# Electoral history of Richard Nixon

* This article is part of a series aboutRichard Nixon
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Richard Nixon served as the 37th president of the United States from 1969 to 1974. He previously served as the 36th vice president of the United States from 1953 to 1961, and as a United States senator from 1950 to 1953 and United States representative from 1947 to 1950.

## U.S. Congressional Elections (1946-1950)
### U.S. House Elections (1946, 1948)
#### 1946

California's 12th congressional district election, 1946 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Richard Nixon | 65,586 | 56.0 |
| Democratic | Jerry Voorhis | 49,994 | 42.7 |
| Prohibition | John Hoeppel | 1,476 | 1.3 |

#### 1948

Democratic Primary, California's 12th congressional district election, 1948 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Richard Nixon (incumbent) | 21,411 | 52.2 |
| Democratic | Stephen Zetterberg | 16,808 | 41 |
| Democratic | Margaret Cooper | 2,772 | 6.8 |
Nixon ran unopposed in and won the 1948 Republican primary.
California's 12th congressional district election, 1948 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Richard Nixon (incumbent) | 141,509 | 86.9 |
| Independent | Una Rice | 19,631 | 12 |
| Independent | Scattering | 1,667 | 1 |

### U.S. Senate Election (1950)

United States Senate election in California, 1950 Democratic Primary :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Helen Gahagan Douglas | 734,842 | 47 |
| Democratic | Manchester Boddy | 379,077 | 24.2 |
| Democratic | Richard Nixon | 318,840 | 20.4 |
| Democratic | Earl Desmond | 96,752 | 6.2 |
| Democratic | Ulysses Meyer | 34,707 | 2.2 |
United States Senate election in California, 1950 Republican Primary :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Richard Nixon | 740,465 | 64.6 |
| Republican | Manchester Boddy | 156,884 | 13.7 |
| Republican | Helen Gahagan Douglas | 153,788 | 13.4 |
| Republican | Earl Desmond | 60,613 | 5.3 |
| Republican | Ulysses Meyer | 18,783 | 1.6 |
| Republican | Albert Levitt | 15,929 | 1.4 |
United States Senate election in California, 1950 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Richard Nixon | 2,183,454 | 59.2 |
| | Democratic | Helen Gahagan Douglas | 1,502,507 | 40.8 |

## Presidential Elections (Pre-1962)
### 1952 U.S. Presidential Election

1952 Republican National Convention (Vice Presidential tally):
* Richard Nixon - 1,206 (100.00%)
1952 United States Presidential Election Results:
Electoral results :
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Running mate | Running mate | Running mate |
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Count | Percentage | Electoral vote | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote |
| Dwight David Eisenhower | Republican | New York | 34,075,529 | 55.2% | 442 | Richard Milhous Nixon | California | 442 |
| Adlai Ewing Stevenson II | Democratic | Illinois | 27,375,090 | 44.3% | 89 | John Jackson Sparkman | Alabama | 89 |
| Vincent Hallinan | Progressive | California | 140,746 | 0.2% | 0 | Charlotta Bass | New York | 0 |
| Stuart Hamblen | Prohibition | Texas | 73,412 | 0.1% | 0 | Enoch Holtwick | Illinois | 0 |
| Douglas MacArthur | Constitution | Arkansas | 17,205 | 0.0% | 0 | Harry Byrd | Virginia | 0 |
| Other | Other | Other | 87,165 | 0.1% | — | Other | Other | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 61,769,147 | 100% | 531 | | | 531 |
| Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | 266 | | | 266 |
Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. "1952 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 1, 2005.Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved August 1, 2005.

### 1956 U.S. Presidential Election

1956 Republican Presidential Primaries:
* Dwight Eisenhower - 5,008,132 (85.93%)
* John W. Bricker - 478,453 (8.21%)
* Unpledged - 115,014 (1.97%)
* William F. Knowland - 84,446 (1.45%)
* Joe Foss - 59,374 (1.02%)
* S.C. Arnold - 32,732 (0.56%)
* Others* - 50,283 (0.86%)
*Nixon was a write-in candidate in some states' presidential primaries and received 316 votes.
1956 Republican National Convention (Vice Presidential tally):
* Richard Nixon (inc.) - 1,323 (100.00%)
1956 United States Presidential Election Results:
Electoral results :
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Running mate | Running mate | Running mate |
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Count | Percentage | Electoral vote | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote |
| Dwight David Eisenhower (incumbent) | Republican | Pennsylvania | 35,579,180 | 57.4% | 457 | Richard Milhous Nixon (incumbent) | California | 457 |
| Adlai Ewing Stevenson II | Democratic | Illinois | 26,028,028 | 42.0% | 73 | (Carey) Estes Kefauver | Tennessee | 73 |
| Walter Burgwyn Jones | Democratic | Alabama | —$^{(a)}$ | —$^{(a)}$ | 1 | Herman Talmadge | Georgia | 1 |
| (unpledged electors) | (n/a) | (n/a) | 196,145 | 0.3% | 0 | (n/a) | (n/a) | 0 |
| T. Coleman Andrews | States' Rights | Virginia | 107,929 | 0.2% | 0 | Thomas Werdel | California | 0 |
| Other | Other | Other | 110,046 | 0.2% | — | Other | Other | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 62,021,328 | 100% | 531 | | | 531 |
| Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | 266 | | | 266 |
Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. "1956 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 1, 2005.Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved August 1, 2005.

### 1960 U.S. Presidential Election

1960 Republican Presidential Primaries:
* Richard Nixon - 4,975,938 (86.63%)
* Unpledged - 314,234 (5.47%)
* George H. Bender - 211,090 (3.68%)
* Cecil H. Underwood - 123,756 (2.16%)
* James L. Lloyd - 48,461 (0.84%)
* Nelson Rockefeller - 30,639 (0.53%)
* Frank R. Beckwith - 19,677 (0.34%)
* John F. Kennedy - 12,817 (0.22%)
* Barry Goldwater - 3,146 (0.06%)
* Paul C. Fisher - 2,388 (0.04%)
* Adlai Stevenson - 694 (0.01%)
* Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. - 514 (0.01%)
* Dwight D. Eisenhower (write-in) - 172 (0.00%)
* Styles Bridges - 108 (0.00%)
1960 Republican National Convention (Presidential tally):
* Richard Nixon - 1,321 (99.25%)
* Barry Goldwater - 10 (0.75%)
1960 United States Presidential Election Results
Electoral results :
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Running mate | Running mate | Running mate |
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Count | Percentage | Electoral vote | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote |
| John Fitzgerald Kennedy | Democratic | Massachusetts | 34,220,984$^{(a)}$ | 49.7% | 303 | Lyndon Baines Johnson | Texas | 303 |
| Richard Milhous Nixon | Republican | California | 34,108,157 | 49.6% | 219 | Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. | Massachusetts | 219 |
| Harry Flood Byrd | (none) | Virginia | —$^{(b)}$ | —$^{(b)}$ | 15 | James Strom Thurmond | South Carolina | 14 |
| Harry Flood Byrd | (none) | Virginia | —$^{(b)}$ | —$^{(b)}$ | 15 | Barry Morris Goldwater$^{(c)}$ | Arizona | 1$^{(c)}$ |
| (unpledged electors) | Democratic | (n/a) | 286,359 | 0.4% | —$^{(d)}$ | (n/a) | (n/a) | —$^{(d)}$ |
| Orval Faubus | States' Rights | Arkansas | 44,984 | 0.1% | 0 | John G. Crommelin | Alabama | 0 |
| Charles Sullivan | Constitution | Mississippi | (TX) 18,162 | 0.0% | 0 | Merritt Curtis | California | 0 |
| Other | Other | Other | 216,982 | 0.3% | — | Other | Other | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 68,895,628 | 100% | 537 | | | 537 |
| Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | 269 | | | 269 |
There were 537 electoral votes, up from 531 in 1956, because of the addition of 2 U.S. Senators and 1 U.S. Representative from each of the new states of Alaska and Hawaii. (The House of Representatives was temporarily expanded from 435 members to 437 to accommodate this, and would go back to 435 when reapportioned according to the 1960 census.) Source (Popular Vote):Leip, David. "1960 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved February 7, 2008.Note: Sullivan / Curtis ran only in Texas. In Washington, Constitution Party ran Curtis for President and B. N. Miller for vice-president, receiving 1,401 votes. Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved August 2, 2005.$^{(a)}$ This figure is problematic; see Alabama popular vote above.
$^{(b)}$ Byrd was not directly on the ballot. Instead, his electoral votes came from unpledged Democratic electors and a faithless elector.
$^{(c)}$ Oklahoma faithless elector Henry D. Irwin, though pledged to vote for Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., instead voted for non-candidate Harry F. Byrd. However, unlike other electors who voted for Byrd and Strom Thurmond as Vice President, Irwin voted for Barry Goldwater as Vice President.
$^{(d)}$ In Mississippi, the slate of unpledged Democratic electors won. They cast their 8 votes for Byrd and Thurmond.

## California Gubernatorial Election (1962)

1962 Gubernatorial Election, California :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Pat Brown (incumbent) | 3,037,109 | 51.92 |
| | Republican | Richard Nixon | 2,740,351 | 46.85 |
| | Prohibition | Robert L. Wyckoff | 69,700 | 1.12 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,929,602 | 100.00 |

## Presidential Elections (Post-1962)
### 1964 U.S. Presidential Election

1964 Republican Presidential Primaries:
* Barry Goldwater - 2,267,079 (38.33%)
* Nelson Rockefeller - 1,304,204 (22.05%)
* James A. Rhodes - 615,754 (10.41%)
* Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. - 386,661 (6.54%)
* John W. Byrnes - 299,612 (5.07%)
* William Scranton - 245,401 (4.15%)
* Margaret Chase Smith - 227,007 (3.84%)
* Richard Nixon - 197,212 (3.33%)
* Unpledged - 173,652 (2.94%)
* Harold Stassen - 114,083 (1.93%)

### 1968 U.S. Presidential Election

1968 Republican Presidential Primaries:
* Ronald Reagan - 1,696,632 (37.93%)
* Richard Nixon - 1,679,443 (37.54%)
* James A. Rhodes - 614,492 (13.74%)
* Nelson A. Rockefeller - 164,340 (3.67%)
* Unpledged - 140,639 (3.14%)
* Eugene McCarthy (write-in) - 44,520 (1.00%)
* Harold Stassen - 31,655 (0.71%)
* John Volpe - 31,465 (0.70%)
* Others - 21,456 (0.51%)
* George Wallace (write-in) - 15,291 (0.34%)
* Robert F. Kennedy (write-in) - 14,524 (0.33%)
* Hubert Humphrey (write-in) - 5,698 (0.13)
* Lyndon Johnson (write-in) - 4,824 (0.11%)
* George Romney - 4,447 (0.10%)
* Raymond P. Shafer - 1,223 (0.03%)
* William W. Scranton - 724 (0.02%)
* Charles H. Percy - 689 (0.02%)
* Barry M. Goldwater - 598 (0.01%)
* John V. Lindsay - 591 (0.01%)
1968 Republican National Convention (Presidential tally):
* First ballot:
** Richard Nixon - 692
** Nelson Rockefeller - 277
** Ronald Reagan - 182
** James A. Rhodes - 55
** George Romney - 50
** Clifford Case - 22
** Frank Carlson - 20
** Winthrop Rockefeller - 18
** Hiram Fong - 14
** Harold Stassen - 2
** John V. Lindsay - 1
* Second ballot:
** Richard Nixon - 1238
** Nelson Rockefeller - 93
** Ronald Reagan - 2
1968 United States Presidential Election Results:
Electoral results :
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Running mate | Running mate | Running mate |
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Count | Percentage | Electoral vote | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote |
| Richard Milhous Nixon | Republican | New York | 31,783,783 | 43.4% | 301 | Spiro Theodore Agnew | Maryland | 301 |
| Hubert Horatio Humphrey | Democratic | Minnesota | 31,271,839 | 42.7% | 191 | Edmund Sixtus Muskie | Maine | 191 |
| George Corley Wallace | American Independent | Alabama | 9,901,118 | 13.5% | 46 | Curtis Emerson LeMay | California | 46 |
| Eugene McCarthy | Independent | Minnesota | 25,634 | 0.0% | 0 | (None) | | 0 |
| Other | Other | Other | 243,258 | 0.3% | — | Other | Other | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 73,199,998 | 100% | 538 | | | 538 |
| Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | 270 | | | 270 |
Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. "1968 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 7, 2005.
Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved August 7, 2005.

### 1972 U.S. Presidential Election

1972 Republican Presidential Primaries:
* Richard Nixon (inc.) - 5,378,704 (86.92%)
* Unpledged - 317,048 (5.12%)
* John M. Ashbrook - 311,543 (5.03%)
* Pete McCloskey - 132,731 (2.15%)
* George Wallace - 20,907 (0.34%)
* None of the names shown - 8,916 (0.14%)
1972 Republican National Convention (Presidential tally):
* Richard Nixon (inc.) - 1,347 (99.93%)
* Pete McCloskey - 1 (0.07%)
New York Conservative Party Presidential Convention, 1972:
* Richard Nixon (inc.) - 156 (69.96%)
* John G. Schmitz - 38 (17.04%)
* Abstaining - 29 (13.00%)
1972 United States Presidential Election Results:
Electoral results :
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Running mate | Running mate | Running mate |
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Count | Percentage | Electoral vote | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote |
| Richard Milhous Nixon (incumbent) | Republican | California | 47,168,710 | 60.7% | 520 | Spiro Theodore Agnew (incumbent) | Maryland | 520 |
| George Stanley McGovern | Democratic | South Dakota | 29,173,222 | 37.5% | 17 | Robert Sargent Shriver | Maryland | 17 |
| John G. Hospers | Libertarian | California | 3,674 | 0.0% | 1$^{(a)}$ | Theodora Nathan | Oregon | 1$^{(a)}$ |
| John G. Schmitz | American Independent | California | 1,100,868 | 1.4% | 0 | Thomas J. Anderson | Tennessee | 0 |
| Linda Jenness | Socialist Workers | Georgia | 83,380$^{(b)}$ | 0.1% | 0 | Andrew Pulley | Illinois | 0 |
| Benjamin Spock | People's | California | 78,759 | 0.1% | 0 | Julius Hobson | District of Columbia | 0 |
| Other | Other | Other | 135,414 | 0.2% | — | Other | Other | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 77,744,027 | 100% | 538 | | | 538 |
| Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | 270 | | | 270 |
Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. "1972 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 7, 2005. Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved August 7, 2005. $^{(a)}$A Virginia faithless elector, Roger MacBride, though pledged to vote for Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, instead voted for Libertarian candidates John Hospers and Theodora Nathan.
$^{(b)}$In Arizona, Pima and Yavapai counties had a ballot malfunction that counted many votes for both a major party candidate and Linda Jenness of the Socialist Workers Party. A court ordered that the ballots be counted for both. As a consequence, Jenness received 16% and 8% of the vote in Pima and Yavapai, respectively. 30,579 of her 30,945 Arizona votes are from those two counties. Some sources do not count these votes for Jenness.