# 1960 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Elections in Pennsylvania :
Federal government
U.S. President
1789
1792
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
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1856
1860
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1892
1896
1900
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1932
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1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate
1788
1791
1793 sp
1794 sp
1795
1796
1797
1801
1801 sp
1802
1806
1808
1808 sp
1809 sp
1812
1814
1814 sp
1818
1820
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1830
1831 sp
1832
1834 sp
1836
1840 sp
1843
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1849
1851
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1861
1861 sp
1863
1867
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1873
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1879
1881
1885
1887
1891
1893
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1901 sp
1903
1905
1905 sp
1908
1909
1909 sp
1911
1914
1916
1920
1922
1922 sp
1926
1928
1930 sp
1932
1934
1938
1940
1944
1946
1950
1952
1956
1958
1962
1964
1968
1970
1974
1976
1980
1982
1986
1988
1991 sp
1992
1994
1998
2000
2004
2006
2010
2012
2016
2018
2022
2024
2028
U.S. House of Representatives
1788
1791
1792
1794
1796
5th sp
1797
5th sp
1798
1st sp
4th sp
1800
8th sp
1801
4th sp
8th sp
12th sp
1802
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1805
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1806
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1808
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1820
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1821
5th sp
10th sp
1822
1st sp
6th sp
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1824
8th sp
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1825
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1826
2nd sp
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13th sp
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1827
2nd sp
1828
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8th sp
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11th sp
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1st sp
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13th sp
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3rd sp
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9th sp
1839
14th sp
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1841
2nd sp
13th sp
20th sp
18th sp
Jun
Dec
1842
17th sp
21st sp
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1844
12th sp
13th sp
21st sp
1846
1848
6th sp
1850
11th sp
15th sp
1852
1854
8th sp
1856
1857
12th sp
1858
8th sp
1860
8th sp
1861
2nd sp
12th sp
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7th sp
1864
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1867
12th sp
1868
9th sp
20th sp
1870
1872
13th sp
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23rd sp
1876
12th sp
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19th sp
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3rd sp
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2nd sp
8th sp
1894
at-large sp
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15th sp
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25th sp
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23rd sp
1899
9th sp
1900
5th sp
1901
10th sp
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4th sp
1904
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1906
2nd sp
3rd sp
12th sp
1907
2nd sp
1908
1910
1911
2nd sp
14th sp
1912
1st sp
1914
1916
1917
28th sp
1918
1919
22nd sp
1920
3rd sp
1921
at-large sp
1922
1924
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1927
1st sp
1928
8th sp
1929
12th sp
1930
1931
2nd sp
1932
6th sp
18th sp
20th sp
1933
9th sp
1934
1936
1937
18th sp
1938
1939
4th sp
1940
1941
15th sp
1942
11th sp
12th sp
33rd sp
1943
2nd sp
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1944
2nd sp
17th sp
1946
10th sp
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33rd sp
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8th sp
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22nd sp
26th sp
1950
1951
8th sp
14th sp
33rd sp
1952
1954
1956
2nd sp
30th sp
1957
13th sp
1958
4th sp
21st sp
1960
17th sp
18th sp
1961
16th sp
1962
1963
15th sp
23rd sp
1964
5th sp
1966
1968
1970
9th sp
1971
18th sp
1972
27th sp
1974
12th sp
1976
1st sp
1978
1980
11th sp
12th sp
1981
3rd sp
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1991
2nd sp
1992
1994
1996
1998
1st sp
2000
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9th sp
2002
2004
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2010
12th sp
2012
2014
2016
2nd sp
2018
7th sp
15th sp
18th sp
2019
12th sp
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
Governor
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1793
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1930
1934
1938
1942
1946
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Lieutenant Governor
1874
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1882
1886
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1894
1898
1902
1906
1910
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1918
1922
1926
1930
1934
1938
1942
1946
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Attorney General
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Auditor General
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
State Treasurer
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
State Senate
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
State House of Representatives
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Elections by year
State elections
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 :
Philadelphia
Mayoral elections
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1856
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1871
1874
1877
1881
1884
1887
1891
1895
1899
1903
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1927
1931
1935
1939
1943
1947
1951
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
City Council elections
2015
2019
2022–23 sp.
2023
Other municipal elections
1951
1953
1955
1957
1959
1961
2023 :
Pittsburgh
Mayors
1909
1913
1917
1921
1925
1929
1933
1937
1941
1945
1949
1953
1957
1959
1961
1965
1969
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2007
2009
2013
2017
2021 :
Allentown
Mayors
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2019 sp
2021 :
Lancaster
Mayors
2009
2017
2021 :
Harrisburg
Mayors
1969
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021 :
Government :
vte :
The 1960 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania took place on November 8, 1960 as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. Voters chose 32 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Pennsylvania had historically been a powerfully Republican state that owing to the industrialization had become Democratic-leaning following the New Deal: 1960 saw Democrats surpass Republicans in registration for the first time since the Civil War. However, the nomination of the second Catholic presidential candidate in John F. Kennedy complicated this issue because most of rural Pennsylvania was powerfully Protestant and extremely hostile to voting for a Catholic, creating the potential for large anti-Democratic swings and trends in the northeastern non-Yankee Pocono Mountains. The Pennsylvania Dutch Country had been similarly hostile to Catholicism throughout the state’s history, and, owing to the opposition to Irish control of the Democratic Party, most of the state’s urban Catholics would, before the New Deal, back dominant Republican machines in which they had no actual political power.
However, in 1958 Pennsylvania – a state historically very reluctant to elect Catholics to major offices – had elected David L. Lawrence as governor. Nevertheless, his margin was much smaller than polls had previously predicted, with decreases vis-à-vis the 1954 gubernatorial election even in heavily Catholic urban counties. Kennedy had emerged as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination but Pennsylvania Democrats were reluctant to run him for fear of an anti-Catholic reaction in traditionally Democratic rural counties. However, lobbying by Boston Archbishop Richard Cushing meant Governor Lawrence released 64 of the state’s 81 delegates for Kennedy in a bid to stop Adlai Stevenson II from gaining a third nomination.
Pennsylvania narrowly voted for Kennedy over the Republican nominee, Vice President Richard Nixon. Kennedy won Pennsylvania by a slim margin of 2.32%, being aided rather than hindered by his Catholic faith owing to the numerical power of his co-religionists in urban Philadelphia, Lackawanna County, and in the industrial areas around Lake Erie. This clearly outnumbered anti-Catholic sentiment in rural areas, which caused him to lose ground vis-à-vis Adlai Stevenson in 16 rural counties. Kennedy became the first Democrat ever to win the White House without York County and the second to win without Columbia County and Berks County. Kennedy also became the first non-incumbent Democrat since James Buchanan in 1856 to win the state.

## Primaries

Pennsylvania held its primaries on April 26.

### Democratic primary

With 81 delegates to the 1960 Democratic National Convention, Pennsylvania was among the largest states to hold a primary. Pennsylvania's nonbinding Democratic primary did not list candidate's names. However, write-in presidential preference votes were allowed. Delegates were elected directly.
By January 1960, the Kennedy campaign became aware of "non-partisan citizen committees" operating in support of Kennedy's candidacy in the state, without any direct connection to his official campaign. However, the state as a whole was still cold on Kennedy. Its liberals were fervent supporters of Adlai Stevenson II, and therefore hoped to see Stevenson nominated for a third time. Philadelphia's Democratic organization, which had a significant sway upon the state's Democratic establishment, was led by William J. Green Jr., who favored the prospective candidacy of Stuart Symington. As the year progressed, Green and other leaders were persuaded by polls to switch their allegiance to Kennedy. Liberal senator Joseph S. Clark Jr. even made it known that Kennedy ranked at least second (behind Stevenson) in his own preference.
However, despite others moving to embrace Kennedy, Governor David L. Lawrence withheld his own support from Kennedy, even as he picked up momentum in the state. Lawrence still reserved hope that Adlai Stevenson could be successfully nominated at the convention. An older Catholic Democrat, Lawrence was public in his belief that the country was still not ready to elect a Catholic president. Kennedy would tell reporters that inquired with him about Lawrence's frequent comments doubting the viability of a Catholic presidential nominee by stating that he was, "deeply disturbed" by them. Referencing Lawrence's own strong victory in the state's 1958 gubernatorial election, Kennedy commented that, "It still behooves him now to be urging that this same opportunity should be denied to others."
Kennedy handily won the primary.

#### Results

1960 Pennsylvania Democratic Presidential Primary Results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
| | Democratic | John F. Kennedy | 183,073 | 71.3% |
| | Democratic | Adlai Stevenson II | 29,660 | 11.5% |
| | Republican | Richard Nixon | 15,136 | 5.9% |
| | Democratic | Hubert Humphrey | 13,860 | 5.4% |
| | Democratic | Stuart Symington | 6,791 | 2.6% |
| | Democratic | Lyndon B. Johnson | 2,918 | 1.1% |
| | Republican | Nelson Rockefeller | 1,078 | 0.4% |
| | Democratic | Others | 4,297 | 1.7% |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | | 100.00% |

### Republican primary

Nixon was the only candidate on the Republican primary ballot and won nearly all of the vote. However, thousands of write-in votes were cast for other individuals.

### Results

1960 Pennsylvania Republican Presidential Primary Results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
| | Republican | Richard Nixon | 968,538 | 98.1% |
| | Republican | Nelson Rockefeller (write-in) | 12,491 | 1.3% |
| | Democratic | John F. Kennedy (write-in) | 3,886 | 0.4% |
| | Democratic | Adlai Stevenson II (write-in) | 428 | 0.0% |
| | Republican | Barry Goldwater (write-in) | 286 | 0.0% |
| | Republican | Others (write-in) | 1,202 | 0.1% |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | | 100% |

## Results

1960 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes |
| | Democratic | John F. Kennedy | 2,556,282 | 51.06% | 32 |
| | Republican | Richard Nixon | 2,439,956 | 48.74% | 0 |
| | Socialist Labor | Eric Hass | 7,185 | 0.14% | 0 |
| | Militant Workers | Farrell Dobbs | 2,678 | 0.05% | 0 |
| | Write-ins | Write-ins | 440 | 0.01% | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 5,006,541 | 100.00% | 32 |
| Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) | Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) | Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) | Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) | Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) | 70%/88% |

### Results by county

| County | John F. Kennedy Democratic | John F. Kennedy Democratic | Richard Nixon Republican | Richard Nixon Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Margin | Total votes cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes cast |
| Adams | 7,895 | 37.86% | 12,933 | 62.02% | 26 | 0.12% | -5,038 | -24.16% | 20,854 |
| Allegheny | 428,455 | 57.07% | 320,970 | 42.76% | 1,293 | 0.17% | 107,485 | 14.31% | 750,718 |
| Armstrong | 14,799 | 42.59% | 19,883 | 57.23% | 63 | 0.18% | -5,084 | -14.64% | 34,745 |
| Beaver | 47,182 | 56.04% | 36,796 | 43.71% | 212 | 0.25% | 10,386 | 12.33% | 84,190 |
| Bedford | 6,030 | 32.41% | 12,542 | 67.42% | 32 | 0.17% | -6,512 | -35.01% | 18,604 |
| Berks | 50,572 | 44.87% | 61,743 | 54.78% | 391 | 0.35% | -11,171 | -9.91% | 112,706 |
| Blair | 19,445 | 35.48% | 35,297 | 64.40% | 67 | 0.12% | -15,852 | -28.92% | 54,809 |
| Bradford | 6,920 | 29.82% | 16,252 | 70.04% | 33 | 0.14% | -9,332 | -40.22% | 23,205 |
| Bucks | 57,177 | 45.70% | 67,501 | 53.95% | 438 | 0.35% | -10,324 | -8.25% | 125,116 |
| Butler | 17,805 | 38.45% | 28,348 | 61.22% | 152 | 0.33% | -10,543 | -22.77% | 46,305 |
| Cambria | 52,409 | 58.48% | 37,062 | 41.35% | 151 | 0.17% | 15,347 | 17.13% | 89,622 |
| Cameron | 1,353 | 38.80% | 2,129 | 61.06% | 5 | 0.14% | -776 | -22.26% | 3,487 |
| Carbon | 12,391 | 49.50% | 12,586 | 50.28% | 55 | 0.22% | -195 | -0.78% | 25,032 |
| Centre | 8,601 | 31.85% | 18,357 | 67.98% | 46 | 0.17% | -9,756 | -36.13% | 27,004 |
| Chester | 30,167 | 36.18% | 53,059 | 63.64% | 147 | 0.18% | -22,892 | -27.46% | 83,373 |
| Clarion | 5,506 | 34.74% | 10,307 | 65.04% | 34 | 0.21% | -4,801 | -30.30% | 15,847 |
| Clearfield | 14,212 | 42.81% | 18,911 | 56.97% | 72 | 0.22% | -4,699 | -14.16% | 33,195 |
| Clinton | 5,965 | 39.34% | 9,184 | 60.58% | 12 | 0.08% | -3,219 | -21.24% | 15,161 |
| Columbia | 9,322 | 37.82% | 15,310 | 62.11% | 19 | 0.08% | -5,988 | -24.29% | 24,651 |
| Crawford | 12,050 | 38.99% | 18,754 | 60.68% | 102 | 0.33% | -6,704 | -21.69% | 30,906 |
| Cumberland | 15,968 | 30.83% | 35,636 | 68.79% | 197 | 0.38% | -19,668 | -37.96% | 51,801 |
| Dauphin | 33,962 | 35.33% | 61,726 | 64.22% | 427 | 0.44% | -27,764 | -28.89% | 96,115 |
| Delaware | 124,629 | 47.79% | 135,672 | 52.02% | 482 | 0.18% | -11,043 | -4.23% | 260,783 |
| Elk | 8,398 | 53.95% | 7,155 | 45.96% | 14 | 0.09% | 1,243 | 7.99% | 15,567 |
| Erie | 53,723 | 50.90% | 51,525 | 48.82% | 295 | 0.28% | 2,198 | 2.08% | 105,543 |
| Fayette | 41,560 | 60.35% | 27,120 | 39.38% | 181 | 0.26% | 14,440 | 20.97% | 68,861 |
| Forest | 828 | 35.51% | 1,497 | 64.19% | 7 | 0.30% | -669 | -28.68% | 2,332 |
| Franklin | 12,088 | 35.41% | 22,010 | 64.48% | 36 | 0.11% | -9,922 | -29.07% | 34,134 |
| Fulton | 1,672 | 38.18% | 2,698 | 61.61% | 9 | 0.21% | -1,026 | -23.43% | 4,379 |
| Greene | 9,645 | 56.21% | 7,498 | 43.70% | 16 | 0.09% | 2,147 | 12.51% | 17,159 |
| Huntingdon | 4,710 | 29.69% | 11,116 | 70.07% | 38 | 0.24% | -6,406 | -40.38% | 15,864 |
| Indiana | 13,174 | 41.15% | 18,756 | 58.59% | 83 | 0.26% | -5,582 | -17.44% | 32,013 |
| Jefferson | 7,811 | 36.01% | 13,845 | 63.82% | 38 | 0.18% | -6,034 | -27.81% | 21,694 |
| Juniata | 2,615 | 35.19% | 4,805 | 64.66% | 11 | 0.15% | -2,190 | -29.47% | 7,431 |
| Lackawanna | 80,098 | 61.72% | 49,636 | 38.25% | 49 | 0.04% | 30,462 | 23.47% | 129,783 |
| Lancaster | 33,233 | 29.70% | 78,390 | 70.06% | 266 | 0.24% | -45,157 | -40.36% | 111,889 |
| Lawrence | 24,309 | 50.58% | 23,646 | 49.20% | 109 | 0.23% | 663 | 1.38% | 48,064 |
| Lebanon | 11,761 | 31.49% | 25,525 | 68.33% | 67 | 0.18% | -13,764 | -36.84% | 37,353 |
| Lehigh | 39,640 | 42.10% | 54,278 | 57.64% | 249 | 0.26% | -14,638 | -15.54% | 94,167 |
| Luzerne | 102,998 | 59.10% | 70,711 | 40.58% | 562 | 0.32% | 32,287 | 18.52% | 174,271 |
| Lycoming | 18,351 | 37.85% | 30,083 | 62.05% | 48 | 0.10% | -11,732 | -24.20% | 48,482 |
| McKean | 7,767 | 36.07% | 13,699 | 63.62% | 66 | 0.31% | -5,932 | -27.55% | 21,532 |
| Mercer | 24,243 | 45.33% | 29,109 | 54.43% | 128 | 0.24% | -4,866 | -9.10% | 53,480 |
| Mifflin | 4,816 | 31.68% | 10,315 | 67.85% | 72 | 0.47% | -5,499 | -36.17% | 15,203 |
| Monroe | 6,312 | 35.61% | 11,299 | 63.74% | 115 | 0.65% | -4,987 | -28.13% | 17,726 |
| Montgomery | 92,212 | 39.18% | 142,796 | 60.68% | 318 | 0.14% | -50,584 | -21.50% | 235,326 |
| Montour | 2,629 | 38.71% | 4,154 | 61.17% | 8 | 0.12% | -1,525 | -22.46% | 6,791 |
| Northampton | 41,552 | 50.48% | 40,683 | 49.43% | 71 | 0.09% | 869 | 1.05% | 82,306 |
| Northumberland | 22,233 | 44.61% | 27,568 | 55.31% | 40 | 0.08% | -5,335 | -10.70% | 49,841 |
| Perry | 3,413 | 29.50% | 8,134 | 70.30% | 23 | 0.20% | -4,721 | -40.80% | 11,570 |
| Philadelphia | 622,544 | 68.02% | 291,000 | 31.79% | 1,733 | 0.19% | 331,544 | 36.23% | 915,277 |
| Pike | 1,676 | 29.49% | 4,000 | 70.39% | 7 | 0.12% | -2,324 | -40.90% | 5,683 |
| Potter | 2,715 | 34.67% | 5,099 | 65.12% | 16 | 0.20% | -2,384 | -30.45% | 7,830 |
| Schuylkill | 44,430 | 50.10% | 44,187 | 49.82% | 70 | 0.08% | 243 | 0.28% | 88,687 |
| Snyder | 1,998 | 19.75% | 8,103 | 80.09% | 16 | 0.16% | -6,105 | -60.34% | 10,117 |
| Somerset | 14,739 | 41.71% | 20,554 | 58.17% | 42 | 0.12% | -5,815 | -16.46% | 35,335 |
| Sullivan | 1,471 | 44.79% | 1,808 | 55.05% | 5 | 0.15% | -337 | -10.26% | 3,284 |
| Susquehanna | 5,760 | 36.07% | 10,201 | 63.88% | 9 | 0.06% | -4,441 | -27.81% | 15,970 |
| Tioga | 4,076 | 26.86% | 11,082 | 73.04% | 15 | 0.10% | -7,006 | -46.18% | 15,173 |
| Union | 1,993 | 21.04% | 7,466 | 78.82% | 13 | 0.14% | -5,473 | -57.78% | 9,472 |
| Venango | 8,064 | 31.90% | 17,193 | 68.01% | 23 | 0.09% | -9,129 | -36.11% | 25,280 |
| Warren | 6,525 | 35.86% | 11,611 | 63.81% | 59 | 0.32% | -5,086 | -27.95% | 18,195 |
| Washington | 53,729 | 58.28% | 38,348 | 41.59% | 120 | 0.13% | 15,381 | 16.69% | 92,197 |
| Wayne | 4,425 | 32.04% | 9,360 | 67.77% | 26 | 0.19% | -4,935 | -35.73% | 13,811 |
| Westmoreland | 85,641 | 55.31% | 68,825 | 44.45% | 374 | 0.24% | 16,816 | 10.86% | 154,840 |
| Wyoming | 2,726 | 30.56% | 6,188 | 69.36% | 7 | 0.08% | -3,462 | -38.80% | 8,921 |
| York | 39,164 | 41.02% | 55,922 | 58.57% | 393 | 0.41% | -16,758 | -17.55% | 95,479 |
| Totals | 2,556,282 | 51.06% | 2,439,956 | 48.74% | 10,303 | 0.20% | 116,326 | 2.32% | 5,006,541 |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Alleghany
* Beaver
* Cambria
* Elk
* Erie
* Fayette
* Lackawanna
* Lawrence
* Luzerne
* Northampton
* Schuylkill