Barry Goldwater’s Influence on the 1960 Election

“Well if you shut up you’ll get him!” A crowd of 18,000 people cheered Goldwater for upwards of twenty to thirty minutes, so much so that he was not able to speak. The crowd situated in the heart of New York City sparked a campaign for Barry Goldwater for President. While Barry Goldwater’s race for the highest political seat in the country in 1964 was resoundingly lost, his influence in the 1960 election has been overlooked and forgotten, but heavily influenced his own run in 1964.

Barry Goldwater was a United States Senator from Arizona who had sparked in the minds of the American people as a man who stood for conservative principles. Hated by some and loved by others, Goldwater leaves a long standing legacy in American politics. Many of his books, speeches, and political insights are still read and highly regarded by conservatives today.

Growing up, Goldwater had a deep interest in the things of science and at age fourteen he wrote a letter to Thomas Edison congratulating Edison on his successes and stating his own personal interest in radio. In 1917 when airplanes showed up at his local state fair, Goldwater also gained a personal interest in airplanes. This led to his joining the Army Air Corps and becoming a Major General “and a command pilot with a hell of a lot of flying time.” After the war, Goldwater was influenced by his friend Harry Rosenzweig to join the political sphere, and that is where Goldwater landed for the rest of his life.

On September 18, 1952, Goldwater announced his campaign to run for the Senate of Arizona. Upon being elected, he was sworn in in January of 1953. As a member of the senate, Goldwater commented that, “There were pretenders and performers. Some were warm and friendly; others distant and aloof.” Starting out with deficit spending, Goldwater began to make his politics known to those in the Senate. His goal was to emphasize the failures of Roosevelt and Truman and seek to turn the New Deal policies off the track into oblivion. Goldwater also sought to correct current leadership mistakes. For example, Goldwater stated that Ike’s election was not a victory for Republican values. Goldwater sought to bring conservative values to the Senate.

At the 1960 Republican National Convention, Goldwater was placed into the nomination hat because his supporters were hoping to have him on the short list for VP instead. Goldwater withdrew his name and put in his support for Richard Nixon. Richard Nixon was nominated to run on the Republican ticket against the Democratic John F. Kennedy. Goldwater passionately campaigned on Nixon’s behalf making 177 speeches traveling all over the United States from east to west and from north to south.

The force of Goldwater in the Nixon campaign was a factor in helping Nixon gain a close race with Kennedy only losing by 118,550 votes. Even though there were rumors to support the evidence of voter fraud in Illinois and in Texas, Nixon did not contest the race, but conceded to Kennedy.

Earlier in 1960 before Goldwater barnstormed across the country for Nixon, he had published a book that was making waves across the United States. His book, The Conscience of a Conservative, was at four printings by August of 1960. In the Forward, Goldwater stated that the purpose of his book was to “demonstrate the bearing of a proven philosophy on the problems of our own time.” Within his book, Goldwater hit on hot button issues such as state’s rights, civil rights, farmers, laborers, taxes, welfare, education, and socialism.

The United States in 1960 was under the leadership of Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican. Having been the President for two terms, Eisenhower was retiring. With Eisenhower’s retirement, the Presidency was left wide open for either party. Republicans were divided between the conservatives who were backing Goldwater and the more moderates who were backing Rockefeller. Between this division, Nixon — who had been the VP under Eisenhower — was able to win the Republican nomination. Goldwater saw the importance of unifying the party and sought to spend his time campaigning for Nixon across the United States.

The Democrats in 1960 chose John F. Kennedy as their nominee. Kennedy was from the state of New York and had gained attention with his book Profiles in Courage and was the Vice President Nominee in 1956. Famous for his looks and his speeches, Kennedy famously stated in his inauguration speech, “Don’t ask what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” Kennedy won on Election Day in 1960, making him the youngest President ever elected to office.

While Nixon lost the 1960 race, the influence of Barry Goldwater was felt throughout the Republican party and the nation. Covering new ground and seeking to relate to a small faction of the Republican party, Goldwater achieved success in 1964. Prior to that time, it was the work that Goldwater did with the Nixon campaign that propelled him to success as the Republican nominee in 1964.

Goldwater in 1960

“Let’s grow up conservatives! If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work.” Goldwater did just what he said he would do. When suggested running as the Republican candidate in 1960, he declined, but used his influence across the nation to rally for Richard Nixon. Goldwater stated, “I am going to devote all of my time — from now until November — to electing Republicans — from the top of the ticket — to the bottom of the ticket. I call upon my fellow conservatives to do the same.” Nixon stated of Goldwater’s speech in Chicago, “Barry Goldwater had spoken with great effect, calling on his supporters to join him in working enthusiastically for the convention’s nominee.” Therefore Goldwater launched an extensive campaign in support of Richard Nixon.

Looking at the sources on Goldwater’s influence on the 1960 election, there has not been any scholarship on the subject and Goldwater’s influence goes untouched by historians. Goldwater mentions his time in his own writings, but the writings of biographers even on Nixon will only briefly mention that Goldwater spoke for Nixon in 1960 across the country. One Nixon biographer mentions that Goldwater was traveling around the country and garnering support for Nixon by promoting The Conscious of a Conservative encouraging voters to rally around Nixon even though Nixon was not the conservative candidate of Barry Goldwater. No other research has been done on the influence of Barry Goldwater on the 1960 election.

Choosing which places to include depended heavily on the sources that were able to be found. Combining local newspapers and searching for Barry Goldwater’s speeches, there were twelve places that Goldwater clearly spoke at and clearly made a difference in the election results on Election Day. The twelve places highlighted below show his speaking engagement with people and the thoughts of the people that heard him through the local newspapers. Election Day turned out results in each of these places, mostly in favor of Nixon. Pulling results from the counties, it is easy to see how Goldwater influenced voters across the United States. In 1960, Goldwater was turning out the votes for Nixon and the election trends from 1960, helped to propel Goldwater to the Republican nomination in 1964.

Goldwater started his 1960 speaking tour around the nation and went to big cities and small cites and his influence was felt throughout the nation wherever he spoke. Goldwater stated in his book, “Despite all my misgivings, I was honestly, even passionately, committed to the election of Richard Nixon in 1960 simply because I could not tolerate the alternative.” His speaking engagements gathered people interested in Goldwater as well as in electing Republicans to office. Speaking to local Republican parties, hosting picnics, and other engaging events, Goldwater made his way across the United States garnering support for Nixon in each place that he visited.

Campaigning across the United States, local newspapers picked up Goldwater’s speeches and the influence he was having on voters. People noticed that Goldwater was passionate about Nixon and the Republican party in 1960. Turning out crowds in places, Goldwater was able to show with force how important he was to the Republican party. Each place that Goldwater chose to go to was able to either pull out a Nixon win or get Nixon closer to winning than he would have been had Goldwater not campaigned for Nixon.

Salt Lake City, Utah

On August 6th, 1960, Goldwater held a speaking engagement in Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah had voted for Eisenhower in the previous two elections and for Truman in 1948. Nixon was hoping to gain Utah on election day in 1960 and keep the Republican trend going. Utah had voted for Eisenhower in 1956 and in 1952. Goldwater stated in Salt Lake City, “This is the year where you have to forget whether you are a liberal Republican or a conservative Republican and vote Republican.” and stated that this was not the time to “turn the country over to socialists.” On Election Day in November of 1960, Goldwater’s words were remembered and Nixon was able to pull out a win with 54.5% of the vote and Kennedy with only 45.5% of the vote. The 9% point lead continued the trend across Utah and led to Nixon victory in the state with 54.8% of the vote.

Portland, Oregon

A couple of weeks after Goldwater’s stop in Salt Lake City, he headed over to Portland, Oregon. On August 29th, 1960, he spoke to a group of people at a rally and picnic for the Republican Nominee, Richard Nixon. It was the day before that Goldwater spoke of a Republican win for the presidency and that Lyndon B. Johnson was no help to the Democratic ticket. Speaking of his roots in Texas, Goldwater said that Texans were outraged at Johnson. Nevertheless, Portland, Oregon went for Nixon on Election Day, in a very close race. Nixon ended up with 50.5% of the vote to Kennedy’s 49.3% of the vote in Multnomah County. Winning with 5.3% over Kennedy, Nixon was able to win the entire state of Oregon. In the 1948 election, Oregon had voted for Dewey over Truman, and Nixon was able to hold down the Republican stronghold in Oregon.

Montgomery, Alabama

On September 16th of 1960, Goldwater made his way into the deep South down to Montgomery, Alabama. Nixon had already been speaking in the Birmingham and Atlanta area leading up to Goldwater’s speech and drawing crowds of Republican supporters. Goldwater’s speech was anticipated by those in Montgomery. A local stated that, “We are confident most of them went home convinced that the Democratic Party has abandoned the South, and its voters, and the principles Southern voters stand for.” On Election Day the results showed the support of Nixon throughout Montgomery County and the state of Alabama. Nixon was able to pull out 54.9% of the vote over Kennedy’s 43.9%. In 1948, Alabama had voted for Thurmond and the State’s Rights Party. in 1952 and in 1954, Alabama had voted for Adlia steenson, so for Nixon to pull out a win in Alabama was a big deal. Goldwater’s words and the words of the locals held weight on the Southern voters in Alabama and helped to gain a Nixon win on Election Day for Alabama.

Columbia, South Carolina

The day after Goldwater was stomping in Alabama, he made his way towards South Carolina. Stopping in Columbia on the 17th, Goldwater made an impression on the state Democrat campaign chief, Frank Sloan who stated in the local newspapers, “[I want to] thank Senator Barry Goldwater for his speech Thursday, it was the best argument for staying in the Democratic party I have ever heard.” Adlai Stevenson had won South Carolina in 1956 with a strong margin of 45.37% compared to Eisenhower’s 25.18%. Nixon, though, was able to pull out a Republican win in Richland County, South Carolina. Nixon won with 63.9% of the vote compared to Kennedy’s 36.1%. But the percentages of Richland County did not reflect across the state. Kennedy pulled out a 2.6% margin of victory for Nixon in the entire state. While South Carolina stayed Democrat in 1960, the vote difference was nearly 30,000 less with Nixon closer to victory than Eisenhower had been in 1956.

Richmond, Indiana

His presence in Indiana was not well publicized, but on September 24, 1960, Goldwater spoke in Richmond, Indiana, and touted that Nixon was going to win across the south. Goldwater’s presence in Wayne County, Indiana led to a Nixon victory on Election Day. Nixon won 60.7%, but Kennedy won the state of Indiana by only a margin of 8,858. While Eisenhower had won the state handedly in 1956, Indiana swung towards Kennedy.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The day after his stop in Indiana, Goldwater headed to Wisconsin and spoke to the Milwaukee County Republican Committee. The local newspaper stated that Goldwater had the power to get votes out in Milwaukee County and that his presence would be noticed come Election Day. Even with Goldwater’s presence in Milwaukee County, Kennedy was able to pull out a 57.8% win over Nixon. With the loss of Milwaukee County, Nixon was still able to pull out a win in the state of Wisconsin on Election Day.

Elk City, Oklahoma

On September 28, Goldwater made his way towards Elk City, Oklahoma where he gave another speech in favor of Richard Nixon. Digging at Kennedy’s Vice President choice, Lyndon B. Johnson, Goldwater spoke for the Republicans down the ballot. He said that there was apathy in the Republican party and his goal was to stir up enthusiasm for Election Day. Nixon pulled out a win in Beckham County with 60.1% and across the state of Oklahoma with 59.02% of the vote. Oklahoma stayed solidly Republican as it had in the years prior to 1960.

Houston, Texas

After stomping in Oklahoma, Goldwater headed to Texas where he spoke in Houston. Houston, located in Harris County, Texas, went for Nixon with 51.7% of the vote. Kennedy won the state overall, but there was some potential voter fraud that happened, causing some to doubt if Kennedy actually won Texas or not.

Clearwater, Florida

October 3, 1960, Goldwater was in Clearwater, FL, and came under fire for his beliefs on social security. The Democrats in Clearwater spoke of Goldwater as frightening to the older generation who had a dependence on Social Security. Even with those Democratic comments and concerns, Nixon was able to pull out a 63.7% win over Kennedy in Pinellas County. Nixon won the state of Florida by over 46,000 votes.

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

October 11, 1960, Barry Goldwater came to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and a motorcade down from Gulfport came to attend the rally. Nixon won Forrest County with 39.5% of the vote compared to Kennedy’s 24%. In Mississippi there were also unpledged electors who made up 38.99% of the statewide vote. Kennedy took the lead, but the margin was nearly 76,000 less votes than the previous 1956 election. Goldwater’s presence was felt throughout not just Mississippi, but the south in general.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

“Cheers and rebel yells greeted” Goldwater in Chattanooga, TN, on October 11, the same day he would be in Mississippi, he was in Tennessee making his way further south. The New York Times reported that they were not sure how many votes the Goldwater speeches would be turning out, but that people were certainly rallying for Nixon and attending the Goldwater speeches. Nixon pulled out a win in Chattanooga with 55.7% of the vote, and won Tennessee with 52.9% of the vote.

Rapid City, South Dakota

Students in Rapid City, South Dakota, welcomed Goldwater on October 26, 1960. This was his last out-of-Arizona speech before Election Day. The local students rallied for Goldwater and some of the band members played music. The rally got the vote out and Nixon won Pennington County with 60.3% of the vote. Across the state of South Dakota, Nixon pulled out a win for 1960.

Election Day 1960

On Election Day 1960, Nixon lost to Kennedy by 112,827 votes. The Electoral College was substantially different from the popular vote. Kennedy had 303 and Nixon had 219. At nine in the morning on Election Day, Goldwater got a call from Chicago that there was evidence for voter fraud in Cook County. By the time that Goldwater got through to President Eisenhower, it was too late to do anything about the fraud. Goldwater said that the morning after election day he got a call from Texas as well about voter fraud. Stories began circulating that the election had been stolen from Nixon. With all the phone calls, newspaper stories, and other public conversations, Nixon declined an effort to recount the vote. Nixon feared that the election would drag on for months and leave the United States without official leadership. Stating that it would be delusional to the American people and that it would weaken the Constitutional system, Nixon did not challenge the election. Goldwater stated in his book that he disagreed with Nixon and felt that Nixon should have challenged the election.

Stating that there had been “a great deal of tombstone voting”, Goldwater was adamant that Nixon should have challenged the vote. He also pointed out that in Texas, people who struggled with English would be shown a sample ballot to understand. If the person voted for a candidate that the ballot guy did not like, he would let the person know his vote was counted, when it was only a sample ballot. Situations like this in Texas had Goldwater concerned and his desire to see the fraud uncovered was his main reason for wanting Nixon to challenge the election results.

Goldwater had success pulling out votes in various cities and states across the United States. His speeches were talked about by local newspapers and national newspapers. The time that Goldwater took to barnstorm the country, not just for Nixon but for Republicans all the way down the ballot, showed his energy and desire for Republican leadership in Washington.

Goldwater reflected on the 1960 election in his memoir and stated, “After 1960, the party was in complete disarray. We had no national leaders. Although I didn’t view myself at the time as a leader … my name began to be mentioned around the country. The 1960 GOP convention had left a sour taste in our mouths.” Also stating his concerns over the way that Nixon ran his campaign, Goldwater talked of Nixon’s decision to take a plane to Alaska instead of spending time in Michigan, Illinois, or Texas — where Nixon could have pulled out some more voters. On the night of the election Goldwater had stated to CBS that Nixon would not be able to pull out a victory. Nixon recorded his own speculation of defeat that night as well.

According to Goldwater, leaving Eisenhower out of the campaign was the major failure of Nixon and why Nixon lost in 1960. As a popular president, Eisenhower could have helped garner support for Nixon and Goldwater saw the potential, where Nixon did not. Even Eisenhower himself was frustrated by being left out of the campaign. “According to Barry Goldwater Eisenhower “was sitting in Gettysburg, just jumping around like a mouse in a trap, waiting to be asked.” Ike expressed his sentiments most emphatically to Earl Mazo after the election, asking the reporter: “What the hell was it, Earl? Did the s.o.b. think I was going to steal the limelight from him?” He added, “I wanted to get in there, get my gloves off.” Both Eisenhower and Goldwater were annoyed at Nixon for leaving Eisenhower out of the campaign.

Seeing the results in a few of the areas where Goldwater campaigned, it is clear that he had an influence on the 1960 election. While not pulling out a win for Nixon, there were some clear areas where Goldwater was able to help Nixon garner votes. Goldwater’s influence went beyond the 1960 election and ultimately led him to be the 1964 Republican nominee for President.

Looking at the places where Goldwater spoke and pulling the election results from those counties show the amount of influence Goldwater was able to have on the Nixon campaign. Helping Nixon to gain voter turnout was the goal of Goldwater’s speaking campaign in 1960. Goldwater sought to influence the Republicans up and down the ballot with his speaking tour. The influence that Goldwater had on the election in 1960 helped to boost his image across the United States. This image boost led to Goldwater winning the Republican Nomination in 1964.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Chattanooga Daily Times, October 9, 1960: https://www.newspapers.com/image/141685330/?terms=Barry%20Goldwater%20Speaking&match=1

Fort Worth Star Telegram, September 29, 1960: https://www.newspapers.com/image/141685330/?terms=Barry%20Goldwater%20Speaking&match=1

Goldwater, Barry. Goldwater, New York: Doubleday, 1988.

Goldwater, Barry. The Conscience of a Conservative. Shepherdsville, KY: Victor Publishing Company, Inc., 1960.

Goldwater, Barry M. With No Apologies: The Personal and Political Memoirs of United States Senator Barry M. Goldwater., New York: WIlliam Morrow and Company Inc., 1979.

“Goldwater In Utah: He Tells G.O.P. Democrats Pave Way For Socialists.” New York Times (1923-), Aug 07, 1960. 57, http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fhistorical-newspapers%2Fgoldwater-utah%2Fdocview%2F115186529%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D12085.

“Goldwater In Oregon: Predicts Republican Victory By Coalition With South.” New York Times (1923-), Aug 28, 1960. 91, http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fhistorical-newspapers%2Fgoldwater-oregon%2Fdocview%2F115182308%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D12085.

Leip, David. David Leip’s Atlas of US Elections, LLC. November 06, 2019, Distributed by David Leip’s Atlas of US Elections, LLC. Data Archive: https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/.

Nixon, Richard. Six Crises. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1962.

Palladium Item, September 24, 1960: https://www.newspapers.com/image/141685330/?terms=Barry%20Goldwater%20Speaking&match=1

Rapid City Journal, October 27, 1960: https://www.newspapers.com/image/350892204/?terms=barry%20goldwater%20speech&match=1

The Capital Times, September 27, 1960: https://www.newspapers.com/image/141685330/?terms=Barry%20Goldwater%20Speaking&match=1

The Columbia Record, September 17, 1960: https://www.newspapers.com/image/141685330/?terms=Barry%20Goldwater%20Speaking&match=1

The Daily Herald, October 10, 1960: https://www.newspapers.com/image/141685330/?terms=Barry%20Goldwater%20Speaking&match=1

The Elk City Daily News, September 28, 1960: https://www.newspapers.com/image/593572691/?terms=barry%20goldwater%20speech&match=1

The Montgomery Advertiser, Saturday, September 17, 1960; https://www.newspapers.com/image/141685330/?terms=Barry%20Goldwater%20Speaking&match=1

The Tampa Tribune, October 4, 1960; https://www.newspapers.com/image/141685330/?terms=Barry%20Goldwater%20Speaking&match=1

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Cook, Fred J. Barry Goldwater: Extremist of the Right. New York: Grove Press Inc., 1964.

Dean, John W. and Barry M. Goldwater Jr. Pure Goldwater, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Farrell, John A. Richard Nixon: The Life. (New York: Double Day, 2017), 277.

Kallina, Edmund F. Nixon V. Kennedy: The Presidential Election of 1960, Tallahassee: University Press of Florida, 2010.

Middendorf II, J. William. A Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater’s Presidential Campaign and the Origins of the Conservative Movement, New York: Basic Books, 2016.