Camelot Anew

[MAINEiac4434]

9:08

"It's now well past the nine o'clock hour and we can make our first Deep South call. It'll be disappointing to Wallace fans, though: South Carolina has gone for Richard Nixon. This was really a battle between Wallace and Nixon, with Kennedy pulling around 28% of the vote thus far, Nixon at 38, Wallace at 35. Once a solid Democratic state, it goes Republican for the second consecutive election here tonight."

9:10

"We can now project Vermont and its 3 electoral votes for Richard Nixon. Rock solid Republican territory, 1964 was the first time in history that Vermont had voted for a Democrat. It's a return to normalcy here, but Kennedy and the Democrats will be buoyed by a strong second-place showing. The electoral vote now stands: Kennedy 163, Nixon 20, Wallace 0."

9:16
"We can now project George Wallace's first state: His home state of Alabama. No surprise at all here."

9:27

"Wallace has a second state: Mississippi, unsurprisingly, goes for the Alabama governor. Kennedy 163, Nixon 20, Wallace 17."

9:29

"Virginia has always been the most Republican-leaning southern state, and tonight's continues that trend. Nixon has won the Old Dominion."

9:33

"Birch Bayh couldn't help Kennedy enough in Indiana, it's usually solid Republican territory and tonight it stays that way. Nixon has carried Indiana. Kennedy 163, Nixon 45, Wallace 17."

9:35

"Wallace has taken Georgia, in one of the few races around the country that all three candidates had a chance to win."

9:37

"Nixon has taken New Hampshire."

9:40

"We have a really stunning announcement to make here...Kennedy has won Ohio. I repeat, Robert Kennedy has won Ohio and its 26 electoral college votes. Considered by many the state that the winner of the election absolutely had to carry, and Kennedy's done it, and he's done it by some distance over Richard Nixon. Astonishing. Kennedy 189, Nixon 49, Wallace 29."

[MAINEiac4434]

9:42

"In some rare good news for the Nixon campaign...Richard Nixon has won Florida and its 14 electoral college votes. Another southern state that many thought had a chance to go for all three candidates."

9:46

"Another blow to the Nixon campaign: Wisconsin has gone to Senator Kennedy. Kennedy focused a lot of time and effort on the upper midwest and the so-called "rust belt" states, and it's paying dividends tonight; only one of them have gone to Nixon...and...yes, if my math's right, Kennedy now has over 200 electoral college votes already. Kennedy 201, Nixon 63, Wallace 29."

10:02
"We can now project Minnesota to go into the Kennedy camp...a very liberal state, home to Vice President Humphrey and Senator McCarthy, both of whom mounted presidential campaigns that ultimately lost to Kennedy. Minnesotans, evidently, bear no ill will to the man who beat both of their favorite sons, and has gone rather solidly to Kennedy tonight."

10:05

"We can now project a state...excuse me, two states for George Wallace. Again, both deep south: Arkansas and Louisiana will go to the Alabama governor by relatively strong margins."

10:12
"In an unsurprising development, Kansas and her seven electoral votes will go to Richard Nixon. The great plains of this country are considered to be some of Nixon's strongest territory, and with polls closed now in the plains' entirety, Nixon should rattle off a couple more wins."

10:15
"Two states have just been called...Oklahoma and North Carolina, both for Nixon, both rather unsurprising. Kennedy will finish third in North Carolina, just a few thousand votes behind George Wallace. Kennedy 211, Nixon 91, Wallace 45."

10:19
"Nixon has carried Nebraska by some distance over the other candidates."

10:22
"We have a major projection now...Missouri has gone for Nixon. Kennedy fought hard for that state, and his margins have certainly improved over his brother's performance in 1960, but it wasn't enough, and Nixon has carried the Show-Me State."

10:35
"The whispers around the NBC Newsroom are all about one thing: is Nixon mounting a comeback? No state has been called for Kennedy in over a half hour, and since then Nixon has racked up electoral college votes. He has four more now, as North Dakota will go to Nixon. For the first time since the very first returns of the night when Kennedy jumped into a huge electoral vote lead on the back of resounding victories in large eastern states, Nixon is within 100 electoral votes of Kennedy. Kennedy 211, Nixon 112, Wallace 45. In the popular vote, Kennedy has about a one and a half million vote lead, but it's dwindling as Nixon wins large margins in the great plains."

[MAINEiac4434]

10:36

"Tennessee will narrowly go for Nixon. Kennedy will finish a distant third, Wallace was biting at Nixon's heels, but Nixon will take Tennessee's 11 electoral votes."

10:41
"Nixon will carry South Dakota. George McGovern, one of the South Dakota Senators, was reportedly on Kennedy's shortlist to be running mate, a role that ultimately went to Birch Bayh. Maybe that would've helped Kennedy in this state."

10:50

"We have a major projection to make...Iowa will go into the Nixon column, I repeat, Iowa will go into the Nixon column. Both candidates fought hard for Iowa, Kennedy making no less than a dozen stops here, but it goes to the GOP and Nixon tonight. Kennedy 211, Nixon 136, Wallace 45."

"It was around...10:50, I think, when we had started to get nervous. Nixon had pulled off a string of wins, which was always likely, but it'd been over an hour since we won anywhere. California wasn't a given, Illinois wasn't a given..."

"I remember Jackie Kennedy had had her nails done in a gorgeous pink. And she was biting through them...they looked terrible by the time Illinois was called."

"And then Illinois was called and it was like someone had slipped us all mushrooms...we just went crazy...we knew we'd done it, because at the bare minimum, Nixon couldn't get to 270, and the House would elect Bobby."

10:56
"And we have a major projection, perhaps the biggest projection on the night. The hard-fought tossup state of Illinois has gone to...Robert Kennedy. This is a major blow for Richard Nixon. Even if he wins every remaining state, he will fall short of 270 electoral college votes. I repeat, Kennedy has won Illinois, Nixon will fall short of 270. If Nixon wins every outstanding state...this includes Texas and California...he will win only 256 electoral college votes. Kennedy now needs just 33 more electoral college votes...a win in California will put him over the top. A win in Texas and Washington will put him over the top. You have to think, though, even if Kennedy fails to reach 270, then no candidate can reach 270, that the House with its Democratic majority will elect Kennedy and the Senate with its Democratic majority will elect Birch Bayh. We believe, also, that Kennedy will win the popular vote as well, so even if no one reaches 270 tonight, and Kennedy is elected by the House, you'd have to feel the will of the people has been accomplished."

"Illinois was the whole game. Again. And they screwed him. Again."

[MAINEiac4434]

10:58

"Montana has gone to Nixon...no real surprise there...and so has Colorado."

11:08

"Idaho can join the Nixon column."

11:11

"Wyoming and Utah can be called for Nixon."

11:15

"We have a major projection to make...Texas will go into the Wallace camp...with just over 33% of the vote. Nearly 100% of precincts are reporting, and Wallace has a 20,000 vote lead over Kennedy, who himself has a 20,000 vote lead over Nixon. Only 40,000 votes in this, but with only a few small precincts left to declare, we can now say Texas has gone for George Wallace. This gives Kennedy 237 electoral votes, Nixon 157, and Wallace 70."

11:37

Let's take a look at the margins out of California:

California, 6% reporting
Kennedy (D): 247,171
Nixon (R): 200,757
Wallace (AI): 25,766

Kennedy has a commanding lead already in California. California, of course, is Nixon's home state. But it is thought that with Robert Kennedy nearly being killed in Los Angeles back in June, a large amount of California's voters are sympathetic to him. Add in support from prominent Chicano activists like Cesar Chavez, and the Chicano vote I imagine has to be coming in huge for Kennedy, it's turned California into a toss-up state. If Kennedy wins California, he wins the election."

11:49
"As we wait for California to come in, we can call one of the smaller states...New Mexico and its four electoral college votes will be pledged to Richard Nixon."

12:00

It's now midnight in the east and we still don't have a winner...Illinois Republican Party is calling for a recount in that state...California is looking good for Kennedy, but not good enough to call...and we still don't have a President-elect. Right now, the board stands at 237 Kennedy, 161 Nixon, 70 Wallace. Arizona is looking good for Nixon, but apparently they've gone to bed because we haven't gotten a vote update in over 45 minutes, and there's simply not enough of the vote in to call it for Richard Nixon yet. They're still counting in California, though:

California, 16%
Kennedy (D): 590,385
Nixon (R): 485,084
Wallace (AI): 62,601

Kennedy now has a 105,000 vote lead in California, good for 51% of the California vote. Again, if Kennedy wins California, it's all over."

12:02

"We should note that Wallace is not leading in any uncalled states, nor is he in second in any uncalled states. He is a distant third in every remaining uncalled state. It looks like 70 electoral votes is all he can get."

12:10
"We can finally make a projection for another state...Washington will go to Senator Kennedy. Their nine electoral votes will put Kennedy on 246, Nixon on 157 and Wallace on 70."

12:17

"Nevada, one of the smallest states in the nation, will go to Nixon. I repeat, Nevada will go to Nixon."

12:37

"Ladies and gentlemen, we can call the Presidency. Robert F. Kennedy has won California and its 40 electoral votes. With California, he's on 286 electoral college votes, 16 over the bare minimum of 270. Robert F. Kennedy has been elected President of the United States! He will be the youngest elected President, at 43 years and two months, four months older than Theodore Roosevelt when he succeeded to the presidency, and six months younger than his brother John F. Kennedy when he was elected."

"The second Catholic president, the youngest ever elected...Senator Kennedy - excuse me - President-elect Kennedy called again and again for 'Camelot Anew.' And the American people listened. It's hard not to feel the same way as when John was elected eight years ago...hope. Hope has permeated this country, and Kennedy exemplified it, as his brother did. For a long time it wasn't there. Bobby brought it back."

"This is a victory for liberalism, it is a victory for working people, it is a victory for Negroes and Chicanos, it is a victory for young people, it is a victory for opponents of the war in Vietnam. It is a defeat for political conservatism, it is a defeat for the politics of fear - which I think we can all agree, that Nixon was running a campaign based on fear, and Kennedy was running one based on hope - you have to wonder, where does the Republican Party go now? The GOP has no obvious Presidential contenders for 1972...Ronald Reagan is too conservative for a country that has just repudiated Richard Nixon -"

"Well, maybe it wasn't conservatism that drove swing voters to Kennedy. Maybe it was Nixon himself. The leak of that tape had to have hurt him."

"But for three straight elections, the liberal has won. And each campaign has gotten progressively more liberal. John Kennedy wasn't super liberal...a 'little l' liberal...but Johnson ran on civil rights and huge increases in welfare...Bobby Kennedy ran on peace and national healthcare."

"And the moderate wing, I think, is dying in the Republican Party...I don't think Mayor Lindsay could win a national primary...Margaret Chase Smith is too old, Nelson Rockefeller is too old..."

"When was the last really conservative President of this country...it was Hoover, right? Roosevelt, the consummate liberal. Truman, liberal. Eisenhower, pretty much the consummate moderate. Kennedy, liberal, Johnson, liberal, now Kennedy, liberal."

"We have to think that Barry Goldwater's resounding defeat has harmed the Republican Party and the conservative movement in this country for this generation...if Kennedy is even moderately successful as President, he'll probably win reelection in 1972..."

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

ALL THE WAY WITH RFK!!!!!!

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Awesome!!

[Incipimus iterum]

Great work!! Will you show the results of the house and senate races?

[MAINEiac4434]

Great work!! Will you show the results of the house and senate races?

Yes, but I'm at a baseball game. I'll have them up at the end of the night.

[MAINEiac4434]

Well there's always '72 for Nixon

Nope...the Republican party takes a...different approach in 1972.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Well there's always '72 for Nixon

Nope...the Republican party takes a...different approach in 1972.

Hype!!

[TheSaint250]

Great job! Heck of a timeline

[MAINEiac4434]

Thanks again, guys.

~~~~~

6:30 AM



"Good morning, I'm Frank Blair and this is The Today Show. Robert F. Kennedy, the freshman Senator from New York and former Attorney General under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson was elected President last night, in a resound result over Republican nominee former Vice President Richard Nixon and American Independent nominee Governor George Wallace...."

"The Presidency wasn't the only race last night...a third of the Senate, the entirety of the House, and a handful of Governorships were decided last night as well. Let's run through them:

The Senate seat in Alabama, held by Democrat J. Lester Hill, was retained by the Democratic Party and its candidate, Lieutenant Governor James Allen.

In Alaska, a rather odd race: incumbent Democrat Ernest Gruening lost the Democratic nomination to Mike Gravel. Gruening, however, mounted a write-in campaign and took 17.5% of the vote as a write in. Gravel, however, wins and retains this seat for the Democrats.

In Arizona, Carl Hayden retired and was replaced by former Senator Barry Goldwater, a gain for the GOP.

In Arkansas, Democrat J. William Fulbright was reelected relatively easily.

In California, incumbent Republican Thomas Kuchel lost the GOP's nomination, and the GOP lost the seat to Democrat Alan Cranston.

In Colorado, Republican Peter H. Dominick won reelection.

In Connecticut, Democrat Abraham Ribicoff won reelection in a surprisingly close race.

In Florida, incumbent Democrat George Smathers retired and his seat was retained, narrowly, for the Democrats with LeRoy Collins.

No surprise in Georgia as Democrat Herman Talmadge easily wins reelection.

In Hawaii, Democrat Daniel Inouye won reelection overwhelmingly.

In Idaho, Democrat Frank Church easily wins reelection despite Richard Nixon performing well in Idaho at the presidential level.

In Illinois, Republican Everett Dirksen won reelection.

in Indiana, incumbent Democrat Birch Bayh retired to seek the Vice Presidency, and his seat is held for the Democrats by Ray J. Madden.

In Iowa, incumbent Republican Bourke Hickenlooper retired, and Democrat Harold Hughes narrowly wins this seat for the Democrats.

In Kansas, incumbent Republican Frank Carlson retired and his seat was held by fellow Republican Bob Dole.

In Kentucky, incumbent Republican Thurston B. Morton retired, and his seat is held by fellow Republican Marlow W. Cook in a surprisingly tight race.

In Louisiana, Democrat Russel B. Long was reelected unopposed.

In Maryland, incumbent Democrat Daniel Brewster lost reelection to Republican Charles Mathias, Jr., a gain for the GOP.

In Missouri, incumbent Democrat Edward V. Long lost renomination, but his seat was held for the Democrats by Thomas Eagleton.

In Nevada, incumbent Democrat Alan Bible won reelection.

In New Hampshire, incumbent Republican Norris Cotton won reelection.

In New York, incumbent Republican Jacob Javits won reelection.

In North Carolina, Democrat Sam Ervin won reelection.

In North Dakota, incumbent Republican Milton Young won reelection.

In Ohio, incumbent Democrat Frank J. Lausche lost renomination to his bitter rival John J. Gilligan. Lausche refused to endorse Gilligan, but it didn't matter; Gilligan holds this seat for the Democrats.

In Oklahoma, incumbent Democrat Mike Moroney narrowly lost reelection to Henry Bellmon, a gain for the GOP.

In Oregon, incumbent Democrat Wayne Morse won reelection in a narrow race.

In Pennsylvania, Republican Richard Schweiker narrowly defeated incumbent Democrat Joseph S. Clark, a gain for the GOP.

In South Carolina, incumbent Democrat Ernest Hollings wins reelection.

In South Dakota, incumbent Democrat Geroge McGovern wins reelection.

In Utah, incumbent Republican Wallace F. Bennett wins reelection.

In Vermont, incumbent Republican George Aiken was reelected unopposed.

In Washington, incumbent Democrat Warren G. Magnuson won reelection.

In Wisconsin, incumbent Democrat Gaylord Nelson won reelection.

21 states elected Governors last night, too:

In Arizona, incumbent Republican Jack Richard Williams won reelection.

In Arkansas, incumbent Republican Winthrop Rockefeller won reelection in a narrow race.

In Delaware, incumbent Democrat Charles L. Terry, Jr., won reelection.

In Illinois, incumbent Democrat Samuel H. Shapiro lost reelection to Republican Richard B. Ogilvie.

In Indiana, an open seat, Republican Edgar Whitcomb won.

In Iowa, incumbent Democrat Harold Hughes retired to run for senate, and was succeeded by Republican Robert D. Ray.

In Kansas, incumbent Democrat Robert Docking won reelection.

In Missouri, incumbent Democrat Warren E. Hearnes was reelected in a landslide.

In Montana, incumbent Republican Tim Babcock was defeated by Democrat Forrest Anderson.

In New Hampshire, incumbent Democrat John King retired and was replaced by Republican Walter Peterson.

In New Mexico, incumbent Republican David Cargo was defeated by Democrat Fabian Chavez.

In North Carolina, an open seat, Democrat Robert W. Scott won in a surprisingly tight race.

In North Dakota, incumbent Democrat William L. Guy won reelection.

In Rhode Island, incumbent Republican John Chafee was defeated by Democrat Frank Licht.

In South Dakota, an open seat, Republican Frank Farrar won.

In Texas, incumbent Democrat John Connally retired and was succeeded by Democrat Preston Smith.

In Utah, incumbent Democrat Calvin Rampton won reelection overwhelmingly.

In Vermont, incumbent Democrat Philip Hoff retired and was succeeded by Republican Deane Davis.

In Washington, incumbent Republican Daniel J. Evans won reelection.

In West Virginia, an open seat, Republican Arch Moore narrowly won, defeating Democrat James M. Sprouse.

In Wisconsin, incumbent Republican Warren P. Knowles lost reelection to Democrat Bronson Cutting La Follette.

[Kamala]

For Florida's senate seat?

[MAINEiac4434]

In the house, things are largely similar, except:

In Indiana's 1st, incumbent Ray Madden retired to run for senate. He is succeeded by Lieutnenant Governor Robert L. Rock.

In Indiana's 4th, J. Edward Roush narrowly defeats E. Ross Adair.

In Maryland's 6th, Goodloe E. Byron defeats John G. Beall, Jr.

In Minnesota's 7th, Bob Bergland defeats Odin Langen.

In New Mexico's 1st, Thomas G. Morris wins reelection over Manuel Lujan.

In New Mexico's 2nd, ES Johnny Walker wins reelection over Ed Foreman.

In New York's 27th, John G. Dow wins reelection over Martin McKneally.

In Wisconsin's 1st, Lynn E. Stalbaum defeats Henry C. Schadenberg

So basically, Kennedy's coattails helps a bunch of Democrats who narrowly lost.

[MAINEiac4434]

For Florida's senate seat?

Ah sh**t. Thanks Kamala. Give me a second.

[Duke of York]

Absolutely amazing timeline. One of the best I've seen. Its done like a documentary which i love. I wish this was reality.

[MAINEiac4434]

Absolutely amazing timeline. One of the best I've seen. Its done like a documentary which i love. I wish this was reality.

Sigh. Me too.

And thank you, that's what I was going for.

[MAINEiac4434]

President-elect Kennedy is mobbed by children in his first public appearance following the election, a visit to a Long Island school. November 9, 1968.

President Johnson meets with President-elect Kennedy for the first time following the election. November 11, 1968.

Vice President-elect Bayh meets with Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate floor just prior to the formal counting of electoral votes. December 1, 1968.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

LeRoy Collins's nephew was my Government teacher in high school, so it's awesome to see him win the 68 election (as he should have in real life)... great TL, the quality hasn't gone down one bit from the beginning

[MAINEiac4434]

Wow, cool connection. Thanks for the kind words.

~~~~

The Kennedy Administration

President: Robert Francis Kennedy (D-NY)
Vice President: Birch Bayh (D-IN)
Secretary of State: Vance Hartke (D-IN)
Secretary of the Treasury: Edward Brooke (R-MA)
Secretary of Defense: John Glenn (D-OH)
Attorney General: Ralph W. Yarborough (D-TX)
Secretary of Labor: Jesse Unruh (D-CA)
Secretary of the Interior: Ben Reifel (R-SD)
Secretary of Agriculture: Cesar Chavez (D-CA)
Secretary of Commerce: Bill Steiger (R-WI)
Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare: Henry B. Gonzalez (D-TX)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Charles Diggs (D-MI)
Secretary of Transportation: Endicott Peabody (D-MA)
Chief of Staff: Fred Dutton
Press Secretary: Pierre Salinger
Senior Advisors: Ted Sorenson, Harris Wofford

Yarborough is replaced in the Senate by Lloyd Bentsen. Brooke is replaced in the Senate by James A. Burke, a Democrat. Hartke is replaced in the Senate by Richard Roudebush, a Republican. Bobby himself is replaced by Charles Goodell, a Republican.

[Rookie Yinzer]

The election night calls brought me to tears.

YAY for Cesar Chavez as Agriculture Secretary and John Glenn as Defense Secretary!

Ralph Yarborough as AG! Just wow. I love this.

[MAINEiac4434]

Wow, I never thought one of my TLs could've had that effect on someone. Thank you for the kind words.

~~~

Results of the 1968 United States Presidential Election
Robert Francis Kennedy (D-NY)/Birch Evans Bayh Jr. (D-IN): 290 Electoral Votes, 33,064,923
Richard Milhous Nixon (R-CA)/Sprio Theodore Agnew (R-MD): 178 Electoral Votes, 31,987,987
George Corley Wallace Jr. (AI-AL)/Curtis Emerson LeMay (AI-CA): 70 Electoral Votes, 10,198,056
Henning A. Blomen (Socialist Labor-MA)/George Taylor (SL-NY): 0 Electoral Votes, 52,589
Richard Claxton Gregory (Peace & Freedom-MO)/Mark Lane (PF-NY): 0 Electoral Votes, 47,149
Fred W. Halstead (Socialist Workers-CA)/Paul Benjamin Boutelle (SW-NY): 0 Electoral Votes, 41,396
Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (Black Panther-CA)/Judith Mage (BP-FL): 0 Electoral Votes, 36,571
Eugene Joseph McCarthy (Write-in): 0 Electoral Votes, 25,634
Earle Harold Munn (Prohibition-MI)/Rolland Fisher (P-KS): 0 Electoral Votes, 15,123

[MAINEiac4434]

"You know, we didn't set out to build the most diverse Cabinet in history. It just sort of happened. Bobby always respected Ed Brooke, who was arguably one of the most liberal Republicans in Congress. We wanted a westerner from a small state at Interior, and Reifel was another liberal Republican. I don't think we realized we were nominating the first Indian Cabinet Secretary. Diggs was from Detroit, which had a large public housing initiative, so we felt he would fit in naturally at HUD. And no one was a bigger 'poverty warrior' than Hank Gonzalez. And Cesar Chavez, being an advocate for small farmers and a former farm worker himself, seemed a natural choice for Agriculture. I'm pretty sure when Strom Thurmond saw the Cabinet nominees he damn near had a heart attack."

[Duke of York]

just curious why no women in the cabinet?

[MAINEiac4434]

just curious why no women in the cabinet?

After Frances Perkins as Secretary of Labor in 1933, there were no female cabinet secretaries IRL until 1975, with Ford nominating Carla Anderson Hills as HUD Sec.

I took most cabinet secretaries from Congress and there simply weren't a lot of women in Congress at the time. I don't want to spoil anything, but Kennedy's second cabinet will feature Shirley Chisholm (who wasn't elected until 1968 anyway).