1960 Republican Party presidential primaries
Selection of Republican US presidential candidate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From March 8 to June 7, 1960, voters of the Republican Party elected delegates to the 1960 Republican National Convention, in part to choose the party nominee for president in the 1960 United States presidential election.
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March 8 to June 7, 1960
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 Results map by state. | |||||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent vice president Richard Nixon faced no formidable opposition for the nomination. There were significant efforts by liberals to draft New York governor Nelson Rockefeller as a candidate. Although Rockefeller embarked on a national speaking tour and received some write-in votes in primary elections, he did not declare a campaign for the presidency, and Nixon swept the primaries without difficulty. Rockefeller endorsed Nixon after struggling in the polls and extracting compromises on the party platform.
The 1960 Republican National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois from July 25 to 28.[1] Nixon was nominated for president and United Nations ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge was nominated for vice president. Nixon and Lodge were defeated in the general election by the Democratic Party ticket of Massachusetts senator John F. Kennedy and Texas senator Lyndon B. Johnson.
Candidates
The following political leaders were candidates for the 1960 Republican presidential nomination:
Nominee
| Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign
Withdrawal date |
Popular vote | Contests won | Running mate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Nixon |  |
Vice President of the United States (1953–1961) |
|
 (Campaign) Secured nomination: July 28, 1960 |
4,975,938 (86.6%) |
11 | Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. |  | |
Other major candidates
These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.
| Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign
Withdrawal date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson Rockefeller | .jpg) |
Governor of New York (1959–1973) |
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|
(Campaign) Declined draft: December 26, 1959 Revoked declination: June 8, 1960 | |
Favorite sons
The following candidates ran only in their home state's primary or caucus for the purpose of controlling its delegate slate at the convention and did not appear to be considered national candidates by the media.
- Former U.S. senator George H. Bender of Ohio
- State senator James M. Lloyd of South Dakota
- Governor Cecil H. Underwood of West Virginia
Declined to run
The following persons were listed in two or more major national polls or were the subject of media speculation surrounding their potential candidacy, but declined to actively seek the nomination.
- Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona
- Secretary Oveta Culp Hobby of Texas
- Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts
Polling
National polling
| Poll source | Publication | Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. |
Richard Nixon |
Nelson Rockefeller |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup[2] | July 1957 | 6% | 48% | – |
| Gallup[2] | Oct. 1957 | 7% | 48% | – |
| Gallup[2] | Jan. 1958 | 4% | 64% | – |
| Gallup[2] | Jan. 1959 | 6% | 56% | 27% |
| Gallup[2] | Mar. 1959 | 8% | 56% | 23% |
| Gallup[2] | Apr. 1959 | 10% | 58% | 17% |
| Gallup[2] | May 1959 | 6% | 63% | 20% |
| Gallup[2] | June 1959 | 11% | 61% | 18% |
| Gallup[2] | July 1959 | 5% | 65% | 19% |
| Gallup[2] | Aug. 1959 | 4% | 68% | 18% |
| Gallup[2] | Oct. 1959 | 6% | 67% | 19% |
| Gallup[2] | Nov. 1959 | 4% | 66% | 19% |
| Gallup[2] | Jan. 1960 | 6% | 84% | – |
| Gallup[2] | May 1960 | 2% | 75% | 13% |
| Gallup[2] | July 1960 | 4% | 75% | 12% |
Statewide contests by winner
| Richard M. Nixon | George H. Bender | Cecil Underwood | James M. Lloyd | Nelson Rockefeller | Unpledged | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 8 | New Hampshire | 89.28% | - | - | - | 3.76% | - |
| April 5 | Wisconsin | 100% | - | - | - | - | - |
| April 12 | Illinois | 99.94% | - | - | - | - | - |
| April 19 | New Jersey | - | - | - | - | - | 100% |
| April 26 | Massachusetts | 85.96% | - | - | - | 6.58% | - |
| April 26 | Pennsylvania | 98.15% | - | - | - | 1.27% | - |
| May 1 | Washington, D.C. | - | - | - | - | - | 100% |
| May 3 | Indiana | 95.40% | - | - | - | - | - |
| May 3 | Ohio | 70.48% | 29.52% | - | - | - | - |
| May 10 | Nebraska | 93.82% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2.56% | 0% |
| May 10 | West Virginia | - | - | 100% | - | - | - |
| May 20 | Oregon | 93.06% | - | - | - | 4.10% | - |
| May 24 | Florida | 100% | - | - | - | - | - |
| June 7 | California | 100% | - | - | - | - | - |
| June 7 | South Dakota | - | - | - | 100% | - | - |
- Italics - Write-In Vote
Total popular vote results
Primaries total popular vote results
- Richard M. Nixon - 4,975,938 (86.63%)
- George H. Bender - 211,090 (3.68%)
- Unpledged - 314,234 (5.47%)
- Cecil Underwood - 123,756 (2.16%)
- James M. Lloyd - 48,461 (0.84%)
- Nelson Rockefeller - 30,639 (0.53%)
- Others - 39,516 (0.69%)
