1968 United States presidential election in Michigan
November 5, 1968
All 21 Michigan votes to the Electoral College
Turnout66.8% Decrease [1]
 
Nominee Hubert Humphrey Richard Nixon George Wallace
Party Democratic Republican American Independent
Home state Minnesota New York[lower-alpha 1] Alabama
Running mate Edmund Muskie Spiro Agnew S. Marvin Griffin
Electoral vote 21 0 0
Popular vote 1,593,082 1,370,665 331,968
Percentage 48.18% 41.46% 10.04%
County Results
President before election

Lyndon B. Johnson
Democratic

 Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

The 1968 United States presidential election in Michigan was held on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and The District of Columbia, were part of the 1968 United States presidential election. Voters chose 21 electors to represent them in the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Michigan was won by the Democratic Party candidate, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, defeating the Republican Party candidate, former Vice President Richard Nixon, by a margin of 6.72%, making the state 6.79% more Democratic than the national average.[2] American Independent Party candidate George Wallace, former and future Governor of Alabama, received 10% of the vote.

Humphrey's margin of victory was significantly narrower than President Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide 33.60 point triumph in 1964. American involvement in the Vietnam War and rioting throughout the country (including in Detroit) brought about unpopularity for the incumbent president and disenchantment towards his political agenda. Vice President Humphrey vowed to continue the policies of Johnson's Great Society and support civil rights for African Americans, while former Vice President Nixon ran on a law and order platform focused on fighting crime and opposing the Johnson administration's handling of the war in Vietnam. Governor Wallace ran a right-wing populist campaign railing against rioting, desegregation, and the counterculture.

Although Wallace did not poll as well in the Midwest as he did in the South, he was able to appeal to blue collar working class voters who traditionally voted Democratic but had become disillusioned with crime and the civil rights movement. As a result, he siphoned off enough votes to allow Nixon to win every state in the region except for Humphrey's home state of Minnesota and Michigan. Even with Michigan being Wallace's second best Midwestern state behind Ohio, Humphrey was able to hold on to the Wolverine State's electoral votes for the Democrats once more, mainly by running up margins in heavily populated Wayne County (Detroit), neighboring Macomb and Monroe counties, Genesee County (Flint), and the Upper Peninsula. Nixon would become the first Republican to win the White House without Michigan, a feat that only George W. Bush has repeated. Humphrey was the first losing Democrat to carry Michigan since Lewis Cass in 1848. Michigan would not vote Democratic again until 1992.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time that Wayne County cast more than a million votes.

Results

1968 United States presidential election in Michigan[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Hubert Humphrey 1,593,082 48.18%
Republican Richard Nixon 1,370,665 41.46%
American Independent George Wallace 331,968 10.04%
Peace and Freedom Eldridge Cleaver 4,585 0.14%
Socialist Workers Fred Halstead 4,099 0.12%
Socialist Labor Henning A. Blomen 1,762 0.05%
Prohibition E. Harold Munn 60 0.00%
Write-ins 29 0.00%
Total votes 3,306,250 100%

Results by county

County Hubert Horatio Humphrey
Democratic		 Richard Milhous Nixon
Republican		 George Corley Wallace
American Independent		 Various candidates
Other parties		 Margin Total votes cast[4]
#  % #  % #  % #  % #  %
Alcona 958 30.39% 1,852 58.76% 338 10.72% 4 0.13% -894 -28.36% 3,152
Alger 1,927 54.87% 1,406 40.03% 173 4.93% 6 0.17% 521 14.83% 3,512
Allegan 7,276 29.72% 14,769 60.32% 2,389 9.76% 49 0.20% -7,493 -30.60% 24,483
Alpena 4,788 42.52% 5,717 50.77% 747 6.63% 9 0.08% -929 -8.25% 11,261
Antrim 1,690 33.35% 3,002 59.23% 374 7.38% 2 0.04% -1,312 -25.89% 5,068
Arenac 1,573 39.43% 2,089 52.37% 324 8.12% 3 0.08% -516 -12.94% 3,989
Baraga 1,680 50.63% 1,508 45.45% 116 3.50% 14 0.42% 172 5.18% 3,318
Barry 5,206 33.81% 8,492 55.14% 1,674 10.87% 28 0.18% -3,286 -21.34% 15,400
Bay 21,410 50.30% 18,779 44.12% 2,291 5.38% 87 0.20% 2,631 6.18% 42,567
Benzie 1,147 32.68% 2,138 60.91% 219 6.24% 6 0.17% -991 -28.23% 3,510
Berrien 21,266 33.80% 32,136 51.08% 9,333 14.83% 181 0.29% -10,870 -17.28% 62,916
Branch 4,518 35.70% 7,071 55.88% 1,037 8.20% 28 0.22% -2,553 -20.18% 12,654
Calhoun 22,633 41.18% 26,181 47.64% 5,944 10.82% 202 0.37% -3,548 -6.46% 54,960
Cass 5,616 37.68% 6,996 46.93% 2,257 15.14% 37 0.25% -1,380 -9.26% 14,906
Charlevoix 2,446 36.49% 3,696 55.14% 556 8.29% 5 0.07% -1,250 -18.65% 6,703
Cheboygan 2,840 41.17% 3,422 49.60% 634 9.19% 3 0.04% -582 -8.44% 6,899
Chippewa 4,132 40.13% 5,359 52.04% 793 7.70% 13 0.13% -1,227 -11.92% 10,297
Clare 1,909 32.74% 3,315 56.85% 602 10.32% 5 0.09% -1,406 -24.11% 5,831
Clinton 5,548 33.45% 9,416 56.77% 1,591 9.59% 30 0.18% -3,868 -23.32% 16,585
Crawford 845 36.74% 1,266 55.04% 187 8.13% 2 0.09% -421 -18.30% 2,300
Delta 7,821 54.45% 5,829 40.58% 700 4.87% 14 0.10% 1,992 13.87% 14,364
Dickinson 5,726 51.15% 4,920 43.95% 533 4.76% 15 0.13% 806 7.20% 11,194
Eaton 8,347 33.62% 14,184 57.13% 2,252 9.07% 43 0.17% -5,837 -23.51% 24,826
Emmet 2,624 35.04% 4,405 58.83% 446 5.96% 13 0.17% -1,781 -23.78% 7,488
Genesee 75,174 45.83% 63,948 38.99% 24,539 14.96% 352 0.21% 11,226 6.84% 164,013
Gladwin 1,668 33.21% 2,840 56.55% 511 10.18% 3 0.06% -1,172 -23.34% 5,022
Gogebic 5,839 56.00% 4,140 39.71% 434 4.16% 13 0.12% 1,699 16.30% 10,426
Grand Traverse 4,741 32.55% 8,960 61.51% 843 5.79% 23 0.16% -4,219 -28.96% 14,567
Gratiot 4,040 30.13% 8,404 62.68% 949 7.08% 15 0.11% -4,364 -32.55% 13,408
Hillsdale 3,803 28.29% 8,506 63.27% 1,107 8.23% 28 0.21% -4,703 -34.98% 13,444
Houghton 6,988 49.41% 6,639 46.94% 473 3.34% 43 0.30% 349 2.47% 14,143
Huron 3,607 26.62% 8,743 64.51% 1,178 8.69% 24 0.18% -5,136 -37.90% 13,552
Ingham 37,362 41.08% 46,805 51.46% 6,432 7.07% 354 0.39% -9,443 -10.38% 90,953
Ionia 6,055 37.92% 8,625 54.01% 1,261 7.90% 27 0.17% -2,570 -16.09% 15,968
Iosco 2,533 34.51% 4,068 55.42% 736 10.03% 3 0.04% -1,535 -20.91% 7,340
Iron 4,130 53.14% 3,292 42.36% 340 4.37% 10 0.13% 838 10.78% 7,772
Isabella 4,450 35.90% 7,111 57.37% 808 6.52% 27 0.22% -2,661 -21.47% 12,396
Jackson 18,205 35.11% 27,828 53.66% 5,689 10.97% 135 0.26% -9,623 -18.56% 51,857
Kalamazoo 26,437 35.81% 39,796 53.90% 7,398 10.02% 201 0.27% -13,359 -18.09% 73,832
Kalkaska 753 33.72% 1,190 53.29% 288 12.90% 2 0.09% -437 -19.57% 2,233
Kent 61,891 38.72% 85,810 53.68% 11,584 7.25% 565 0.35% -23,919 -14.96% 159,850
Keweenaw 602 50.42% 525 43.97% 65 5.44% 2 0.17% 77 6.45% 1,194
Lake 1,482 52.97% 1,094 39.10% 220 7.86% 2 0.07% 388 13.87% 2,798
Lapeer 5,199 32.17% 8,866 54.85% 2,081 12.88% 17 0.11% -3,667 -22.69% 16,163
Leelanau 1,562 33.53% 2,798 60.06% 292 6.27% 7 0.15% -1,236 -26.53% 4,659
Lenawee 10,552 36.20% 16,280 55.85% 2,197 7.54% 118 0.40% -5,728 -19.65% 29,147
Livingston 7,052 35.85% 10,034 51.01% 2,543 12.93% 41 0.21% -2,982 -15.16% 19,670
Luce 855 36.92% 1,351 58.33% 109 4.71% 1 0.04% -496 -21.42% 2,316
Mackinac 1,751 38.26% 2,507 54.77% 317 6.93% 2 0.04% -756 -16.52% 4,577
Macomb 114,552 55.19% 63,139 30.42% 29,239 14.09% 647 0.31% 51,413 24.77% 207,577
Manistee 3,671 44.20% 4,007 48.24% 614 7.39% 14 0.17% -336 -4.05% 8,306
Marquette 11,199 53.34% 8,960 42.68% 802 3.82% 34 0.16% 2,239 10.66% 20,995
Mason 3,660 37.23% 5,311 54.02% 854 8.69% 6 0.06% -1,651 -16.79% 9,831
Mecosta 2,738 32.49% 5,053 59.97% 625 7.42% 10 0.12% -2,315 -27.47% 8,426
Menominee 4,877 48.25% 4,599 45.50% 620 6.13% 12 0.12% 278 2.75% 10,108
Midland 7,428 31.40% 14,329 60.57% 1,849 7.82% 52 0.22% -6,901 -29.17% 23,658
Missaukee 736 23.06% 2,161 67.72% 292 9.15% 2 0.06% -1,425 -44.66% 3,191
Monroe 18,921 47.81% 15,685 39.64% 4,873 12.31% 93 0.24% 3,236 8.18% 39,572
Montcalm 5,303 35.59% 8,329 55.89% 1,244 8.35% 26 0.17% -3,026 -20.31% 14,902
Montmorency 810 34.45% 1,279 54.40% 260 11.06% 2 0.09% -469 -19.95% 2,351
Muskegon 24,492 41.74% 28,233 48.11% 5,808 9.90% 150 0.26% -3,741 -6.37% 58,683
Newaygo 3,369 30.49% 6,626 59.97% 1,042 9.43% 11 0.10% -3,257 -29.48% 11,048
Oakland 154,630 44.76% 156,538 45.31% 33,024 9.56% 1,266 0.37% -1,908 -0.55% 345,458
Oceana 2,152 30.93% 3,911 56.22% 876 12.59% 18 0.26% -1,759 -25.28% 6,957
Ogemaw 1,647 35.57% 2,526 54.56% 454 9.81% 3 0.06% -879 -18.98% 4,630
Ontonagon 2,462 49.15% 2,290 45.72% 252 5.03% 5 0.10% 172 3.43% 5,009
Osceola 1,509 25.97% 3,705 63.77% 583 10.03% 13 0.22% -2,196 -37.80% 5,810
Oscoda 563 30.53% 1,124 60.95% 157 8.51% 0 0.00% -561 -30.42% 1,844
Otsego 1,661 43.79% 1,871 49.33% 259 6.83% 2 0.05% -210 -5.54% 3,793
Ottawa 12,431 25.19% 33,356 67.60% 3,460 7.01% 95 0.19% -20,925 -42.41% 49,342
Presque Isle 2,300 43.80% 2,565 48.85% 385 7.33% 1 0.02% -265 -5.05% 5,251
Roscommon 1,639 34.78% 2,635 55.91% 431 9.14% 8 0.17% -996 -21.13% 4,713
Saginaw 32,266 41.67% 38,070 49.17% 6,906 8.92% 181 0.23% -5,804 -7.50% 77,423
Sanilac 3,193 22.54% 9,273 65.45% 1,692 11.94% 10 0.07% -6,080 -42.91% 14,168
Schoolcraft 1,869 48.62% 1,745 45.40% 227 5.91% 3 0.08% 124 3.23% 3,844
Shiawassee 8,619 38.25% 11,465 50.88% 2,377 10.55% 71 0.32% -2,846 -12.63% 22,532
St. Clair 16,251 38.09% 21,084 49.41% 5,261 12.33% 73 0.17% -4,833 -11.33% 42,669
St. Joseph 5,413 30.68% 10,445 59.20% 1,759 9.97% 28 0.16% -5,032 -28.52% 17,645
Tuscola 4,698 28.28% 10,205 61.44% 1,682 10.13% 25 0.15% -5,507 -33.15% 16,610
Van Buren 7,304 35.44% 10,676 51.81% 2,560 12.42% 67 0.33% -3,372 -16.36% 20,607
Washtenaw 33,073 42.50% 36,432 46.82% 7,456 9.58% 853 1.10% -3,359 -4.32% 77,814
Wayne 654,157 63.25% 270,566 26.16% 105,606 10.21% 3,931 0.38% 383,591 37.09% 1,034,260
Wexford 2,832 36.59% 4,364 56.38% 535 6.91% 9 0.12% -1,532 -19.79% 7,740
Totals1,593,08248.18%1,370,66541.46%331,96810.04%10,5350.32%222,4176.73%3,306,250

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. ↑ "SOS - General Election Voter Registration/Turnout Statistics".
  2. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  3. ↑ "1968 Presidential General Election Results - Michigan". Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  4. ↑ Our Campaigns; MI US President 1968
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