1968 United States presidential election in Maine
November 5, 1968
 
Nominee Hubert Humphrey Richard Nixon
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Minnesota New York[lower-alpha 1]
Running mate Edmund Muskie Spiro Agnew
Electoral vote 4 0
Popular vote 217,312 169,254
Percentage 55.30% 43.07%
County Results
President before election

Lyndon Johnson
Democratic

 Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

The 1968 United States presidential election in Maine took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all fifty states and D.C. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Maine was won by incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey by twelve percentage points over Republican challenger and former Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Humphrey received 55.30% of the vote in Maine, which equated to 217,312 total votes to Nixon's 43.07% and 169,254 total votes. Despite Nixon squeaking by Humphrey nationwide, the Vice President's decisive victory in Maine made the state about thirteen percentage points more Democratic than the nation as a whole in 1968. Humphrey's win was almost certainly due to the popularity[1] and consequent "favorite son" status in Maine of his running mate Edmund Muskie.[2]

Alabama Governor George Wallace received 6,370 votes on the American Independent ticket with 1.62% of the vote. Despite his significant impact on the election as a whole, Wallace did not have a serious impact in Maine. Indeed, upstate Aroostook County was Wallace's weakest in the nation outside of the District of Columbia where he was not on the ballot.[3]

This election made Nixon the first Republican to ever win the presidency without carrying Maine. It would also prove to be the last time that a Democratic presidential nominee would carry the state until Bill Clinton in 1992, and the last time that a Democrat would win an absolute majority of the popular vote in the state until Clinton also did so in 1996. Humphrey was also the first losing Democrat to carry the state since Lewis Cass in 1848. The state swung heavily towards Richard Nixon in 1972, awarding him over 61 percent of the vote, which no presidential candidate of either party has surpassed since.

This is also the last time, as of the 2020 presidential election, that a Democrat received over 70% of the vote in any Maine county, which Humphrey did in Androscoggin County.

Maine was one of two states (the other being Washington) that supported Humphrey over Nixon in this election and Nixon over John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election.

Results

1968 United States presidential election in Maine[4]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Hubert Humphrey 217,312 55.30% 4
Republican Richard Nixon 169,254 43.07% 0
American Independent George Wallace 6,370 1.62% 0
Totals 392,936 100.00% 4

Results by county

County Hubert Horatio Humphrey

Democratic

 Richard Milhous Nixon

Republican

 George Corley Wallace

American Independent

 Total votes cast
#  % #  % #  %
Androscoggin 26,820 71.04% 10,390 27.52% 542 1.44% 37,752
Aroostook 15,044 51.46% 13,919 47.61% 273 0.93% 29,236
Cumberland 44,697 57.27% 32,275 41.35% 1,076 1.38% 78,048
Franklin 4,307 50.10% 4,127 48.01% 162 1.88% 8,596
Hancock 4,979 35.10% 8,929 62.95% 277 1.95% 14,185
Kennebec 21,752 56.81% 16,009 41.81% 531 1.39% 38,292
Knox 5,119 42.95% 6,585 55.25% 214 1.80% 11,918
Lincoln 3,380 36.50% 5,659 61.11% 222 2.40% 9,261
Oxford 10,870 56.39% 8,030 41.66% 375 1.95% 19,275
Penobscot 24,327 54.06% 20,011 44.47% 661 1.47% 44,999
Piscataquis 3,561 51.47% 3,199 46.24% 158 2.28% 6,918
Sagadahoc 5,553 56.16% 4,126 41.73% 209 2.11% 9,888
Somerset 8,312 54.13% 6,720 43.76% 324 2.11% 15,356
Waldo 3,525 41.08% 4,821 56.19% 234 2.73% 8,580
Washington 6,249 52.16% 5,523 46.10% 208 1.74% 11,980
York 28,817 59.23% 18,931 38.91% 904 1.86% 48,652
Totals217,31255.30%169,25443.07%6,3701.62%392,936

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Although he was born in California and he served as a U.S. Senator from California, in 1968 Richard Nixon's official state of residence was New York, because he moved there to practice law after his defeat in the 1962 California gubernatorial election. During his first term as president, Nixon re-established his residency in California. Consequently, most reliable reference books list Nixon's home state as New York in the 1968 election and his home state as California in the 1972 (and 1960) election.

References

  1. ↑ Nelson, Michael; Resilient America: Electing Nixon in 1968, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government (American Presidential Elections), pp. 174, 179 ISBN 0700619631
  2. ↑ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 94 ISBN 0786422173
  3. ↑ "1968 Presidential General Election Results - Maine". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  4. ↑ "1968 Presidential General Election Results - Maine". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
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