John F. Kennedy

:JFK redirects here. For other uses, see JFK (disambiguation).

1960 Presidential election

In 1960, Kennedy declared his intent to run for President of the United States. In the Democratic primary election, he faced challenges from Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, and Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic nominee in 1952 and 1956 who was not officially running but was a favorite write-in candidate. Kennedy won key primaries like Wisconsin and West Virginia.

Related Topics:
1960 - President of the United States - Primary election - Hubert H. Humphrey - Minnesota - Lyndon B. Johnson - Texas - Adlai Stevenson - 1952 - 1956 - Wisconsin - West Virginia

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On July 13, 1960 the Democratic Party nominated Kennedy as its candidate for president. Kennedy asked Johnson to be his Vice Presidential candidate, despite clashes between the two during the primary elections. He needed Johnson's strength in the South to win the closest election since 1916. Major issues included how to get the economy moving again, Kennedy's Catholicism, Cuba, and whether or not both the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the U.S. To allay fears that his Roman Catholicism would impact his decision-making, he said in a famous speech in Houston, Texas (to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association), on September 12, 1960, "I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters - and the Church does not speak for me." (Also see Al Smith, the first Catholic to receive the presidential nomination for a major party, in 1928.)

Related Topics:
July 13 - 1960 - 1916 - Cuba - Houston, Texas - September 12 - Al Smith - 1928

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In September and October, Kennedy debated Republican candidate Vice President Richard Nixon in the first ever televised presidential debates. During the debates, Nixon looked tense, sweaty, and unshaven contrasted to Kennedy's composure and handsomeness, leading many to deem Kennedy the winner, although historians consider the two evenly matched as orators. Interestingly, many who listened on radio thought Nixon more impressive in the debate.http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/K/htmlK/kennedy-nixon/kennedy-nixon.htm The debates are considered a political landmark: the point at which the medium of television played an important role in politics and looking presentable on camera became one of the important considerations for presidential and other political candidates.

Related Topics:
Richard Nixon - Presidential debates - Television

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In the general election on November 8, 1960, Kennedy beat Nixon in a very close race. There were serious allegations that vote fraud in Texas and Illinois had cost Nixon the presidencyhttp://www.leanleft.com/archives/cat_reviews.html. Especially troubling were the unusually huge margins in Richard Daley's Chicago — which were announced after the rest of the vote in Illinois. The only change after the official recount was a win for Kennedy in Hawaii.

Related Topics:
Election - November 8 - 1960 - Texas - Illinois - Richard Daley - Hawaii

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