1968 Republican National Convention

It nominated former Vice President Richard M. Nixon for president and Maryland Governor Spiro T. Agnew for vice president. It was the fourth time Nixon had been nominated on the Republican ticket as either its vice presidential (1952 and 1956) or presidential candidate (1960). Symbolic of the South's changing political affiliation, this was the first Republican National Convention held in a prior Confederate State.

1968 Republican National Convention

1968 presidential election
Nominees Nixon and Agnew
Convention
Date(s)	August 5–8, 1968
City	Miami Beach, Florida
Venue	Miami Beach Convention Center
Keynote speaker	Daniel J. Evans
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Richard M. Nixon of New York
Vice presidential nominee	Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland
Voting
Total delegates	1,333
Votes needed for nomination	667 (majority)
Results (president)	Nixon (NY): 1,238 (92.87%) Rockefeller (NY): 93 (6.98%) Reagan: (CA): 2 (0.15%)
Results (vice president)	Agnew (MD): 1,119 (83.95%) Romney (MI): 186 (13.95%) Lindsay (NY): 10 (0.75%) Others: 2 (0.15%) Not Voting: 16 (1.20%)
‹ 1964 · 1972 ›

 

Former Vice President Richard M. Nixon, emerged as the frontrunner again for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination. Nixon had been the Republican Party nominee in the 1960 presidential election, and lost to Democratic Party candidate John F. Kennedy.

The so-called "New Nixon" in the 1968 presidential election devised a "Southern strategy," taking advantage of the region's opposition to racial integration and other progressive/liberal policies of the Democratic Party and President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Nixon was nominated on the first ballot with 692 votes to 277 votes for Nelson Rockefeller, 182 votes for California Governor Ronald Reagan and the rest scattered. He was able to secure the nomination to the support of many Southern delegates, after he and his subordinates made concessions to Strom Thurmond and Harry Dent on civil rights, the Supreme Court, and the selection of a vice presidential candidate.

Nixon decided not to re-select his 1960 running mate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford of Michigan proposed New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay for vice president. Nixon turned instead to another perceived moderate, Maryland Governor Spiro T. Agnew. Agnew, former Baltimore County Executive in the Baltimore City suburbs (1963–1967), and since Governor of Maryland, had come to Republican leaders and Nixon's attention when he summoned several Black civic, religious, and political leaders in Baltimore to the local State Office Building complex, following the disastrous April 1968 riots which enveloped Black sections of East and West Baltimore in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. Agnew complained of the Black leaders' lack of support after a number of what he perceived to be positive projects, programs and support by his Republican administration for the minority communities in the city. Agnew's biting comments caused many in the audience to walk out. Agnew was seen as a candidate who could appeal to Rockefeller Republicans, was acceptable to Southern Conservatives, and had a solid law-and-order record.

In his acceptance speech, Nixon deplored the state of the union and urged a return to law and order both at home and abroad:

When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down for four years in Vietnam with no end in sight, when the richest nation in the world can't manage its own economy, when the nation with the greatest tradition of the rule of law is plagued by unprecedented racial violence, when the President of the United States cannot travel abroad or to any major city at home, then it's time for new leadership for the United States of America.

Nixon also said that he had "a good teacher", referring to Eisenhower, and made the delegates happy with the statement "Let's win this one for Ike!" Eisenhower was not present during Nixon's speech nor during any part of the convention. Due to failing health, he was under doctor's orders not to travel, but addressed the convention by telephone. He died the following March.

The following were placed into nomination:

Nominated for President

•  
  Former Vice President
  Richard Nixon
  from New York
•  
  Governor
  Ronald Reagan
  of California
•  
  Governor
  Nelson Rockefeller
  of New York
•  
  Governor
  George Romney
  of Michigan
•  
  Governor
  James A. Rhodes
  of Ohio
•  
  Senator
  Clifford Case
  of New Jersey
•  
  Senator
  Frank Carlson
  of Kansas
•  
  Senator
  Hiram Fong
  of Hawaii

Nominated for Vice President

•  
  Governor
  Spiro Agnew
  of Maryland
•  
  Governor
  George Romney
  of Michigan

The Republican Convention Tally results

This was the last time during the 20th Century that two siblings (the Rockefeller brothers) received votes at a convention.

Results by state

 

 

 

 

The balloting by state was as follows:

• History of the United States Republican Party
• List of Republican National Conventions
• United States presidential nominating convention
• 1968 Democratic National Convention
• 1968 United States presidential election
• Richard Nixon 1968 presidential campaign
• 1968 Miami riot