1960 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

The 1960 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. State voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

, this was the last time a Democrat won the presidency without winning Wisconsin, although the party won the popular vote without the state in 2016. Wisconsin would not back the overall losing candidate in a presidential election again until 1988.

Background Politics in Wisconsin since the Populist movement had been dominated by the Republican Party.Burnham, Walter Dean; 'The System of 1896: An Analysis'; in The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 178-179 The Democratic Party became uncompetitive away from the Lake Michigan coast as the upper classes, along with the majority of workers who followed them, fled from William Jennings Bryan’s agrarian and free silver sympathies.Sundquist, James; Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years, p. 526 Although the state did develop a strong Socialist Party to provide opposition to the GOP, Wisconsin developed the direct Republican primary in 1903 and this ultimately created competition between the “League” under Robert M. La Follette, and the conservative “Regular” faction.Hansen, John Mark; Shigeo Hirano, and Snyder, James M. Jr.; ‘Parties within Parties: Parties, Factions, and Coordinated Politics, 1900-1980’; in Gerber, Alan S. and Schickler, Eric; Governing in a Polarized Age: Elections, Parties, and Political Representation in America, pp. 165-168 This ultimately would develop into the Wisconsin Progressive Party in the late 1930s, which was opposed to the conservative German Democrats and to the national Republican Party, and allied with Franklin D. Roosevelt at the federal level.

During the two wartime elections, the formerly Democratic German counties in the east of the state – which had been powerfully opposed to the Civil War because they saw it as a “Yankee” war and opposed the military draft instituted during itPhillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 381-382, 414 – viewed Communism as a much greater threat to America than Nazism and consequently opposed President Roosevelt's war effort.Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 387-388 Consequently, these historically Democratic counties became virtually the most Republican in the entire state, and became a major support base for populist conservative Senator Joe McCarthy, who became notorious for his investigations into Communists inside the American government. The state's populace's opposition to Communism and the Korean War turned Wisconsin strongly to Republican nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections.

The 1958 midterm elections, however, saw a major change in Wisconsin politics, as Gaylord A. Nelson became only the state's second Democratic Governor since 1895, and the state also elected Democrats to the position of treasurer and Senator, besides that party gaining a majority in the State Assembly for only the second time since the middle 1890s. In the spring, despite anti-Catholic suspicion, polls indicated that Kennedy would defeat Nixon in Wisconsin.Otten, Alan L. and Novak Robert D.; ‘Nixon’s Chances: He Faces Uphill Fight For Presidency, a Poll In Wisconsin Indicates – Vice President Loses Many Independent Ike Backers’; The Wall Street Journal, March 31, 1960, p. 1

During the fall campaign, polls at the end of September showed that Nixon had gained,Blair, William M.; ‘Nixon Ahead as Wisconsin Area Switches Votes: District Has Reputation for Switches and Trends Religion and Peace Appear to Be Major Issues’; Special to The New York Times, September 29, 1960, p. 24 due to the religion issue and Eisenhower's success in achieving a level of peace with the Soviet Union. The state's Republican Party stressed achievements in peacemaking, whilst Kennedy's October visit to the state would stress failures in the farm sector during Eisenhower's administration.Wehrwein, Austin C.; ‘G.O.P. in Wisconsin Stressing “Peace”: But Democrats Call Farmer Discontent Main Issue – Religion Is a Factor’ In the November election, the state fluctuated before Nixon ultimately carried Wisconsin by a relatively comfortable 3.72 point margin.‘Nixon Regains Lead In Wisconsin Fight; Spurs State Ticket’; The New York Times, November 9, 1960, p. 25

Primary election In the 1960 Democratic primaries, Wisconsin voted for Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy,Lawrence W.H.; 'Wisconsin Buoys Kennedy's Drive but Poses Perils: Senator's Feat in Outpolling Humphrey and Nixon Aids His Presidential Fight'; Special to The New York Times , April 7, 1960, p. 1 due to strong support from Catholics who had recently backed Republican candidates, whilst Vice President Nixon was uncontested in the Republican primary. A behind-the-scenes look at the Democratic primary campaign was featured in the Robert Drew-directed documentary Primary.

Results

General election Results 1960 United States presidential election in WisconsinWisconsin Historical Society, Statement of Board of State Canvassers for President, Vice President and Presidential Electors - General Election - 1960PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican Richard Nixon 895,175 51.77% 12 Democratic John F. Kennedy 830,805 48.05% 0 Socialist Workers Farrell Dobbs 1,792 0.10% 0 Socialist Labor Eric Hass 1,310 0.08% 0 Totals 1,729,082 100.00% 12

Results by county County Richard NixonRepublican John F. KennedyDemocratic Other candidatesVarious parties Margin Total votescast # % # % # % # % Adams 2,109 57.40% 1,551 42.22% 14 0.38% 558 15.18% 3,674 Ashland 3,470 42.70% 4,644 57.14% 13 0.16% -1,174 -14.44% 8,127 Barron 8,640 57.05% 6,464 42.68% 41 0.27% 2,176 14.37% 15,145 Bayfield 2,841 46.88% 3,196 52.74% 23 0.38% -355 -5.86% 6,060 Brown 26,329 49.72% 26,577 50.19% 46 0.09% -248 -0.47% 52,952 Buffalo 3,464 55.37% 2,790 44.60% 2 0.03% 674 10.77% 6,256 Burnett 2,483 54.03% 2,095 45.58% 18 0.39% 388 8.45% 4,596 Calumet 5,166 54.46% 4,312 45.46% 8 0.08% 854 9.00% 9,486 Chippewa 8,690 46.95% 9,793 52.90% 28 0.15% -1,103 -5.95% 18,511 Clark 7,368 55.22% 5,934 44.47% 41 0.31% 1,434 10.75% 13,343 Columbia 10,282 60.94% 6,576 38.97% 15 0.09% 3,706 21.97% 16,873 Crawford 3,719 52.60% 3,342 47.26% 10 0.14% 377 5.34% 7,071 Dane 43,245 47.78% 47,045 51.98% 212 0.23% -3,800 -4.20% 90,502 Dodge 17,152 62.84% 10,113 37.05% 30 0.11% 7,039 25.79% 27,295 Door 5,790 61.50% 3,610 38.35% 14 0.15% 2,180 23.15% 9,414 Douglas 8,307 39.06% 12,910 60.70% 53 0.25% -4,603 -21.64% 21,270 Dunn 6,723 59.82% 4,487 39.92% 29 0.26% 2,236 19.90% 11,239 Eau Claire 14,427 56.13% 11,240 43.73% 37 0.14% 3,187 12.40% 25,704 Florence 928 51.81% 858 47.91% 5 0.28% 70 3.90% 1,791 Fond du Lac 19,498 59.65% 13,132 40.17% 58 0.18% 6,366 19.48% 32,688 Forest 1,653 47.04% 1,851 52.68% 10 0.28% -198 -5.64% 3,514 Grant 11,564 60.05% 7,678 39.87% 16 0.08% 3,886 20.18% 19,258 Green 7,939 67.79% 3,766 32.16% 6 0.05% 4,173 35.63% 11,711 Green Lake 5,110 64.74% 2,776 35.17% 7 0.09% 2,334 29.57% 7,893 Iowa 5,143 59.16% 3,547 40.80% 4 0.05% 1,596 18.36% 8,694 Iron 1,290 30.94% 2,873 68.90% 7 0.17% -1,583 -37.96% 4,170 Jackson 3,950 57.98% 2,849 41.82% 14 0.21% 1,101 16.16% 6,813 Jefferson 14,133 61.64% 8,757 38.19% 39 0.17% 5,376 23.45% 22,929 Juneau 4,997 60.60% 3,238 39.27% 11 0.13% 1,759 21.33% 8,246 Kenosha 19,969 46.43% 22,956 53.37% 86 0.20% -2,987 -6.94% 43,011 Kewaunee 3,950 48.09% 4,256 51.82% 7 0.09% -306 -3.73% 8,213 La Crosse 18,319 56.08% 14,310 43.81% 36 0.11% 4,009 12.27% 32,665 Lafayette 4,715 56.60% 3,607 43.30% 8 0.10% 1,108 13.30% 8,330 Langlade 4,614 53.31% 4,025 46.50% 16 0.18% 589 6.81% 8,655 Lincoln 6,147 60.93% 3,909 38.75% 33 0.33% 2,238 22.18% 10,089 Manitowoc 14,622 45.58% 17,423 54.31% 35 0.11% -2,801 -8.73% 32,080 Marathon 21,880 54.67% 18,145 45.33% 0 0.00% 3,735 9.34% 40,025 Marinette 8,205 52.50% 7,408 47.40% 17 0.11% 797 5.10% 15,630 Marquette 2,947 70.12% 1,249 29.72% 7 0.17% 1,698 40.40% 4,203 Milwaukee 187,067 41.96% 257,707 57.81% 1,033 0.23% -70,640 -15.85% 445,807 Monroe 7,410 58.87% 5,161 41.00% 16 0.13% 2,249 17.87% 12,587 Oconto 6,223 55.15% 5,045 44.71% 15 0.13% 1,178 10.44% 11,283 Oneida 5,676 53.22% 4,974 46.63% 16 0.15% 702 6.59% 10,666 Outagamie 24,146 58.15% 17,287 41.63% 89 0.21% 6,859 16.52% 41,522 Ozaukee 10,401 58.91% 7,228 40.94% 28 0.16% 3,173 17.97% 17,657 Pepin 1,612 47.69% 1,763 52.16% 5 0.15% -151 -4.47% 3,380 Pierce 5,632 56.56% 4,317 43.35% 9 0.09% 1,315 13.21% 9,958 Polk 6,387 55.23% 5,148 44.51% 30 0.26% 1,239 10.72% 11,565 Portage 6,436 37.92% 10,516 61.96% 20 0.12% -4,080 -24.04% 16,972 Price 3,555 51.10% 3,382 48.61% 20 0.29% 173 2.49% 6,957 Racine 29,562 49.03% 30,596 50.74% 136 0.23% -1,034 -1.71% 60,294 Richland 5,253 63.84% 2,965 36.03% 11 0.13% 2,288 27.81% 8,229 Rock 29,675 60.63% 19,194 39.22% 76 0.16% 10,481 21.41% 48,945 Rusk 3,094 45.48% 3,692 54.27% 17 0.25% -598 -8.79% 6,803 Sauk 10,403 61.68% 6,441 38.19% 23 0.14% 3,962 23.49% 16,867 Sawyer 2,699 53.59% 2,325 46.17% 12 0.24% 374 7.42% 5,036 Shawano 9,734 67.18% 4,734 32.67% 21 0.14% 5,000 34.51% 14,489 Sheboygan 21,676 53.89% 18,425 45.81% 120 0.30% 3,251 8.08% 40,221 St. Croix 7,113 52.77% 6,341 47.05% 24 0.18% 772 5.72% 13,478 Taylor 3,447 47.63% 3,768 52.07% 22 0.30% -321 -4.44% 7,237 Trempealeau 5,539 51.38% 5,223 48.45% 19 0.18% 316 2.93% 10,781 Vernon 6,909 58.75% 4,836 41.12% 15 0.13% 2,073 17.63% 11,760 Vilas 3,508 64.25% 1,942 35.57% 10 0.18% 1,566 28.68% 5,460 Walworth 16,395 67.19% 7,986 32.73% 20 0.08% 8,409 34.46% 24,401 Washburn 2,848 54.13% 2,398 45.58% 15 0.29% 450 8.55% 5,261 Washington 11,452 57.29% 8,523 42.63% 16 0.08% 2,929 14.66% 19,991 Waukesha 39,380 57.56% 28,963 42.33% 76 0.11% 10,417 15.23% 68,419 Waupaca 12,247 72.61% 4,606 27.31% 14 0.08% 7,641 45.30% 16,867 Waushara 4,906 72.16% 1,888 27.77% 5 0.07% 3,018 44.39% 6,799 Winnebago 28,598 61.72% 17,656 38.11% 80 0.17% 10,942 23.61% 46,334 Wood 14,414 57.82% 10,483 42.05% 33 0.13% 3,931 15.77% 24,930Totals895,17551.77%830,80548.05%3,1020.18%64,3703.72%1,729,082

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Ashland Bayfield Brown Chippewa Dane Forest Kenosha Kewaunee Manitowoc Milwaukee Pepin Portage Racine Rusk Taylor

Electors These were the names of the electors on each ticket. Richard M. Nixon & Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.Republican Party John F. Kennedy & Lyndon B. JohnsonDemocratic Party Farrell Dobbs & Myra Tanner WeissSocialist Workers Party Eric Hass & Stephen EmerySocialist Labor Party

See also United States presidential elections in Wisconsin

Notes

References