# Canonical recap data for 1960 U.S. Presidential Election (1960)
# Source: https://recap.at/1960/1960-us-election
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: 1960-us-election
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1960/1960-us-election"
title: 1960 U.S. Presidential Election
aliases:
- Kennedy-Nixon Election
- 1960 Presidential Election
- Election of 1960
subtitle: Kennedy's narrow victory over Nixon marked the first televised presidential debates and shifted American politics into the media age.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1960-11-08
datePrecision: day
year: 1960
decade: 1960
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: "Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 1960. The Democratic ticket of Senator John F. Kennedy and his running mate, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, narrowly defeated the Republican ticket of incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon and his running mate, U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot "
summaryLong: Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 1960. The Democratic ticket of Senator John F. Kennedy and his running mate, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, narrowly defeated the Republican ticket of incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon and his running mate, U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. This was the first election in which 50 states participated, marking the first participation of Alaska and Hawaii, and the last in which the District of Columbia did not. It was also the first election in which an incumbent president—in this case, Dwight D. Eisenhower—was ineligible to run for a third term because of the term limits established by the 22nd Amendment.
lede: On November 8, 1960, American voters elected Democrat John F. Kennedy president, narrowly defeating Republican Vice President Richard Nixon in one of the closest elections in U.S. history. Kennedy's victory marked a generational shift in American politics and raised questions about electoral integrity that would reverberate for decades.
heroImageUrl: "https://live.staticflickr.com/3459/3290171903_25e9ffd573_b.jpg"
heroImageCredit: "\"The Eternal Flame / President John F. Kennedy\" by Tony Fischer Photography is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/."
importance: 88
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Popular Vote Margin
  value: Kennedy won by 118,574 votes out of 68.8 million cast (0.17%)
- label: Electoral College
  value: Kennedy 303, Nixon 219
- label: Election Date
  value: November 8, 1960
- label: Kennedy's Age
  value: 43—youngest elected president at the time
- label: First Kennedy-Nixon Debate
  value: September 26, 1960, with 66-70 million viewers
- label: Running Mate
  value: Lyndon B. Johnson, Senate Majority Leader
- label: Key Swing State
  value: Illinois—Kennedy won by 8,858 votes with 27 electoral votes
- label: Turnout
  value: 63.8% of eligible voters
timeline:
- date: 1960-01-02
  title: Kennedy Announces Candidacy
  description: Senator John F. Kennedy declares his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination, positioning himself as a moderate Cold War liberal.
- date: 1960-07-13
  title: Democratic Convention
  description: Kennedy secures the Democratic nomination on the first ballot at the Los Angeles Convention. He selects Lyndon B. Johnson as running mate to balance the ticket geographically and ideologically.
- date: 1960-07-28
  title: Republican Convention
  description: Richard Nixon accepts the Republican nomination in Chicago. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., U.N. Ambassador, becomes his running mate.
- date: 1960-09-26
  title: First Kennedy-Nixon Debate
  description: The first televised presidential debate airs live from Chicago. Kennedy appears composed and tanned; Nixon appears pale and uneasy. Viewers who watched on television favored Kennedy; radio listeners favored Nixon.
- date: 1960-10-21
  title: Fourth Kennedy-Nixon Debate
  description: The final televised debate takes place. Kennedy and Nixon debate foreign policy, with Kennedy attacking the Eisenhower-Nixon administration's record on Cuba and the Soviet Union.
- date: 1960-11-08
  title: Election Day
  description: Kennedy defeats Nixon in one of the closest elections in American history. Kennedy wins 303 electoral votes to Nixon's 219, with a popular vote margin of just 118,574 votes.
- date: 1960-11-09
  title: Transition Begins
  description: Kennedy begins the presidential transition. He meets with President Eisenhower and is briefed on classified national security matters, including the CIA's Bay of Pigs plan.
- date: 1961-01-20
  title: Kennedy Inauguration
  description: John F. Kennedy is sworn in as the 35th President of the United States. Chief Justice Earl Warren administers the oath. Kennedy delivers his famous 'Ask not what your country can do for you' address.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_United_States_presidential_election"
  title: 1960 U.S. Presidential election
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Kennedy's win by 0.17 percentage points in the popular vote established the template for modern American presidential campaigns, particularly the strategic use of television and targeted regional organizing. His victory also intensified Cold War competition, as his campaign had criticized the Eisenhower administration for alleged strategic vulnerabilities.
categories:
- election
metaDescription: JFK defeats Nixon in 1960 U.S. presidential election—a razor-thin victory that reshaped American politics.
wikidataQid: Q699590
peoplesVoice:
- source: Richard Nixon, Republican Vice President and defeated candidate
  voiceType: official
  context: Nixon's gracious concession statement delivered on November 9, 1960, the morning after his narrow loss to Kennedy.
  excerpt: I want Senator Kennedy to know - and I want all of you to know - that I have no complaints about the outcome of the election. The decision of the voters has been made, as it should be.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 85
  attribution: Public statement, November 9, 1960
  publishedAt: 1960-11-09
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Walter Cronkite, CBS News anchor and political correspondent
  voiceType: media
  context: Cronkite's analysis immediately following the election night broadcast, reflecting on Kennedy's unexpectedly tight victory margin.
  excerpt: Kennedy's triumph is razor-thin - fewer than 120,000 votes separate him from defeat. This is no mandate, but it is a victory, and the youngest president in American history takes office.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 78
  attribution: CBS Evening News broadcast, November 9, 1960
  publishedAt: 1960-11-09
  originalLanguage: en
- source: James Reston, political analyst and New York Times columnist
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Reston's column published days after the election, assessing Kennedy's narrow margin and what it portended for his presidency.
  excerpt: Kennedy won, but he did not win big. He will assume office without the overwhelming mandate that would make his task easier. The nation is divided, almost evenly.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 72
  attribution: The New York Times column, November 11, 1960
  publishedAt: 1960-11-11
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights leader
  voiceType: expert
  context: King's cautiously optimistic statement issued to African American voters and allies in the days following Kennedy's election victory.
  excerpt: Senator Kennedy has made pledges to the Negro community. We shall watch with keen interest to see if these pledges will be implemented in deeds as well as words.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 82
  attribution: Statement to press, November 1960
  publishedAt: 1960-11-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Harold Macmillan, British Prime Minister
  voiceType: official
  context: Macmillan's diplomatic response to the American election result, signaling British readiness to work with the incoming Kennedy administration.
  excerpt: The election of Senator Kennedy is welcome news. We look forward to the closest cooperation with the new administration in addressing the challenges before the free world.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 68
  attribution: Official statement from 10 Downing Street, November 9, 1960
  publishedAt: 1960-11-09
  originalLanguage: en
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- referendum
- election
canonicalClasses:
- governance
- competition
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: single_domain
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260606005535/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_United_States_presidential_election"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-06
  label: 1960 U.S. Presidential election
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_United_States_presidential_election"
