The 1960 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. West Virginia voters chose eight representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

West Virginia was won by Senator John F. Kennedy (D–Massachusetts), running with Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, with 52.73 percent of the popular vote against incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon (R–California), running with United States Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., with 47.27 percent of the popular vote.

Democratic Primary The 1960 West Virginia Democratic primary election on May 20 was seen as a turning point in the Democratic primaries. John F Kennedy had shown that he could win a primary election against the liberal Senator Hubert Humphrey in the Wisconsin primary. Although Kennedy defeated Humphrey in Wisconsin, his reliance on heavily Catholic areas left many party bosses unconvinced. Kennedy thus faced Humphrey in the heavily Protestant state of West Virginia. Humphrey's campaign was low on money and could not compete with the well-organized, well-financed Kennedy team. Kennedy's siblings combed the state looking for votes, leading Humphrey to complain that he "felt like an independent merchant running against a chain store." On primary day, Kennedy crushed Humphrey with over 60% of the vote, and Humphrey withdrew from the race.

In West Virginia, Kennedy sought to show that he could win the support of Protestant voters and to remove Humphrey from the race, securing the party's liberal wing and setting up a showdown with Johnson for the nomination. Humphrey had high expectations, given that the state's population was rural, working class, ninety-five percent Protestant, and its delegates had backed him against Kennedy in the vice presidential contest four years prior.

Kennedy met the religious issue head-on, hoping to redefine the race as one of "tolerance against intolerance," rather than Catholic against Protestant. He also brought Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. to campaign in the state; Roosevelt then raised the issue of Humphrey's failure to serve in World War II. Though Humphrey had tried and failed to serve due to physical disability, Roosevelt attacked his lack of service record, publicly telling audiences, "I don't know where [Humphrey] was in World War Two," and distributing flyers that accused him of draft dodging. After the primary was over, Roosevelt apologized to Humphrey and retracted the claims, which he later called his greatest political regret.

Kennedy continued to outspend Humphrey heavily in West Virginia; though he publicly claimed expenditures of $100,000, later estimates placed his family's overall spending at $1.5 million, dwarfing Humphrey's $23,000. Humphrey traveled the state in a rented bus, while the Kennedys used a family-owned airplane. Humphrey later wrote of the West Virginia campaign, "as a professional politician I was able to accept and indeed respect the efficacy of the Kennedy campaign. But underneath the beautiful exterior, there was an element of ruthlessness and toughness that I had trouble either accepting or forgetting."

On May 4, 1960, Humphrey and Kennedy took part in a televised one-on-one debate at WCHS-TV in Charleston, West Virginia, ahead of the state's primary.

Kennedy defeated Humphrey soundly in West Virginia, and Humphrey announced his withdrawal from the race that night.

Results

Results by county County John F. KennedyDemocratic Richard NixonRepublican Margin Total votescast # % # % # % Barbour 3,818 48.80% 4,006 51.20% -188 -2.40% 7,824 Berkeley 7,072 45.80% 8,369 54.20% -1,297 -8.40% 15,441 Boone 8,058 66.26% 4,104 33.74% 3,954 32.52% 12,162 Braxton 4,185 58.43% 2,977 41.57% 1,208 16.86% 7,162 Brooke 7,838 57.67% 5,754 42.33% 2,084 15.34% 13,592 Cabell 20,911 43.66% 26,988 56.34% -6,077 -12.68% 47,899 Calhoun 1,975 50.37% 1,946 49.63% 29 0.74% 3,921 Clay 2,859 54.30% 2,406 45.70% 453 8.60% 5,265 Doddridge 1053 30.48% 2,402 69.52% -1,349 -39.04% 3,455 Fayette 18,109 70.61% 7,537 29.39% 10,572 41.22% 25,646 Gilmer 2,075 58.93% 1,446 41.07% 629 17.86% 3,521 Grant 908 21.41% 3,333 78.59% -2,425 -57.18% 4,241 Greenbrier 8,343 55.71% 6,633 44.29% 1,710 11.42% 14,976 Hampshire 2,849 52.86% 2,541 47.14% 308 5.72% 5,390 Hancock 11,176 58.19% 8,031 41.81% 3,145 16.38% 19,207 Hardy 2,465 54.69% 2,042 45.31% 423 9.38% 4,507 Harrison 20,727 53.00% 18,378 47.00% 2,349 6.00% 39,105 Jackson 3,615 39.51% 5,535 60.49% -1,920 -20.98% 9,150 Jefferson 4,352 60.12% 2,887 39.88% 1,465 20.24% 7,239 Kanawha 54,484 48.81% 57,130 51.19% -2,646 -2.38% 111,614 Lewis 3,649 41.44% 5,157 58.56% -1,508 -17.12% 8,806 Lincoln 5,023 52.31% 4,579 47.69% 444 4.62% 9,602 Logan 16,360 67.61% 7,836 32.39% 8,524 35.22% 24,196 Marion 17,903 55.88% 14,138 44.12% 3,765 11.76% 32,041 Marshall 9,197 50.14% 9,147 49.86% 50 0.28% 18,344 Mason 4,522 41.31% 6,424 58.69% -1,902 -17.38% 10,946 McDowell 19,501 74.84% 6,555 25.16% 12,946 49.68% 26,056 Mercer 17,289 59.60% 11,719 40.40% 5,570 19.20% 29,008 Mineral 4,164 39.80% 6,299 60.20% -2,135 -20.40% 10,463 Mingo 11,259 69.66% 4,903 30.34% 6,356 39.32% 16,162 Monongalia 13,103 53.21% 11,523 46.79% 1,580 6.42% 24,626 Monroe 2,910 48.11% 3,139 51.89% -229 -3.78% 6,049 Morgan 1,369 33.22% 2,752 66.78% -1,383 -33.56% 4,121 Nicholas 5,774 57.33% 4,297 42.67% 1,477 14.66% 10,071 Ohio 18,423 51.48% 17,367 48.52% 1,056 2.96% 35,790 Pendleton 2,057 51.59% 1,930 48.41% 127 3.18% 3,987 Pleasants 1,742 46.78% 1,982 53.22% -240 -6.44% 3,724 Pocahontas 2,822 53.34% 2,469 46.66% 353 6.68% 5,291 Preston 4,221 37.93% 6,908 62.07% -2,687 -24.14% 11,129 Putnam 4,968 46.56% 5,702 53.44% -734 -6.88% 10,670 Raleigh 20,448 62.85% 12,088 37.15% 8,360 25.70% 32,536 Randolph 6,989 58.21% 5,018 41.79% 1,971 16.42% 12,007 Ritchie 1,591 28.60% 3,972 71.40% -2,381 -42.80% 5,563 Roane 3,280 42.47% 4,443 57.53% -1,163 -15.06% 7,723 Summers 4,622 59.57% 3,137 40.43% 1,485 19.14% 7,759 Taylor 3,489 46.64% 3,992 53.36% -503 -6.72% 7,481 Tucker 2,090 52.55% 1,887 47.45% 203 5.10% 3,977 Tyler 1,558 30.58% 3,537 69.42% -1,979 -38.84% 5,095 Upshur 2,590 33.58% 5,123 66.42% -2,533 -32.84% 7,713 Wayne 9,140 52.93% 8,128 47.07% 1,012 5.86% 17,268 Webster 3,479 67.32% 1,689 32.68% 1,790 34.64% 5,168 Wetzel 4,338 45.73% 5,149 54.27% -811 -8.54% 9,487 Wirt 1,045 43.69% 1,347 56.31% -302 -12.62% 2,392 Wood 15,396 41.03% 22,131 58.97% -6,735 -17.94% 37,527 Wyoming 8,603 62.86% 5,083 37.14% 3,520 25.72% 13,686Totals441,78652.73%395,99547.27%45,7915.46%837,781

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Calhoun Clay Greenbrier Hampshire Harrison Jefferson Marshall Mercer Monongalia Nicholas Raleigh Pocahontas Ohio Tucker Wayne

References

Works cited