1960 United States presidential election

The **1960 United States presidential election** happened on November 8, 1960. This election was between Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon, of which Kennedy slimly won.

Incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower was not allowed to run again due to serving two terms.

This was the first presidential election in American history in which both candidates debated against each other on television. On television, Kennedy appeared rested and calm while Nixon appeared sick and unconfident. More television viewers thought that Kennedy won the debate, while more radio listeners thought that Nixon won the debate.

This election was the last to not count District of Columbia as an electoral vote until the 1964 election.

Senator John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for president on January 2, 1960. Vice President Richard Nixon announced his candidacy on January 9, 1960.

This was the last election where Ohio voted for the losing candidate until 2020.

### Democratic Party

|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#34AAE0; width:200px;"|John F. Kennedy|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#34AAE0; width:200px;"|Lyndon B. Johnson|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan="29" style="background:#f1f1f1;"|<big>**1960 Democratic Party Ticket**</big>|||
|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|***for President***|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|***for Vice President***|
|U.S. Senator from Massachusetts <small>(1953–1960)</small>|U.S. Senator from Texas <small>(1949–1961)</small>|||
|colspan=2|**Campaign**|||
|colspan=2||||
Democratic candidates
- John F. Kennedy, U.S. senator from Massachusetts.
- Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. Senate Majority Leader from Texas.
- Stuart Symington, U.S. senator from Missouri.
- Adlai Stevenson, former governor of Illinois.
- Hubert Humphrey, U.S. senator from Minnesota.
- Wayne Morse, U.S. senator from Oregon.
- Pat Brown, former governor of California.

### Republican Party

|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#CE2029; width:200px;"|Richard Nixon|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#CE2029; width:200px;"|Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan="30" style="background:#f1f1f1;"|<big>**196**</big><big>**0 Republican Party Ticket**</big>|||
|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#FFD0D7; width:200px;"|***for President***|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#FFD0D7; width:200px;"|***for Vice President***|
|36th Vice President of the United States <small>(1953–1961)</small>|3rd U.S. Ambassador to the UN <small>(1953–1960)</small>|||
|colspan=2|**Campaign**|||
|colspan=2||||
Republican candidates
- Richard Nixon, U.S. vice president from California.
- Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York.
- Barry Goldwater, U.S. senator from Arizona.

## Infobox (election)

- **election name**: 1960 United States presidential election
- **country**: United States
- **flag year**: 1960
- **type**: presidential
- **previous election**: 1956 United States presidential election
- **previous year**: 1956
- **election date**: November 8, 1960
- **next election**: 1964 United States presidential election
- **next year**: 1964
- **votes for election**: All 537 electoral votes of the Electoral College (United States), Electoral College
- **needed votes**: 269 electoral
- **turnout**: 62.8%  2.2 percentage point, pp
- **image size**: x200px
- **image1**: Jfk2 (3x4).jpg
- **nominee1**: **John F. Kennedy**
- **party1**: Democratic Party (United States)
- **home state1**: Massachusetts
- **running mate1**: **Lyndon B. Johnson**
- **electoral vote1**: **303**
- **states carried1**: 22
- **popular vote1**: **34,220,984**
- **percentage1**: ****
- **image2**: Richard Nixon official portrait as Vice President (cropped).tiff
- **nominee2**: Richard Nixon
- **party2**: Republican Party (United States)
- **home state2**: California
- **running mate2**: Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
- **electoral vote2**: 219
- **states carried2**: **26**
- **popular vote2**: 34,108,157
- **map size**: 350px
- **map caption**: Presidential election results map. <span style="color:blue;">Blue</span> denotes states won by Kennedy/Johnson, <span style="color:red;">red</span> denotes those won by Nixon/Lodge, <span style="color:#FFAB54;">orange</span> denotes the electoral votes for Harry F. Byrd, Byrd/Strom Thurmond, Thurmond by Alabama and Mississippi unpledged electors, and a vote for Byrd/Barry Goldwater, Goldwater by an Oklahoma faithless elector. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
- **title**: President
- **before election**: Dwight D. Eisenhower
- **before party**: Republican Party (United States)
- **after election**: John F. Kennedy
- **after party**: Democratic Party (United States)