1960 United States presidential election in Wyoming
November 8, 1960[1]
 
Nominee Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California Massachusetts
Running mate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Lyndon B. Johnson
Electoral vote 3 0
Popular vote 77,451 63,331
Percentage 55.01% 44.99%
County Results
President before election

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican

 Elected President

John F. Kennedy
Democratic

The 1960 United States presidential election in Wyoming took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. State voters chose three[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Wyoming was won by the incumbent Vice President, Republican Party (United States) Richard Nixon, running with former United Nations Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., with 55.01 percent of the popular vote, against the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, running with Texas Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, with 44.99% of the popular vote, a 10% margin of victory.[3][4] Nixon's victory was significantly smaller than Dwight Eisenhower's 20.2% margin of victory in 1956.

The election was heavily dominated by tensions with the Soviet Union due to the Cold War, with Kennedy charging that under the Eisenhower Administration, America had fallen behind militarily and economically, and had not done enough to catch up to their adversaries in the Space Race.[5] Nixon emphasized his tough record railing against communism and stated that Kennedy was too young and inexperienced to be president during events as monumental as the Cold War, however the Democrats used Kennedy youth to their advantage, and he promised to bring about change.

In August, when asked about a major idea of Nixon's which he had taken during his presidency, Eisenhower responded "If you give me a week, I might think of one."[6] Although both him and Nixon later claimed this was a joke, the remark severely damanged his Vice President's campaign, with the Democrats using Eisenhower's remarks in television ads. This was also the first presidential election where the two candidates debated, with over 70 million people watching the first debate alone. Nixon was unprepared for the first debate and Kennedy was largely seen as the winner, and though he performed strongly in the next 3, the preceding debates weren't watched by as many people as the first, which hurt Nixon's attempts to catch up.

Kennedy's Catholic faith was also a major issue of the campaign, as the largely Protestant America feared he would take orders from the Pope, and he made significant attempts to assure the public of his support for separation of church from state. The Civil Rights Movement was also a major topic of discussion during the election, with Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s arrest during a sit-in in Georgia heavily influencing black voters in favor of Kennedy, helping him to win a narrow victory nationwide.[7] With his election, Kennedy became the first Catholic to get elected President, and would remain the only one until Joe Biden's victory in 2020. Many pundits believed Nixon hadn't taken advantage of Eisenhower's immense popularity, despite the fact that they had campaigned together on numerous occasions, and that his plot to visit all 50 states, including the sparsely populated ones like those of the Mountain West, cost him valuable time that could've been used to shore up his position in swing states. Despite campaigning in the region, Nixon performed much worse than Eisenhower in the Mountain West, losing New Mexico and Nevada, both of which his predecessor had won, and winning the rest by reduced margins from 1956. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, resulting in Johnson becoming President. Nixon would go on to make a successful political comeback in the 1968 and 1972 elections, however would resign in 1974 due to The Watergate scandal.

With Nixon's victory in the state, Republicans would see a full sweep of statewide offices that were on the ballot, including the sole House of Representatives election and the Class II Senate seat.

Campaign

At the Democratic National Convention the Wyoming delegation had the ceremonial role of giving Kennedy the minimum amount needed to win the Democratic presidential nomination with Teno Roncalio casting the votes although Tracy S. McCraken, Wyoming's national committeeman, was incorrectly stated to have been the one to cast the votes by Time magazine.[8][9] Governor John J. Hickey stated that the issue over Kennedy's Catholicism would not be important in Wyoming due to Hickey, who was also a Catholic, having won in 1958.[10] During the campaign Nixon conducted a fifty-state strategy and visited every state at least once including Wyoming.

The Republican Party selected Harry B. Henderson, Mary Ellen Hinrichs, and James B. Griffith Sr. as their presidential electors.[11]

Endorsements

Kennedy Endorsements

Results

1960 United States presidential election in Wyoming
Party Candidate Running mate Popular vote Electoral vote Swing
Count % Count %
Republican Richard Nixon of California Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts 77,451 55.01% 3 100.00% Decrease 5.07%
Democratic John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas 63,331 44.99% 0 0.00% Increase 5.07%
Total 140,782 100.00% 3 100.00%

Results by county

County Richard Milhous Nixon
Republican		 John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Democratic		 Margin Total votes cast
#  % #  % #  %
Albany 4,356 50.43% 4,282 49.57% 74 0.86% 8,638
Big Horn 3,449 62.79% 2,044 37.21% 1,405 25.58% 5,493
Campbell 1,575 64.66% 861 35.34% 714 29.32% 2,436
Carbon 3,147 45.12% 3,828 54.88% -681 -9.76% 6,975
Converse 1,933 67.61% 926 32.39% 1,007 35.22% 2,859
Crook 1,537 72.84% 573 27.16% 964 45.68% 2,110
Fremont 5,738 57.46% 4,248 42.54% 1,490 14.92% 9,986
Goshen 3,178 56.83% 2,414 43.17% 764 13.66% 5,592
Hot Springs 1,659 59.19% 1,144 40.81% 515 18.38% 2,803
Johnson 1,806 69.35% 798 30.65% 1,008 38.70% 2,604
Laramie 11,637 49.05% 12,086 50.95% -449 -1.90% 23,723
Lincoln 2,010 50.78% 1,948 49.22% 62 1.56% 3,958
Natrona 11,809 56.74% 9,002 43.26% 2,807 13.48% 20,811
Niobrara 1,362 70.57% 568 29.43% 794 41.14% 1,930
Park 4,510 64.37% 2,496 35.63% 2,014 28.74% 7,006
Platte 1,771 53.20% 1,558 46.80% 213 6.40% 3,329
Sheridan 5,690 60.05% 3,786 39.95% 1,904 20.10% 9,476
Sublette 978 60.22% 646 39.78% 332 20.44% 1,624
Sweetwater 2,545 32.04% 5,398 67.96% -2,853 -35.92% 7,943
Teton 1,158 66.51% 583 33.49% 575 33.02% 1,741
Uinta 1,606 50.09% 1,600 49.91% 6 0.18% 3,206
Washakie 2,254 62.70% 1,341 37.30% 913 25.40% 3,595
Weston 1,743 59.21% 1,201 40.79% 542 18.42% 2,944
Totals77,45155.01%63,33144.99%14,12010.02%140,782
County flips from 1956:

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

  1. ↑ "United States Presidential election of 1960". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ "1960 Election for the Forty-Fourth Term (1961-65)". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ "1960 Presidential General Election Results – Wyoming". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  4. ↑ "The American Presidency Project – Election of 1960". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  5. ↑ Lee, Byung Joon (September 2016). "Attacking the Airwaves: How Television Changed the American Presidential Campaign". The New England Journal of History. 73: 1–27.
  6. ↑ Ambrose, Stephen E. (1991). Eisenhower: Soldier and President, p. 525. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-74758-4.
  7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170301180442/https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Fast-Facts/Vandiver-Letter.aspx
  8. ↑ Bradlee, Ben (May 31, 2011). A Good Life. Simon and Schuster. p. 198. ISBN 9781439128855 – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ Robb, David L. (March 15, 2012). Santa Monica Press. Eastwood-Kirchner Printing Company. ISBN 9781595808509.
  10. ↑ "Religion No Issue Here, Hickey Says". Casper Star-Tribune. July 21, 1960. p. 2. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Republican Presidential Electors". Jackson's Hole Courier. November 10, 1960. p. 2. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Gage, Linford Rejoice Over Kennedy Win". Casper Star-Tribune. July 17, 1960. p. 4. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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