is neither out of any kindness to Goldwater nor any conservatism on Nixon's part. Rather, Nixon believes that Barry Goldwater is reshaping national politics: regardless of whether Goldwater won, Goldwater conservatism would become popular, and Nixon needs to jump on the bandwagon. Although Nixon had formerly supported civil rights and had connections to the Rockefeller Republican crowd, Nixon will jump ship, and become a hardline conservative. Nixon needs to be seen nationwide as a hardline conservative in order to have presidential viability come 1976, 1980, or even 1972 if need be.
Event Date: 8-11-1968
Event Description: South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond officially changes party affiliations from Democratic to Republican. Additionally, he officially endorses Barry Goldwater for the 1968 Presidential Election. Thurmond's endorsement is a big boost for the Barry Goldwater campaign, as many Southern Democrats who were planning to either vote for Wallace or Humphrey (out of party loyalty) are now persuaded to support Barry Goldwater. Former Secretary of State, Supreme Court Justice, and South Carolina Governor James Byrnes switches to the Republican Party and endorses Barry Goldwater as well.
Event Date: 8-14-1968
Event Description: Governor Nixon goes out of his way to make a televised speech for Barry Goldwater at a campaign event in California. Nixon gives a long speech on TV, praising Goldwater's conservatism. Nixon talks about the need for limited government, the need for states rights, and the need for absolute victory in Vietnam: all things on Barry Goldwater's platform. At the end of the speech, Nixon says: "You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We'll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness. We will keep in mind and remember that Barry Goldwater has faith in us. He has faith that you and I have the ability and the dignity and the right to make our own decisions and determine our own destiny." At the Goldwater residence in Arizona, Barry and Peggy Goldwater watch in awe. "Well isn't that odd!" exclaims Peggy, watching the television. "I've never heard Dick Nixon sound so conservative. "He isn't," mutters Barry, in a very cynical tone. "He's trying to make himself my successor."
Event Date: 8-15-1968
Event Description: Barry Goldwater, Strom Thurmond, and James Byrnes privately meet at Thurmond's mansion to discuss plans for the election. Both Thurmond and Byrnes are well versed in Southern politics, and advise Goldwater on how to woo Southern Democrats to his campaign. Goldwater privately dislikes both but listens anyway, as they have good advice.
Event Date: 8-26-1968
Event Description: The Democration National Convention is held at the International Ampitheatre in Chicago, Illinois. Humphrey is in the lead, but it is plausible that Kennedy's candidates could unite to deny Humphrey the nomination. Most refuse to vote for McCarthy, and some rally around Senator George McGovern (D-SD), standing in as the Kennedy-ite candidate. However, it doesn't work, and Humphrey is nominated on the first ballot. He chooses New Jersey Governor Richard J. Hughes as his running mate.
During the Democratic National Convention, many anti-war protestors have come to protest the Vietnam War. These protests are only made worse by the nomination of Humphrey (who was associated with the unpopular Johnson administration). As a result, the Chicago police react with violent action, beating and gassing the protestors, who have been throwing objects at policemen. This is not a good event, as the Democratic National Convention is televised, and in the protestors' words: "the world is watching."
Event Date: 8-29-1968
Event Description: Following Humphrey's nomination, Barry Goldwater seriously amps up his campaign. He sends his Vice Presidential nominee, Margaret Chase Smith, to campaign for him in the New England, as poll numbers show that the Northeast is closer than should be expected for a Republican. He sends Texas Senator John Tower and Texas Representative George H.W. Bush to campaign for him in Texas. Strom Thurmond and James Byrnes will campaign for Goldwater in South Carolina. Howard Baker will campaign in Tennessee. It seems that Barry Goldwater is seriously courting the "Solid South." Everett Dirsksen will campaign for Goldwater in Illinois. Richard Nixon will campaign for Goldwater in California, and more. Meanwhile, Barry Goldwater visits Missouri, as it helped deny Nixon the presidency in 1960 and Goldwater cannot afford to lose it. Additionally, Goldwater will campaign for various congressional candidates on the campaign trail- the Republicans are very close to capturing the House. With this being said, Goldwater has very little to worry about in the South, as they viciously hate Humphrey.
Event Date: 8-30-1968
Event Description: Former Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, endorses Barry Goldwater. This surprises political pundits, who were expecting Wallace to make a third-party run. However, with Goldwater vs. Humphrey, polling shows that Wallace would not do well anywhere outside the South, and that Wallace won't even make much of an impact in the South. Despite Wallace's endorsement, Goldwater does not acknowledge Wallace's endorsement, and is disappointed that such an ardent segregationist is supporting him. "Does he not understand why I voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act? It was a matter of principle, not racism!" says Barry to Peggy.
Event Date: 9-9-1968
Event Description: Barry Goldwater campaigns in the heavily Democratic state of Arkansas, one of the closer Southern states.
Event Date: 10-24-1968
Event Description: Barry Goldwater and Hubert Humphrey have agreed to a televised Presidential debate, which is held today. Americans gather around the television to watch the candidates spar. Humphrey assails Goldwater for his conservatism during the debate. "Senator Goldwater, your reactionary radicalism is simply put, frightening. I've no doubt that if elected, you will roll America back to the eighteenth century" says Humphrey. The audience is shocked: how will Goldwater respond? In a cool manner, Goldwater adjusts his glasses and says: "There you go again, Mr. Vice President. I doubt that the silent majority of America finds my ideas radical. You know, the silent majority that pays their taxes and wishes to see that our troops efforts not die in vain? I doubt the silent majority of Americans, who are fed up with the riots and the protests that plague our nation, find my ideas to be radical. I doubt that the silent majority finds the ideas of limited government, low spending, and low taxes, to be radical. What's radical is the state that our country is in now." Americans are in awe of the western senator, and Goldwater's ratings go up overnight. It seems that Goldwater's message has indeed resonated with the silent majority. Polls now show Goldwater leading 59%-38%.
Event Date: 10-31-1968
Event Description: To help boost the weak Humphrey campaign, President Johnson announces a bombing halt and possibly a peace deal. Polls are beginning to tighten, as the baggage of the Vietnam War begins to get lighter.
Event Date: 11-2-1968
Event Description: If there's ever been anything clear, it has been clear that Barry Goldwater has stood for absolute military victory in Vietnam. The South Vietnamese Government knows that a Goldwater administration will produce better results for the South Vietnamese, and they reject the negotiations until after the election.
Event Date: 11-5-1968
Event Description: Barry Goldwater defeats Hubert Humphrey by a decisive margin. It seems that backlash over anti-war protests, civil rights, riots, and the Great Society has launched the Republicans back in the White House. "I have a message, a message from the silent majority of America, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We’ve come to take our government back," proclaims Barry Goldwater in his victory speech in Arizona.
Goldwater's electoral victory is impressive: he has made a sweep of the Democratic South, carrying the all the states of the old Confederacy (many of these states have voted Republican for the first time since Reconstruction). Democrats' worst fears are realized when blue collar workers, a typical Democratic constituency, have voted for Goldwater, sending states like Ohio and Illinois towards Goldwater's column. Still, the Democrats have managed to hold onto New Jersey and Michigan. Due to Governor Nixon's campaigning, Goldwater has also managed to carry the crown jewel of California. Despite Goldwater's landslide in the electoral vote, only four states would be needed to flip the election to Humphrey: California, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois. Indeed, the popular vote is closer, with Goldwater winning a slim, but decisive 53-47 victory.
Aside from Barry Goldwater's success in the Presidential election, he also has coattails. The Republicans win ten House seats and narrow control of the House of Representatives. In the Senate, the Republicans win seven seats but the Democrats still compose a majority of the Senate. Nevertheless, this majority is only on paper, as Goldwater can sway conservative Democrats from the South to form a conservative coalition. For all intents and purposes, the Republicans have control of Congress and the White House. It is a great night for the Republican Party.
Barry Goldwater (R-AZ)/Margaret Smith (R-ME): 52.6% PV, 368 EV
Hubert Humphrey (D-MN)/Richard Hughes (D-NJ): 47% PV, 170 EV
