Talk Elections

Hubert Humphrey in 1968 (63% compared to 33% for Nixon) did better in Massachusetts than home-stater John F. Kennedy in 1960 (60% compared to 40% for Nixon). Why?

Lingering sympathy vote due to the JFK assassination.  Never really went away, that's what changed MA from a D-leaning swing state to safe Democratic.

Plus, Nixon ran a more moderate campaign in 1960 vs 1968, and I'm guessing that Catholics increased as a percentage of the population in those eight years.

Also, a lot of people in MA (including moderate/liberal WASP Republicans) were dovish on Vietnam.

Uh, no.  WASPs probably decreased though.


Nixon was perceived as more dovish on Vietnam than Humphrey (if only because of the LBJ connection).  I believe it's the only time my New-Dealer and quite pacifist grandfather voted Republican.

Ah, ok.

Perhaps it also helped the Democrats in MA in 68 that Bobby Kennedy was murdered that year, and Ted was a Senator (in addition to the JFK sympathy vote)?

Yes, that definitely helped.


Marginal effect, but Ted's endorsement certainly shored up Humphrey somewhat with Catholics and liberals.

Hard to say for sure; Massachusetts seems to have been really moving towards the Ds at this time (see 1964 or 1972, also). As Al and others have pointed out, 1968 was very much a class-based election in a way that US politics basically hasn't been since, which may have played somewhat of a factor.

Lodge might have helped Nixon a bit in 1960, plus Eisenhower was pretty popular in MA as evidenced by the 1956 result in particular.

I don't know if it had an impact, but Cabot Lodge was Nixon's running mate in 1960.

According the results (Kennedy won 60% in 1960) it seems that it helped the Republicans keep the five WASPs who were still in Massachusetts :P

Normally I'd say just the same, but having a Bay Stater as running mate would probably be outweighed by the other party having a Bay Stater as presidential nominee. Further, I think Henry Cabot Lodge was actually unseated by JFK in 1952 (although the margin wasn't large, admittedly).

This-

MA voters esp in Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, etc. voted Humphrey to counteract Nixon's southern strategy, at a time when textile jobs esp had moved south. This also explains Carter's poor showing in MA in '76. Humphrey also did better than Kennedy in VT and RI and especially in MA (with Muskie on the ticket).

It's great to see you bring back some of the old topics back for discussion.

Need to consider that Eisenhower won both in 1952 and 1956, and Nixon was effectively running for an Eisenhower third term, 60% was a good showing for Kennedy in his home state.

And New England became much more Democratic on a national level through the 1960s as the Eastern Republicans were losing steam to the conservative wing of the party.  Nixon was running a more conservative campaign in 1968 than in 1960.