1960 Republican National Convention
Political convention of the Republican Party
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Through President of the United States, United States Senate and Massachusetts
The convention nominated then Vice President of the United States Richard Nixon for President of the United States and former Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts for vice president.
Presidential nomination
Presidential candidates
By the time the Republican convention opened, Nixon had no opponents for the nomination. The highlight of the convention was the speech by U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona removing himself from the race, in which he called on conservatives to "take back" the party. Nixon won easily, earning 1,321 votes to 10 for Goldwater. At the convention, Nixon promised that he would visit every state during his campaign.
Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (July 27, 1960)
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Vice Presidential nomination
Vice Presidential candidates
After winning the presidential nomination, Nixon considered several candidates for the vice presidential nomination. Incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower strongly supported Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Though Lodge was not viewed by Republicans as a charismatic speaker, his foreign policy experience as well as his longtime Republican Party ties as a descendant of the Lodge family made him an appealing candidate.
Lodge was unpopular with the conservative wing of the party, who regarded him as a Northeastern moderate. As a result of the conservatives' coolness toward Lodge, Nixon strongly considered conservative Minnesota Representative Walter Judd and U.S. Senator Thruston Morton of Kentucky, an establishment Republican who was more moderate than Judd but had a high profile as chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Other candidates Nixon may have considered include:
- Barry M. Goldwater, U.S. Senator from Arizona (Would be nominated for president in 1964)
- Charles A. Halleck, U.S. House Minority Leader from Indiana
- Neil H. McElroy, former Secretary of Defense from Ohio
- Charles H. Percy, businessman from Illinois
- William P. Rogers, U.S. Attorney General from Maryland
After deciding on Lodge, Nixon participated in a closed session with party leaders, who concurred with his preference. After the session, Nixon announced his choice publicly, and the convention ratified it.
Vice Presidential Balloting / 4th Day of Convention (July 28, 1960)
General election
The Nixon-Lodge ticket lost the 1960 election to the Democratic ticket of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.