1960

[buritobr]

Now that everybody in the media is talking about John Kennedy...

The map of 1960 was different of all other maps. Both candidates divided the South, the Northeast, the Midwest, and although Nixon carried most of the West, Kennedy carried Nevada and New Mexico. Almost all the states in all the regions had close races.
The 1964 map was almost the 1956 map*(-1) and the 1960 map was in the middle. Maybe the 1960 election was the watershed.
It was also the beggining of the urban-rural divide.

Why was Kennedy the first winning Democrat that lost Kentucky, Tennesse, Virginia and Florida? Civil rights or catholicism?

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Now that everybody in the media is talking about John Kennedy...

The map of 1960 was different of all other maps. Both candidates divided the South, the Northeast, the Midwest, and although Nixon carried most of the West, Kennedy carried Nevada and New Mexico. Almost all the states in all the regions had close races.
The 1964 map was almost the 1956 map*(-1) and the 1960 map was in the middle. Maybe the 1960 election was the watershed.
It was also the beggining of the urban-rural divide.

Why was Kennedy the first winning Democrat that lost Kentucky, Tennesse, Virginia and Florida? Civil rights or catholicism?

I notice that in Kentucky, JFK overperformed in predominantly Catholic counties.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

But I've also been told that JFK overperformed among TV viewers, as opposed to radio listeners - because Nixon looked so bad on TV.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

It was a combination of JFK's Catholicism, and the fact that the South had been already trending Republican.  Virginia and Florida had been close to the national average in the Eisenhower elections.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

It was a combination of JFK's Catholicism, and the fact that the South had been already trending Republican.  Virginia and Florida had been close to the national average in the Eisenhower elections.

Bobby had already knew that his brother came close to winning Calif. WVa and Wisc in addition to Calif was his target in 1968. WVa was the last of the white working class states.

50-49.5 for Nixon

[buritobr]

Florida and Virginia:
The first Southern states to become Republican
The first Southern states to become Democratic again

[RosettaStoned]

Florida and Virginia:
The first Southern states to become Republican
The first Southern states to become Democratic again

 They're still swing states.

[MATTROSE94]

It was a combination of JFK's Catholicism, and the fact that the South had been already trending Republican.  Virginia and Florida had been close to the national average in the Eisenhower elections.

WVa and Wisc in addition to Calif was his target in 1968.

West Virginia was going Democrat. He did not need to spend time there, Nixon would welcome the Kennedy funds being spent in West Virginia in 1968. Nixon may keep California and Wisconsin desptie Bobby winning nationally in '68.

West Virginia was actually somewhat close in 1960 and 1968, as JFK only won the state by 5 points in 1960 and Hubert Humphrey only won the state by 9 points in 1968, far lower than LBJ's 35 point win in West Virginia against Barry Goldwater in 1964. It is possible that Nixon might have came close to winning West Virginia in 1968, as Bobby Kennedy wasn't exactly the best fit for the state, which might have led to George Wallace picking up more support from those who supported Humphrey in RL.