page_title: 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries
section_title: Contest for the Democratic nomination
hierarchical_section_title: 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries / Contest for the Democratic nomination
caption_attribution_description: English: RFKC4:3. 25 March 1968. Senator Robert F. Kennedy addresses a crowd at San Fernando Valley State College during 1968 presidential primary campaign. Please Credit: "Sven Walnum, The Sven Walnum Photograph Collection/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA
context_page_description: The 1968 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of several states elected delegates to the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey was selected as the nominee in the 1968 Democratic National Convention held from August 26 to August 29, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois.
context_section_description: After Johnson's withdrawal, Vice President Hubert Humphrey announced his candidacy on April 27. Kennedy was successful in four state primaries (Indiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and California) and McCarthy won six (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, and Illinois); however, in primaries where they campaigned directly against one another, Kennedy won three primaries (Indiana, Nebraska, and California) and McCarthy won one (Oregon). Humphrey did not compete in the primaries, leaving favorite sons to collect favorable surrogates, notably United States Senator George A. Smathers from Florida, United States Senator Stephen M. Young from Ohio, and Governor Roger D. Branigin of Indiana.
  Humphrey's campaign concentrated on winning the delegates in non-primary states, where party leaders controlled the delegate votes. Kennedy defeated Branigin and McCarthy in the Indiana primary, and then defeated McCarthy in the Nebraska primary. However, McCarthy upset Kennedy in the Oregon primary.
  After Kennedy's defeat in Oregon, the California primary was seen as crucial to both Kennedy and McCarthy. McCarthy stumped the state's many colleges and universities, where he was treated as a hero for being the first presidential candidate to oppose the war. Kennedy campaigned in the ghettos and barrios of the state's larger cities, where he was allegedly mobbed by enthusiastic supporters. Kennedy and McCarthy engaged in a television debate a few days before the election; it was generally considered a draw.  On June 4, Kennedy defeated McCarthy in California, 46% to 42%, and also won the South Dakota primary held the same day.  McCarthy, who defeated Kennedy in New Jersey that very same night, refused to withdraw from the presidential race and made it clear that he would contest Kennedy in the upcoming New York primary, where McCarthy had much support from antiwar activists in New York City.
  After giving his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, Kennedy was assassinated  in the kitchen service pantry in the early morning of June 5. A Palestinian immigrant with Jordanian citizenship named Sirhan Sirhan was arrested. Kennedy died 26 hours later at Good Samaritan Hospital. 
  At the moment of Kennedy's death, the delegate totals were:
  Hubert Humphrey 561
  Robert F. Kennedy 393
  Eugene McCarthy 258
caption: Kennedy campaigning in Los Angeles (photo courtesy of John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, Boston)
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