The 1964 presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater began when United States Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona elected to seek the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States to challenge incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson. Early on, before officially announcing his candidacy for the presidency, Goldwater was accused by Governor of New York Nelson Rockefeller of attempting to galvanize Southern and Western Republican support while neglecting the industrial northern states, eventually becoming one of Goldwater's primary opponents in the race for the Republican Party's nomination in 1964.
Amid growing popularity in the southern states in the early 1960s, Goldwater had been anticipating and looking forward to an "issue-oriented" campaign against Democrat John F. Kennedy, a personal friend of his. Goldwater, who was an aviator by hobby, wished to fly about the country in an attempt to revive whistle stop train tour-style debates. Kennedy's assassination in November 1963 dashed Goldwater's hopes of an election contest between himself and his friend and political rival. Nevertheless, Goldwater officially announced his candidacy for the presidency in January 1964 from the patio of his Arizona home. Following a battle with moderate and liberal Republicans in the Republican primary, such as Nelson Rockefeller and with moderate conservatives such as William Scranton among others, Goldwater won the party's nomination for president.
From the beginning of his campaign, Goldwater fought an uphill battle to unseat an incumbent president under favorable economic circumstances. Goldwater consistently refused to moderate his views, which alienated a significant portion of the more moderate wing of the Republican Party from his campaign. With the assistance of the media, who in large part also had an unfavorable opinion of Goldwater, President Johnson used this fissure in the party to portray him as an extremist. In the general election, Goldwater lost in a landslide to Lyndon Johnson, carrying only six states to Johnson's 44 and 38% of the popular vote to Johnson's 61%. The election marked a turning point in history, as the Republican candidate carried the Deep South, which was previously considered to be Democratic territory. However, Goldwater also lost many states previously considered solid Republican territory such as Vermont and Maine, that would later trend towards the Democratic Party. Had Goldwater been elected, he would have been the first president born west of the Rocky Mountains, the feat would be eventually accomplished four years later by Richard Nixon; the first from Arizona, and the second incumbent Senator to assume presidency after Kennedy. Miller would have become the eleventh vice president from New York; this feat would be eventually accomplished ten years later by Rockefeller.
Background
Barry Goldwater's executive experience stretched back to 1929, when he took over his family's department store chain "Goldwater's" after finishing one year at the University of Arizona. By 1937, he became president of the chain and was chairman of the board by 1953. Goldwater began active duty in the United States Army Air Forces just prior to the American entrance into World War II, and was deployed to India. In 1945, he was discharged from active duty as a lieutenant colonel in piloting and went on to organize the Arizona National Guard. By 1959, he had attained the rank of brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve Command, and was a major general by 1962.
Goldwater began his political career in 1949 when he was elected to the city council of Phoenix with a focus on eliminating rampant gambling and prostitution. Three years later, he ran for the U.S. Senate as a member of the Republican Party and unseated incumbent Democrat Ernest McFarland, who had served in the body since 1941. After winning re-election in 1958 against McFarland, who was heavily funded by labor unions, critics hailed Goldwater as the conservative successor of Robert A. Taft. His political stock rose significantly two years later when he ran his first campaign for president and published the widely circulated book The Conscience of a Conservative.White, p. 12 In the book, Goldwater criticized the effectiveness of the "radical, or Liberal, approach" to politics and discussed many contemporary issues that divided the nation at the time including civil rights and the welfare state. After publication, it rose to the top of many national bestseller lists.
On the right wing of the Republican party, some of Goldwater's political positions included anti-communism, an emphasis on total victory in war and opposition to high taxes and government spending. He often criticized the politics of some of his more moderate contemporaries, including President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He criticized some aspects of Eisenhower's economic policy, citing his failure to balance the federal budget. After being written off as too right-wing to successfully wage a presidential campaign, Goldwater actively supported Richard Nixon's campaign against John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election.
Early stages
Suite 3505 Committee
In 1961, a group of twenty-two conservatives including Congressman John M. Ashbrook of Ohio, lawyer William A. Rusher and scholar F. Clifton White met privately in Chicago to discuss the formation of a grassroots organization to secure the nomination of a conservative at the 1964 Republican National Convention. They budgeted $65,000 for the first year of activities and split the U.S. into nine geographic regions, appointing a director for each to build an organization and influence the local Republican Party. The main headquarters for the organization were established at Suite 3505 of the Chanin Building in New York City, leading members to refer to themselves as the "Suite 3505 Committee". They decided to wait until after the 1962 mid-term elections to choose a favored candidate. Following the election, they formally backed Goldwater, who upon hearing the news after a leak in January 1963, notified the group that he did not wish to begin a campaign. As a result, three months later, they established the "Draft Goldwater Committee" headed by Texas Republican Party Chairman Peter O'Donnell of Dallas. The committee helped to win over state delegations by filling caucuses with supporters in the American West and negotiating with party leaders in the Midwest. The group also laid the foundation for the Southern strategy by essentially creating the Republican parties of the Deep South and overthrowing the Democratic patronage system. John Grenier, the former Alabama Republican Party chairman and the committee's southern regional coordinator, was responsible for the Republican organization in the South.Busch, pp. 57–60
Groundwork Throughout 1963, the media speculated about a potential presidential run by Goldwater. Grassroots efforts heightened as well, climaxing with a July 4 rally in Washington D.C. attended by 8,000 supporters. Shortly thereafter, Goldwater hinted at a possible presidential candidacy and explained to the "Draft Goldwater Committee" that he planned to use his own staff if he decided to run. In late October, he speculated that he could open his candidacy in January 1964 and campaign extensively in New Hampshire ahead of the state's first-in-the-nation primary. To lay the groundwork, he named former Eisenhower aide Edward A. McCabe as Research Director to lead a team of economists and political scientists to formulate policy positions and speeches. McCabe worked under longtime Goldwater adviser Denison Kitchel, who officially worked as the campaign manager of Goldwater's Senate re-election, and would eventually be named as the campaign manager of the presidential run. Around this time, an AP poll showed that 85.1 percent of Republicans believed Goldwater was the "strongest candidate" for the party, cementing his place as front-runner. Meanwhile, a Gallup poll showed that former Vice President Richard Nixon, who had not shown an interest in the Republican nomination after losing the 1960 presidential election and the 1962 gubernatorial race in California, led Goldwater, 52 percent to 48 percent among Republicans in a two-way race. With all potential candidates included, Goldwater led with 37 percent support.
While he enjoyed enthusiastic support from the conservative movement, Goldwater was opposed by liberals and moderates in the party, particularly New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who was also speculated to run for president. He cast Goldwater as an opponent of civil rights and an isolationist who wanted to withdraw from the United Nations. He vowed to stop Goldwater from running, "at all costs". There were concerns that Goldwater and the more moderate Rockefeller could divide the Republican party, harming its chances of winning the general election. Goldwater was the perceived leader of a grassroots movement in the American southern, southwestern, and western states staged by the more conservative wing of the party. Rockefeller, on the other hand, disagreed with most of the fiscal and social positions held by Goldwater, advocating a more progressive, mainstream approach to government for the Republican platform. News of Rockefeller's marriage in May 1963, eighteen months after he divorced his first wife, to a woman with whom he had had a relationship for over five years spread quickly throughout the nation. Initially, Rockefeller's divorce received little media fanfare; however, news of his remarriage prompted a considerably negative reaction among many. Rockefeller, who had been leading in the polls over other Republican candidates by a comfortable margin just weeks previously, saw a significant decrease in support for his candidacy. In July 1963, he made an attempt to regain lost support by taking aim at what he viewed as "extremist groups", targeting Goldwater specifically. Goldwater responded by accusing Rockefeller of blurring the line separating the Republican and Democratic parties. In attacking Goldwater's politics and advocating his own, more progressive agenda, Rockefeller said to voters "Americans will not and should not respond to a political creed that cherishes the past solely because it offers an excuse for shutting out the hard facts and difficult tasks of the present."
Changing dynamics The dynamic of the race changed in November 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated and succeeded by Vice President Lyndon Johnson. Goldwater began to receive hate mail for creating a "climate of hate", and reconsidered his run for the presidency. He privately remarked that he was relieved he had not committed to forming a campaign since a major loss to Johnson could have damaged the Conservative movement. As a southerner, Johnson would appeal to the rural Protestant bloc that Goldwater hoped to gain against the northern Roman Catholic Kennedy. Word that Goldwater could possibly decide against running caused grassroots supporters to fill his mailboxes with supportive letters. A reluctance on Goldwater's part could have greatly demoralized the movement and caused proponents to grow bitter. After the conclusion of the official mourning period for President Kennedy, Goldwater went on the attack against the new president, accusing Johnson of playing "politics with Christmas" by twisting the arms of Congressmen to pass a foreign aid bill on Christmas Eve. Goldwater still led among the other potential Republican candidates, but his support had dropped to 25 percent. The goal for Goldwater and the implication of who would receive the nomination for the Republican party, which faced a slim chance of victory in 1964 following Kennedy's assassination, was a possible shift in the control of the party itself from the "liberal Eastern wing." Of this, Goldwater told his aides "First let's take over the party. Then we'll go from there."