The 1968 United States presidential election in Nevada took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the

1968 United States presidential election The 1968 United States presidential election was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice preside ...

. State voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for

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and

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Background

Since

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

's thr ee

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

had been a

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...

state voting for every winner since 1912. However, relative to the nation the Silver State had trended Republican since the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

when Populist radicalism gave way to small-town and rural conservatism due to demographic and technological change. Although Democrats had a large advantage in registration, the 1966 midterm elections saw Republican Lieutenant Governor

Paul Laxalt Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

take most of the Mormon and Catholic vote in traditionally Democratic Clark County,Bushnell; Eleanore; 'The 1966 Election in Nevada', ''The Western Political Quarterly'', volume 20, no. 2, Part 2 (June 1967), pp. 581-585 which was becoming the center of the state's rapid demographic growth. This Republican trend was aided by a fall in demand for construction work in Las Vegas and several major strikes across the state. In the early stages of the campaign, the Democratic Party viewed Nixon – despite losing strongly Catholic Nevada to Kennedy in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

– as much more dangerous in Nevada than Ronald Reagan or George Romney. As a part of his national third party

segregationist Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...

campaign, former Alabama Governor George Wallace became the first third-party candidate to obtain the necessary eight thousand signatures to get on the ballot in Nevada since the "Progressive Party" in 1948.

Vote

In the earliest polls Nevada's past Republican trend was confirmed, with it being given clearly to Nixon in the second week of September, and confirmed by further polls until the last few days before the election. During this period Humphrey made a brief visit to NevadaBushnell, Eleanore and Driggs, Don W.; ''The Western Political Quarterly'', volume 22, no. 3 (September 1969), pp. 504-509 and came back substantially nationwide, whilst a strong poll for Wallace made the state doubtful. Ultimately former

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, with 47.46% of the popular vote, won Nevada more substantially than predicted by the last polls, though by less than thought likely in September and early October. "Independent American" candidate George Wallace finished with 13.25% of the popular vote, close to his national average but his best performance outside the Confederacy and Border States. Wallace's success was largely due to his endorsement by state congressman Walter S. Baring Jr., a conservative "

States' Rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...

Democrat" who consistently managed huge majorities in Nevada's rural 'Cow Counties' (the 14 counties apart from Clark, Washoe, and Carson City). Nixon had previously lost Nevada in 1960 but would later win it a second time in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

. Nixon's victory was the first of six consecutive Republican victories in the state, as Nevada would not vote for a Democratic candidate again until

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

in 1992. Since then it has become a heavily competitive

swing state In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pres ...

, which now leans Democrat.

Results

Results by county

Notes

References

{{State results of the 1968 U.S. presidential election

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...