Kennedy Lives

[True Democrat]

1964:

After Vice-President Johnson was killed in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas in an event Kennedy was supposed to attend (he had a "meeting" with Marylin Monroe or something of the sort) Kennedy's approvals had been riding high.  He had actually reached an approval of 73% in one poll after the Johnson death.  Kennedy decided against picking a VP to replace Johnson until the election campaign the next year.  Kennedy's term so far had largely been marked by his civil rights achievements and his leadership in the Cuban Missle Crisis, but scarred by the Bay of Pigs Invasion, which the Republicans had relentlessly been calling him on for being too weak on the USSR.

For the Republican nomination, the frontrunner going into New Hampshire is Henry Cabot Lodge, the 1960 VP candidate.  He is seen as a NE moderate who can attract moderates while keeping the economically conservative base.  It didn't matter though, at this point Kennedy was unbeatable.  However, by February, Kennedy's numbers were down to about a 55% approval rating.  The Republican leadership was ready to step in.  A leak put inside the Lodge campaign by top Republican officials (though it was never proven) revealed that Lodge had been using illegal fundraising (or so it was alleged).  He decided not to drop out of the race because he though he had enough momentum going into the New Hampshire primary to win it.  As Lodge's numbers started to fall, those of Goldwater began to rise.  By election day in New Hampshire, Lodge and Goldwater were polling even at about 25% each, with 25% undecided and 25% voting for a number of second-tier candidates.

However, to the shock of everyone, Lodge loses big on the election day of March 10th.  It appears that poll was taken too early, before his scandal had really reached too many ears.  It appears that Nelson Rockefeller, a liberal Republican from New York, would benefit most from this implosion of Lodge's campaign.  However, Goldwater is the big winner on election day.

The results are as follows:

New Hampshire Results

Goldwater: 29%
Lodge: 24%
Rockefeller: 23%
Byrnes: 8%
Rhodes: 7%
Nixon (Write-in): 3%
Others: 6%

Kennedy and his advisors are pleased at this result.  They see the Republican divided and likely to nominate Goldwater. 

The next primary is Wisconsin on April 7th.  Although home-stater John William Byrnes is expected to win easily, the real determination of who is lead of Goldwater, Lodge, and Rockefeller is who comes in second.  About a week before election day, Lodge plans a last-ditch effort of trying to boost his poll numbers by going on the attack.  He accuses Rockefeller as being "the product of aristocracy" and Goldwater as "the rascist from Arizona" (which is completely untrue by the way).  The voters do not take these attacks well, and it backfires on Lodge.  On election day this shows:

Wisconsin Results

Byrnes: 58%
Goldwater: 14%
Rockefeller: 12%
Lodge: 7%
Rhodes: 2%
Others: 7%

Although the Goldwater campaign finishes ahead of Rockefeller, Rockefeller continues to fight.  Both Lodge and Rhodes refuse to end their campaigns.  The Kennedy campaign continues to plan for  Goldwater being the nominee.

The first big state primary is upon the nation before they know it.  The state is Illinois.  Rockefeller looks here for a big win because of the large liberal metropolitcan area.  Lodge's campaign continues to make character attacks on both Goldwater and Rockefeller, and the public continues to hate him more and more.  Byrnes and Rhodes try to make gains in Illinois as they are from nearby Midwestern states.  On election day, April 14th, Goldwaters continues to lead Rockefeller.

Illinois Results

Goldwater: 42%
Rockefeller: 34%
Lodge: 8%
Byrnes: 5%
Rhodes: 5%
Others: 6%

Soon after it is apparent Lodge's campaign is completely imploded, he makes one final promise that he will drop out if he does not win the next primary, which is New Jersey.  Brynes drops out and endorses no candidate, as do many of the other smaller candidates.  Rhodes promises to stay in till at least his home state  of Ohio.  Rockefeller continues to be disappointed by these results, but he vows to stay in.  This again plays right into the hands of the Kennedy campaign.

One week later, New Jersey Republican vote in the primary.  As this is neighboring Rockefeller's home state, he hopes to win this state.  Lodge, who stops his attacks, does slightly better but comes no where close to winning.  The other candidates also do horribly.  In the end, Rockefeller campaigns hard and just barely beats Goldwater.

New Jersey Results

Rockefeller: 43%
Goldwater: 41%
Lodge: 11%
Rhodes: 2%
Others: 3%

Lodge drops out as promised, but his endorsement is highly sought.  The next week is the Massachusetts primary, Lodge's home state.  Lodge, who is extremely upset with both Rockefeller and Goldwater.  He decides to try to make the race more contested and endorses Rhodes.  This gives him the hope of winning as a compromise candidate at the convention.  Along with Massachusetts, Pennsylvania has its primary on April 28th.

In Massachusetts, Rockefeller pulls an upset and wins easily, though Rhodes does better than expected.

Massachusetts Results

Rockefeller: 48%
Goldwater: 30%
Rhodes: 17%
Lodge (write-in): 3%
Others: 1%

In Pennsylvania, Rockefeller's victory in Massachusetts is completely offset by Goldwater's huge win in Pennsylvania.  A last minutes write-in campaign for Scranton takes place but to no avail.

Pennsylvania Results

Goldwater: 54%
Rockefeller: 33%
Scranton (write-in): 7%
Rhodes: 4%
Others: 2%

The entire nation sees Goldwater as the clear frontrunner so far in this election.  Kennedy and his advisors gear up for a fight with Goldwater. . .

Meanwhile, here's a map of the results so far (I couldn't do New Hampshire >20%):

Red: Goldwater
Blue: Rockefeller
Green: Byrnes



More to come in the 1964 primaries later.

[Max Power]

Looks good!

[George W. Bush]

i like it

[True Democrat]

After his huge win in Pennsylvania, Goldwater goes into the next primary looking hopeful.  Rockefeller, however, is not out yet.  The next primary is Texas.  Goldwater does not want these primaries to continue any longer.  He knows that with a large win in Texas he can effetively win the nomination.  To ensure he gets a big win, his campaign sneaks in Democratic voters into the voting booth.  Goldwater knows that these disaffected Democrats will vote for him as he has been billed the "racist" candidate by Lodge earlier in the campaign.  This attack has paid off for Goldwater in more than one way.  On May 2nd, the voters go to the polls, and as Goldwater planned, he is the big winner.

Texas Results

Goldwater: 71%
Rockefeller: 24%
Rhodes: 4%
Others: 1%

After is apparent that he has completely bombed in Texas, Rockefeller thinks about dropping out.  Rhodes will not drop out as the next round of primaries includes his home state of Ohio.  However, it is leaked to the press of Goldwater's antics in getting Demorats to vote for him.  Goldwater never officially broke the law, as his campaign didn't directly tell the Democrats to vote.  Rockefeller goes on the attack.  Goldwater tries to spin this as he has bipartisan support and that he cannot unite the Republicans and Democrats.  The public does not take this scandal lightly, and Goldwater drops in the polls.  However, he his now running only slightly under Rockefeller.  Three days later the Indiana and Ohio primaries take place.  Goldwater, assuming that Rhodes will win the state he is Governor of.  Rockefeller chooses to concentrate on both states.  The results in is Indiana.

Indiana Results

Goldwater: 39%
Rockefeller: 38%
Rhodes: 23%

Rhodes also benefits greatly from Goldwater's downfall, plus the fact that he's from a neighboring state.

In Ohio the results are very different.

Ohio Results

Rockefeller: 36.2%
Rhodes: 35.9%
Goldwater: 27.9%

In a complete upset, Rockefeller wins Rhodes' home state of Ohio.  This is a huge victory for Rockefeller.  Rhodes promptly drops out and makes a surprise endorsement of Rockefeller because his own state's people picked him.

After only two sets of primaries, the race has completely changed.  Rockefeller is now seen as the leader.  The next set of primaries is held on May 12th.  The two states are a traditional Republican state, Nebraska, and a very Democratic state, West Virginia.  It is predicted that Rockefeller will easily win West Virginia as he is much more pro-labor than Goldwater.  Both campaigns head to Nebraska for campaigning.  Goldwater goes on a tour of many suburbs and backcountry towns, hoping to pick up on their economic conservatism.  Rockefeller tours the larger towns.  Pundits predict that this race wil completely come down to turnout.

West Virginia comes in, and Rockefeller wins as expected though it is close than predicted.

West Virginia Results

Rockefeller: 58%
Goldwater: 42%

In Nebraska, heavy rains hit Western Nebraska, which is Goldwater's stronghold.  It appears many people stay home and do not vote because of this.  Rockefeller ends up winning, but just barely.


Nebraska Results

Rockefeller: 52%
Goldwater: 48%

The Goldwater campaign is doomed.  The next two primaries, Oregon and Maryland, are huge wins for Rockefeller.

Oregon Results: May 15th

Rockefeller: 60%
Goldwater: 40%

Maryland Results: May 19th

Rockefeller: 74%
Goldwater: 26%

Goldwater sees the May 26th Florida primary as his last chance to beat Rockefeller.  Goldwater does not try to get Democrats to vote, as he did in Texas.  Instead, he campaigns among recently turned Republicans in Northern Florida, but to no avail.  Rockefeller goes on to win Florida easily.  Goldwater does not officially drop out, but instead just stops campaigning.

Florida Results

Rockefeller: 54%
Goldwater: 46%

The final two primaries of California and South Dakota on June 2nd are won easily by Rockefeller.

South Dakota Results

Rockefeller: 78%
Goldwater: 22%

California Results

Rockefeller: 81%
Goldwater: 19%

A final map of the primaries if shown here:

Blue: Rockefeller
Red: Goldwater
Green: Byrnes



At the convention, both Lodge and Goldwater try to gain some votes by non-primary states, but Rockefeller's momentum is unstoppable.  Rockefeller picks up most of the non-primary delegations and easily wins the nomination.  Even states Goldwater won in the primaries switch to Rockefeller.

Map of state delegations:

Blue: Rockefeller
Red: Goldwater
Green: Others (Wisconsin/Byrnes, Massachusetts/Lodge, Ohio/Rhodes, Michigan/Romney)

[True Democrat]

At the convention, it is common thought that Rockefeller will nominate Goldwater.  Even with his scandal in Texas, he is still the only candidate who can convince the conservative base to vote for Goldwater.  Even Kennedy is expecting a Goldwater VP nomination.  Kennedy has already decided on George Wallace as his new VP in order to hold the South.  However, to the shock of the entire nation, Goldwater nominates William W. Scranton, the Governor of Pennsylvania.  He is seen as another moderate inside the party who can take votes away from Kennedy in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast.

Kennedy, in an attempt to take momentum away from the Republicans, announes his own VP choice right after the Republican convention.  He does not choose Wallace, as he believes he has the South locked up with moderate, pro-civil rights Republicans at the top an bottom of the ticket.  Kennedy's advisors plead with him to choose Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey, a pro-civil rights Democrat from Minnesota.  However, Kennedy chooses not to take his advisors' advice.  Instead, Kennedy picks former Iowa Governor Herschel C. Loveless.  He is seen as a conservative Democrat, who still supports civil rights.  He is relatively unknown, but Kennedy hopes he will help in the upper Midwest.  Orval Faubus also decides to run again on the States' Rights ticket.

As soon as Kennedy announces Loveless as his choice, a poll is taken.  The date is September 4, 1964.

Kennedy Approval:

Approve: 49%
Disapprove: 42%
Undecided: 9%

Kennedy/Loveless: 46%
Rockefeller/Scranton: 40%
Faubus/Crommelin: 3%
Undecided/Other: 11%

Fabubus' strength in the South scares the Kennedy campaign.  It appears they have overestimated Kennedy's strength in the South.  For the first time in many years, African-Americans also are taken into account in the polls. 

Rockefeller continues to run ads attacking Kennedy on the Bay of Pigs Invasion.  The country is extremely angry at Kennedy for this.    Rockefeller praises Kenendy for his handling of the Cuban Missle Crisis, but adds that it would not have happened at all if Kennedy hadn't screwed up on the Bay of Pigs.

Kennedy stops running ads on his civil rights record to try to save his numbers in the South.  Instead, he focuses on his tax cuts and other conservative policies he has passed.

In the middle of September, Brezhnev calls for a meeting with Kennedy with the possibility to tear down the Berlin Wall.  Kennedy sees this as a chance to raise how approval number, which is at 45. 

The much anticipated summit is held in Yalta, to signify the great WWII decisions that were made there.  Kennedy tries to be harder on the USSR, which is a major source of his disapproval.  At the summit, Kennedy demands that the Soviets also stop giving aid to Cuba and agree to ask the North Koreans to end their communist regime.  However, Brezhnev sees this as too hostile and walks out on the meeting. Aid to North Korea and Cuba only increase.  The Berlin Wall does not come down.  Back home, Kennedy's numbers plummett.  The peope are very unhappy.  They saw an oppurtunity for Kennedy to make peace, and he failed miserably.

Kennedy's continues to fall behind.  A final poll before election day shows the following:

Kennedy Approval:

Approve: 39%
Disapprove: 54%

Kennedy/Loveless: 40%
Rockefeller/Scranton: 48%
Faubus/Crommelin: 5%
Undecided/Other: 7%

Kennedy knows this is the end.  Election day has few surprises.



Rockefeller/Scranton: 54%, 427 electoral votes
Kennedy/Loveless: 43%, 111 electoral votes
Faubus/Crommelin: 3%, 0 electoral votes

Kennedy'y pick of Loveless wields no results.  It only makes Iowa marginally closer (53-47).  In the South, the states are split due to Faubus' votes.  Faubus does worse than expected.  Faubus' best state is his home state of Arkansas (24%), followed by Mississippi (23%).  Both of these states are close win for Rockefeller.  Kennedy holds onto most of the South, and even gets a majority in Georgia.  Kennedy's best three states are Massachusetts (57%), Georgia (55%), and Rhode Island (52%).  DC also votes for the first time, and Kennedy easily wins it because of his strong position on civil rights.  He gets 67% in DC.  Rockefeller's best three states are Nebraska (66%), Kansas (65%), and Vermont (62%).

[True Democrat]

1968:

After four years of legislative achievements including passing more civil rights legislation, aid to farmers and miners, and a start to opening more trade and a start to deregulation of the telephone and airline industries.

In 1966, for the first time in a long time, the President's party made gains in Congressional midterms.  The Republicans after the 1966 election had a 53-47 minority in the Senate and a 239-196 minority in the House.  Rockefeller has been able to effectively work with many moderate Democrats in Congress.  His biggest fights have actually been with conservative Republicans.  On the issue of Vietnam, Rockefeller has sent only advisors for the South Vietnamese, who are losing badly.  He has also tried to bring up the issue in the UN.

As the year 1968 starts, here is Rockefeller's approval:

Approve: 67.74%
Disapprove: 24.11%

Republicans (25% of poll):
Approve: 75%
Disapprove: 20%

Independents (33% of poll):
Approve: 81%
Disapprove: 7%

Democrats (42% of poll):
Approve: 53%
Disapprove: 40%

In the Republican primary, Rockefeller has a serious competitor in the form of California Governor Ronald Reagan, a former movie star.  Reagan, a noted conservative, has consistently been critical of the Rockefeller administration.  Reagan knows he knows he needs to get at least 35% in the New Hampshire primary to get the national attention he needs to run a campaign.

For the Democrats, there are three main candidates: Robert Kennedy, George Wallace, and Eugene McCarthy.  Kennedy and McCarthy are both liberal Democrats who feel Rockefeller has been too far to the right on the economy.  Wallace is running to stop any more pro-civil rights legislation from being passed.  He is also a big supporter of the labor movement.

On March 12th, primary day occurs for both parties.  For the Republicans, no big surprises occur.

New Hampshire Republican Primary Results

Rockefeller: 68%
Reagan: 29%
Others: 3%

Reagan is disappointed, but vows to fight till at least the third primary of Pennsylvania.


New Hampshire Democratic Primary Results

Wallace: 37%
McCarthy: 22%
Kennedy: 22%
McGovern: 15%
Others: 4%

The first surprise in the Democratic primary is the success of little-known Senator George McGovern of South Dakota.  He, McCarthy, and Kennedy all split the liberal vote, which gives way to the bigger surprise of the night, which is that George Wallace won the New Hampshire primary.

Rockefeller has already wrapped up the Republican primary with his big win in New Hampshire, however the Democrats go into the next primary very divided with Wallace having a small lead.

[George W. Hobbes]

Go Ronnie!

[True Democrat]

The next primary state is the state of Wisconsin.  Rockefeller polls extremely high here, so Ronald Reagan is out of luck.  For the Democrats, Wisconsin presents an oppurtunity to sees who is really leading nationally.  Wallace has a lot of momentum because of his win in New Hampshire.  However, Kennedy has been using his family's profile to gain votes.  McCarthy is from a neighboring state, so that may help him.  McGovern's social liberalism plays well for college students in Milwaukee.  On election day, it appears that McGovern and McCarthy pick up the most votes through their campaigning.  Wallace is left in a close third, while Kennedy is left in fourth.  It appears another Kennedy is not wanted  by the country.  For the Republicans, Rockefeller does better than expected against Ronald Reagan.

Wisconsin Republican Primary Results

Rockefeller: 84%
Reagan: 16%

Wisconsin Democratic Primary Results

McCarthy: 32%
McGovern: 30%
Wallace: 27%
Kennedy: 9%
Others: 2%

Reagan again refuses to drop out.  He keeps Rockefeller on his centrist economic views, but the Republican party does not want to hear it.  For the Democrats, Kennedy drops out but refuses to make an endorsement just yet.  McCarthy and McGovern have the momentum going into Pennsylvania, but Pennsylvania is a big labor state, which could play well for Wallace.

Wallace doesn't even stay in Wisconsin for McCarthy's win speech, but insteads goes to campaign in Pennsylvania.  He knows he'll need Pennsylvania to continue his campaign.  After a couple weeks of campaigning, on April 23rd, the primary in Pennsylvania occurs.  For the Republicans, Rockefeller does not campaign.  Instead, he gets his VP Scranton to campaign for the "Rockefeller-Scranton Presidency".  Scranton's campaigning tactics work wonders, and Rockefeller trounces Reagan in the primary. 

Pennsylvania Republican Primary Results

Rockefeller: 93%
Reagan: 7%

Reagan drops out, but refuses to endorse Rockefeller saying "It is time we had a real Republican President, and I will endorse no one until the Republicans have nominated one".  Rockefeller goes on to win the rest of primaries without competition, except California which Reagan stays on the ballot for.

Pennsylvania Democratic Primary Results

Wallace: 48%
McGovern: 28%
McCarthy: 20%
Others: 4%

McCarthy refuses to drop out.  Many call for him to leave the race, so the liberal vote does not split between him and McGovern.  However, he decides to stay in.

[True Democrat]

Wallace seems unstoppable after the Pennsylvania primary.  However, the next primary is Massachusetts.  Both McCarthy and McGovern are courting Kennedy for his endorsement.  Even though he's not from Massachusetts, his endorsement would give much support to whichever candidate gets it.  Again, he refuses to endorse a candidate.  In the primary on April 30th, McGovern wins.  Wallace amazingly comes in second after running ads about his pro-labor views.

Massachusetts Primary Results

McGovern: 38%
Wallace: 35%
McCarthy: 22%
Others: 5%

This momentum primary actually helps Wallace the most.  It shows  to the Democratic Party that he can even do well in liberal Massachusetts.  With Indiana and Ohio in the next round of primaries (along with DC), Wallace should do fairly well.  DC is wrapped up for McGovern.  McGovern decides to only campaign in Indiana because Ohio, as a big labor state, is secure for Wallace.  When the results come in on the night of May 7th, Ohio and DC are no surprises, but Indiana is.

DC Primary Results

McGovern: 62%
McCarthy: 24%
Wallace: 10%
Others: 4%

Ohio Primary Results

Wallace: 53%
McCarthy: 27%
McGovern: 20%

Indiana Primary Results

Wallace: 39%
McGovern: 38%
McCarthy: 21%
Others: 2%

[True Democrat]

With West Virginia, a big labor state, and Nebraska, a conservative state, up next, Wallace is assured victory.  With McCarthy dropping in the polls, McGovern has the only chance of beating Wallace.  On election day there are no surprises.

West Virginia Primary Results

Wallace: 64%
McGovern: 28%
McCarthy: 7%
Others: 1%

Nebraska Primary Results

Wallace: 49%
McGovern: 34%
McCarthy: 14%
Others: 3%

Wallace is seen as unstoppable.  McGovern makes a deal with McCarthy saying that if McCarthy agrees to drop out, McGovern will pick him as VP is he gets the nomination.  However, McGovern knows it's over.  His only chance to beat Wallace is a convention vote which very well could happen.  McGovern does worse and worse in the rest of the primaries:

Florida Primary Results: May 28th

Wallace: 87%
McGovern 12%
Others: 1%

Oregon Primary Results: May 28th

Wallace: 51%
McGovern: 45%
Others: 4%

McGovern makes a great effort to win Oregon, but fails.

California Primary Results: June 4th

Wallace: 63%
McGovern: 35%
Others: 2%

New Jersey Primary Results: June 4th

Wallace: 58%
McGovern: 42%

South Dakota Primary Results: June 4th

McGovern: 53%
Wallace: 47%

Wallace wins his home state's primary, but by margins greatly reduced than expected.  This adds almost no momentum to McGovern's campaign.

Illinois Primary Results: June 11th

Wallace: 71%
McGovern: 29%

The primaries are over, but the fight for the nomination has just begun.

Here are a map of the primares:

Red: Wallace
Blue: McGovern
Green: McCarthy

[Dave from Michigan]

more more!!  (it's great so far)

[True Democrat]

The Democratic convention is Chicago is complete chaos.  (Think real Chicago in 1968 times 5.)  Southerners come up to protest McGovern, while liberals protest Wallace.  Wallace continues to stress his pro-labor views, which gives him many union states such as Michigan.  Under new rules, each state's primary delegates are tied to the winner of the primary.  A new winner take all system is in place.  These new rules were passed in 1967 in an attempt to get a clear winner so there is no primary fight.  This plan backfired however.

The liberal NE states have all thrown their support behind McGovern.  The real battle is for the Mountain West.  These areas are not very pro-labor, however they are to the right on so-called "moral values".    McGovern continues to stress that Wallace is too conservative.  He mentions his "racist" past.  If this assault on Wallace had been done correctly, McGovern could have the nomination there.  However, McGovern was in heated rage.  He swore at Wallace.  He got worked up in such a frenzy, that McGovern actually called Wallace "the racist from hell".  After hearing this, the Mountain West states immediately thrown their support behind Wallace.  McGovern is seen as the evil in the party.  Wallace goes on to win the nomination.  Here is a map of how the state delegates voted:



For his Vice-President, Wallace goes on to pick a moderate within the party.  He wants someone who can satisfy traditional Democrats from the South and newer liberal Democrats.  That man is Jimmy Carter.  After Rockefeller was launched to the White House in 1964, Democrats in liberal states were not safe from Republicans in Congressional elections.  Most of the Republicans' gains were in Northern states.  However, in Southern states, a backlash occurred.  Southern Democrats began to make a comeback in the party.  They gained more importance in the party again.  A new brand of Southern Democrats with "Northern Values" were brought into the party.  When as Richard B. Russell Jr. decided not to seek reelection in 1966 because a heart attack a year earlier coupled with old age, Carter was the obvious choice for his replacement.  He had been a State Senator in Georgia for only four years, but in those two years had written more legislation and spoken publicly more than any other state Senator and possibly state official.  He was one of the most recognizable voices inside the Democratic party in Georgia.  When Wallace picked him to be his VP, both Souterners and Moderates were very happy, while liberals were already extremely angry with Wallace.

[True Democrat]

After the two conventions, Rockefeller's approval has gone down among Republicans and Independents, but up among Democrats  Also notable is that many Independents have now identified themselves as either Republicans or Democrats.

Here is the poll:

Approve: 66.88%
Disapprove: 26.03%

Republicans (27% of the poll):
Approve: 72%
Disapprove: 24%

Independents (30% of the poll):
Approve: 75%
Disapprove: 15%

Democrats (43% of the poll):
Approve: 58%
Disapprove: 35%

The poll also has the Rockefeller-Wallace race in it:

Rockefeller/Scranton: 54%
Wallace/Carter: 27%
Undecided/Other: 19%

In many state polls, Wallace is falling behind.  Even in the South, Wallace is running neck and neck with Rockefeller because Wallace has been denying his supremacist past.  To counter this, Wallace runs pro-labor ads in the North and talks about being proud of his "Southern Heritage" in the South.  It seems to be working.  By mid-October, the race looks like this:

Rockefeller/Scranton: 52%
Wallace/Carter: 42%
Undecided/Other: 6%

Wallace is within striking distance of Rockefeller.  Finally Rockefeller decides to go on the attack.  He runs ads all over the country about Wallace's pro-segregationist past.  He especially runs these ads in majority African-American counties, which for the first time have a serious say in how the South votes.  The ads work magnificantly.  By the end of November, Rockefeller is back on top.  To add to that, a scandal emerges in Wallace's campaign.  He, as expected, was trying to stop African-Americans from voting in the South.  In his home state of Alabama, he instituted poll taxes, which were outlawed by a constitutional amendment.  Even some white Southerners do not react well to this, especially in the Outer South, like Virginia and North Carolina.  Wallace has a last ditch effort to try to win.  He runs pro-coal ads.  This is supposed to help him in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.  It doesn't work in Pennsylvania because Scranton is still extremely popular.  A final poll before election day shows the following:

Rockefeller/Scranton: 62%
Wallace/Carter: 34%
Other/Undecided: 4%

Election day has one big surprise.  Rockefeller does much better than expected.



Rockefeller/Scranton: 67.9%, 464 electoral votes
Wallace/Carter: 31.15%, 74 eletoral votes

Rockefeller's best ten states:
1. Vermont: 87%
2. Maine: 85%
3. New Hampshrie: 81%
4. Wyoming: 78%
5. Nebraska: 77%
6. Kansas: 74%
7. South Dakota: 74%
8. Connecticut: 73%
9. South Dakota: 73%
10. New York: 72%

Wallace's best ten states:
1. Alabama: 62%
2. South Carolina: 59%
3. Georgia: 57%
4. Mississippi: 57%
5. Tennessee: 56%
6. West Virginia: 51%
7. Kentucky: 49%
8. Louisiana: 49%
9. Florida: 48%
10. Arkansas: 46%

Post-election analysis shows the following:

Democrats (45% of voters):
Rockefeller: 51%
Wallace: 48%

Independents (25% of voters):
Rockefeller: 73%
Wallace: 25%

Republicans (30% of voters):
Rockefeller: 89%
Wallace: 11%

Whites (80% of voters):
Rockefeller: 63%
Wallace: 36%

African-Americans (15% of voters):
Rockefeller: 98%
Wallace: 1%

Other races (5% of voters):
Rockefeller: 58%
Wallace: 41%