The 1968 presidential campaign of Hubert Humphrey began when Hubert Humphrey, the 38th and incumbent vice president of the United States, decided to seek the Democratic Party nomination for president of the United States on April 27, 1968, after incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson withdrew his bid for reelection to a second full term on March 31, 1968, and endorsed him as his successor. Johnson withdrew after an unexpectedly strong challenge from anti-Vietnam War presidential candidate, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, in the early Democratic primaries. McCarthy, along with Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, became Humphrey's main opponents for the nomination. Their "new politics" contrasted with Humphrey's "old politics" as the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War intensified.

Humphrey entered the race too late to participate in the Democratic primaries. He relied on "favorite son" candidates to win delegates and lobbied for endorsements from powerful bosses to obtain slates of delegates. The other candidates, who strove to win the nomination through popular support, criticized Humphrey's traditional approach. The June 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy left McCarthy as Humphrey's only major opponent. That changed at the 1968 Democratic National Convention when Senator George McGovern of South Dakota entered the race as the successor of Kennedy. Humphrey won the party's nomination at the convention on the first ballot, amid protests in Chicago. He selected little-known Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine as his running mate. Humphrey was the last nominee who did not participate in the primaries until Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

During the general election, Humphrey faced former Vice President Richard Nixon of California, the Republican Party nominee, and Governor of Alabama George Wallace, the American Independent Party nominee. Nixon led in most polls throughout the campaign, and successfully criticized Humphrey's role in the Vietnam War, connecting him to the unpopular president and the general disorder in the nation. Humphrey experienced a surge in the polls in the days prior to the election, largely due to incremental progress in the peace process in Vietnam and a break with the Johnson war policy. On Election Day, Humphrey narrowly fell short of Nixon in the popular vote, but lost, by a large margin, in the Electoral College. Had Humphrey been elected, he would have been the first U.S. president from Minnesota, the first born in South Dakota, and the first incumbent vice president since Martin Van Buren to be elected; this feat would be eventually accomplished 20 years later by George H. W. Bush. Muskie would have been the second vice president from Maine, after Hannibal Hamlin, and the first Catholic vice president; this feat would be eventually accomplished 40 years later by Joe Biden, who would become the first Catholic vice president.

Background

Hubert Humphrey was first elected to public office in 1945 as Mayor of Minneapolis. He served two, two-year terms, and gained a reputation as an anti-Communist and ardent supporter of the Civil Rights Movement.Richardson, p. 76 He gave a rousing speech at the 1948 Democratic National Convention arguing for the adoption of a pro-Civil Rights plank, exclaiming "The time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states' rights and to walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights."Atkins, p. 222 That same year, Minnesota voters elected him to the United States Senate, where he worked closely with Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson. Humphrey's persona and tactics in the Senate led colleagues to nickname him "The Happy Warrior".Richardson, p. 78 Contemporaries attributed his success in politics to his likable personality and ability to connect with voters on a personal level.

Humphrey first entered presidential politics in 1952, running as a favorite son candidate in Minnesota. In 1960, he mounted a full-scale run, winning primaries in South Dakota and Washington D.C.; ultimately losing the Democratic nomination to Massachusetts Senator and future President John F. Kennedy. In 1964, with Lyndon Johnson now as president following the assassination of Kennedy, Johnson tapped Humphrey as his running mate and went on to win in a landslide victory over Republican Barry Goldwater. As vice president, Humphrey oversaw turbulent times in America, including race riots and growing frustration and anger over the large number of casualties in the Vietnam War. President Johnson's popularity plummeted as the election grew closer.

Lyndon B. Johnson campaign

Prior to Humphrey's run, President Lyndon B. Johnson began a campaign for re-election, placing his name in the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary. Late in 1967, building upon anti-war sentiment, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota entered the race with heavy criticism of the President's Vietnam War policies. Even before McCarthy's entrance, Johnson grew concerned about a primary challenge. He confided to Democratic Congressional leaders that an opponent could draw the support of Martin Luther King Jr. and Dr. Benjamin Spock, defeating him in New Hampshire, and forcing his withdrawal from the race; similar to Senator Estes Kefauver's 1952 challenge to President Harry S. Truman, which preceded Truman's decision not to seek re-election.

Johnson assigned Humphrey the task of campaigning for re-election. In this role, the Associated Press described him as the "administration's strongest advocate on Vietnam" policy. That task proved difficult following the Tet Offensive, which despite being a tactical victory, resulted in the deaths of thousands of American and South Vietnamese soldiers.Solberg, p. 319 The offensive included an invasion of the United States Embassy in Saigon, which changed the American public perception of North Vietnamese strength and the projected length of the war. Most Americans favored either an escalation in the number of American troops in Vietnam to overwhelm the enemy or a total withdrawal of American troops to prevent expending additional resources on the "hopeless task".Oberdorfer, p. 20 McCarthy decried Johnson's handling of the war. He regarded "the Administration's reports of progress [as] the products of their own self-deception".Oberdorfer, p. 174 The Johnson campaign tried to negate the war's detractors before the New Hampshire primary. They circulated literature, warning voters "the communists in Vietnam are watching ... don't vote for fuzzy thinking and surrender". Despite opinion polls showing McCarthy's support around 10 to 20 percent in the state, in the primary itself McCarthy received 42.2 percent of the total vote, slightly below Johnson's 49.4 percent. Observers hailed the outcome as a "moral victory" for McCarthy. Senator Robert Kennedy of New York cited it as an inspiration to enter the race himself, despite previously announcing he would not challenge Johnson for the nomination. Humphrey tried to encourage the President to be more involved in the campaign, but he appeared disinterested. He delayed meetings with Indiana Governor Roger Branigin to arrange a favorite son "stand in" for the campaign; and despite Humphrey's insistence, Johnson neglected to hire the campaign's 1964 campaign manager Larry O'Brien. Humphrey did convince Johnson to speak to the influential National Farmers Union in Minneapolis, ahead of the Wisconsin Primary.

In late March, opinion polls suggested McCarthy would likely win the Wisconsin Primary. With defeat looming, Johnson decided to drop out of the race. When he informed Humphrey of his decision, Humphrey urged Johnson to reconsider. Johnson argued it betrayed the best interests of the nation to mix the partisan politics of a presidential election with the ongoing Vietnam crisis. Furthermore, Johnson said that if elected, he probably would not be able to complete the term since the men in his family usually died in their early sixties.Humphrey, p. 267 A week prior to the primary, on March 31, the President publicly announced he would not seek or accept the Democratic Party nomination, thus setting the stage for Humphrey's presidential run.

Announcement

After Johnson's withdrawal, Humphrey was hit with a barrage of media interest and fanfare. His aides Max Kampelman and Bill Connell began to set up an organization and held meetings with Humphrey and his advisors, encouraging him to start a campaign.Solberg, p. 324 Humphrey set up offices for preparation, and unsuccessfully courted Larry O'Brien as campaign manager. O'Brien explained that his loyalties lay with the Kennedy family, leaving Humphrey undecided on whom to hire. Connell added lawyer and former DNC Treasurer Richard Maguire, who established the temporary campaign headquarters at his law firm. Eventually, Humphrey decided to embrace the youth of politics,Solberg, p. 329 adding Senators Fred R. Harris and Walter Mondale, who agreed to lead the Democrats United for Humphrey organization. Harris was put in charge of winning delegates, and Mondale prepared for the convention, helping to keep an organization in place.Solberg, p. 331 Kampelman, Connell and McGuire questioned Humphrey's decision to hire the Senators, explaining that they had no organizational experience. Humphrey worried about his organization in the state of Iowa, but Harris and Mondale assured him that what would be lost in the state would be made up in Maryland.Solberg, p. 332 The campaign believed they could build a coalition of southern and border state Democrats as well as Union and Civil rights leaders to win the nomination. Mondale and Harris also desired to add a few anti-war liberals to the coalition.Van Dyk, p. 67 Meanwhile, Humphrey's office constantly received calls urging him to announce. Congressman Hale Boggs and Senator Russell Long, both of Louisiana, warned Humphrey that if he did not declare his candidacy soon, Kennedy would secure the nomination.Solberg, p. 325 Labor leader George Meany also called for Humphrey to announce immediately, but when Humphrey explained that he did not want to rush into a campaign, Meany called President Johnson to demand that Humphrey announce. Johnson refused, and never explicitly asked Humphrey to run.Humphrey, p. 269 Governors Harold Hughes of Iowa and Philip H. Hoff of Vermont, each advised Humphrey to resign as vice president to separate himself from Johnson, but he declined.Van Dyk, p. 65 Before the official announcement, Humphrey met with Johnson and discussed the future. The President advised Humphrey that his biggest obstacle as a candidate would be money and organization, and that he must focus on the Midwest and Rust Belt states in order to win.

After weeks of speculation, Humphrey finally announced his candidacy on April 27, 1968, in front of a crowd of 1,700 supporters in Washington D.C. chanting "We Want Hubert". He delivered a twenty-minute speech, broadcast throughout the nation on television and radio that had been in preparation for four days after Johnson's withdrawal. Labor Secretary W. Willard Wirtz, White House staffers Harry McPherson and Charles Murphy, and journalists Norman Cousins and Bill Moyers all contributed to the speech. In the speech, Humphrey proclaimed that the election would be about "common sense, and a time for maturity, strength and responsibility". He set his goals at not simply winning the nomination but winning in a way that would "unite [the] party" so he could then "unite and govern [the] nation". He argued that his campaign was "the way politics ought to be ... the politics of happiness, the politics of purpose, the politics of joy." His entrance occurred too late in the process to qualify for ballot access in the primaries.

Campaign developments