When Was Nixon Elected President of the United States? The 1968 Comeback That Changed Everything

Richard Milhous Nixon won the presidency on November 5, 1968.

That’s the short answer. But honestly, if you're asking when was Nixon elected president of the United States, you're usually looking for the "how" and the "why" behind one of the most chaotic years in American history. It wasn't just a Tuesday in November. It was the culmination of a decade of resentment, a literal riot in Chicago, and a political resurrection that nobody saw coming after he got walloped in the 1960 election and the 1962 California gubernatorial race. He was a "loser." Until he wasn't.

The Year Everything Broke

To understand Nixon's 1968 victory, you have to look at the wreckage of that year. It was messy. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April. Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down in June. The Vietnam War was a meat grinder, and the Tet Offensive earlier that year had basically shattered the illusion that the U.S. was winning.

The Democrats were falling apart. Lyndon B. Johnson, the sitting president, went on national television and told the world he wasn't running for reelection. People were stunned. This opened the door for Hubert Humphrey, Nixon’s eventual opponent, but Humphrey carried the baggage of LBJ’s war policy.

Nixon saw an opening. He pitched himself as the man for the "Silent Majority." He wasn't talking to the protestors or the hippies; he was talking to the people who stayed home, worked 9-to-5s, and were terrified that the country was sliding into anarchy. It worked.

The Strategy of the New Nixon

People called him the "New Nixon." He was more polished. He used television better than he had against JFK eight years earlier when he looked sweaty and nervous. In '68, he was calm. He was the "law and order" candidate.

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The numbers tell a story of a razor-thin margin. While Nixon dominated the Electoral College with 301 votes to Humphrey’s 191, the popular vote was a different beast entirely. Nixon took 43.4% of the vote. Humphrey took 42.7%. That’s a gap of less than one percentage point. If a few thousand people in a few specific states had felt differently, history looks completely different.

That Third-Party Spoiler

We can't talk about when was Nixon elected president of the United States without mentioning George Wallace. The former Alabama governor ran as a third-party candidate under the American Independent Party. He was a segregationist, and he was loud.

Wallace did something almost impossible for a third-party candidate today: he actually won states. Five of them. He took 46 electoral votes. This flipped the South on its head and pulled votes away from Humphrey, effectively clearing a path for Nixon. It’s one of those weird historical "what-ifs." If Wallace hadn't been in the race, would those Southern Democrats have held their noses and voted for Humphrey? Or was the realignment of the South to the Republican party already inevitable?

Historians like Rick Perlstein, who wrote the definitive book Nixonland, argue that Nixon didn't just win an election; he tapped into a cultural divide that we are still dealing with today.

The Election Day Drama

November 5, 1968, was a long night. It wasn't one of those elections called by 8:00 PM. It took until the next morning for the networks to confidently say Nixon had it.

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He had spent the night at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. When he finally emerged, he spoke about bringing the country together. He mentioned a sign he saw in Deshler, Ohio, held by a young girl. It said, "Bring Us Together." That became his unofficial slogan, though critics would later argue his presidency did the exact opposite.

Wait, What About 1972?

Sometimes when people search for "when was Nixon elected," they get confused because he was elected twice.

His second win in 1972 was a landslide. A blowout. He won 49 out of 50 states against George McGovern. It was one of the most lopsided victories in American history. But that 1972 victory is always overshadowed by what came next—Watergate. The irony is that Nixon was so popular in '72 he didn't need to cheat or spy to win, yet the paranoia of the 1968 struggle seemingly never left him.

The 1968 election remains the pivotal moment. It marked the end of the "New Deal" era of Democratic dominance and started a trend of Republican control of the White House that would last, with few interruptions, for the next twenty years.

Key Dates to Remember

• January 31, 1968: The Tet Offensive begins, tanking LBJ's approval.
• March 31, 1968: LBJ announces he won't seek reelection.
• August 8, 1968: Nixon officially accepts the Republican nomination in Miami Beach.
• November 5, 1968: Nixon wins the presidency.
• January 20, 1969: Nixon is inaugurated as the 37th President.

Why 1968 Still Matters

If you look at the political map today, you see the fingerprints of Nixon's '68 campaign everywhere. The "Southern Strategy," the focus on "Law and Order," and the appeal to the "Silent Majority" are still the core pillars of many modern campaigns.

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He was a man of huge intellect and massive flaws. He ended the draft. He opened the door to China. He created the EPA. And yet, he's mostly remembered for the scandal that forced him out. But before the fall, there was the climb. And that climb peaked on that cold November day in 1968.

When you're digging into this era, it's worth checking out the primary sources. Look at the Gallup polls from September 1968; they showed a much wider lead for Nixon that evaporated as the election drew closer. Humphrey almost caught him. It was a "prevent defense" finish that Nixon just barely survived.

Actionable Takeaways for History Buffs

If you want to truly understand the gravity of Nixon's election, don't just read the Wikipedia summary.

1. Watch the 1968 Campaign Ads: Look for the "Convention" ad by the Nixon campaign. It’s an avant-garde piece of film for the time—fast cuts of protests and war set to jarring music. It tells you everything you need to know about his strategy.
2. Read the Electoral Maps: Compare the 1964 map (Goldwater vs. LBJ) to the 1968 map. You can see the exact moment the "Solid South" began to fracture.
3. Listen to the Nixon Tapes: While most people jump to the Watergate stuff, the tapes from his early term show a man obsessed with how he was perceived by the public, a direct carry-over from the close call in '68.

Nixon's election wasn't just a change in leadership; it was a shift in the American soul. It proved that a candidate could lose big, go away for years, and come back by speaking to the anxieties of the average person. Whether you love him or hate him, you can't ignore the sheer political will it took to get elected on November 5, 1968.