1960 United States presidential election in Georgia

1960 United States presidential election in Georgia

← 1956 November 8, 1960[1] 1964 →
 
Nominee John F. Kennedy Richard Nixon
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Massachusetts California
Running mate Lyndon B. Johnson Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Electoral vote 12 0
Popular vote 458,638 274,472
Percentage 62.54% 37.43%

County Results

President before election

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican

Elected President

John F. Kennedy
Democratic

The 1960 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. Georgia voters chose 12[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Georgia was won by Senator John F. Kennedy (DMassachusetts), running with Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, with 62.54% of the popular vote against incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon (RCalifornia), running with United States Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., with 37.43% of the popular vote.[3][4] This is the first election where any Georgia county cast more than one hundred thousand votes, namely Fulton. Following this election Georgia would transfer from being a Deep South Democratic state, to a Sun Belt Republican state, and the state has only voted Democratic four times since. This was due to The Civil Rights Act, and the growth of Atlanta suburban counties such as Gwinnett and Cobb, which would not support the Democratic nominee again until 2016, except for favorite son Jimmy Carter in 1976.

The defunct Milton County would not vote Democratic again until 2020. Although there was a primary referendum on the Democratic electors acting “Pledge Free”, the primary was a non-binding straw vote and the Democratic electors voted for Kennedy and Johnson anyway. Georgia was one of four states that swung towards Republicans compared to 1956, alongside Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

  1. ^ "United States Presidential election of 1960 – Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  2. ^ "1960 Election for the Forty-Fourth Term (1961-65)". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  3. ^ "1960 Presidential General Election Results – Georgia". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  4. ^ "The American Presidency Project – Election of 1960". Retrieved June 7, 2017.