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1960 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania

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Field	Value
election_name	1960 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania
country	Pennsylvania
type	presidential
ongoing	no
previous_election	1956 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania
previous_year	1956
next_election	1964 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania
next_year	1964
election_date	November 8, 1960
image_size	x200px
image1	Jfk2 (3x4).jpg
nominee1	John F. Kennedy
party1	Democratic Party (United States)
home_state1	Massachusetts
running_mate1	Lyndon B. Johnson
electoral_vote1	32
popular_vote1	2,556,282
percentage1	51.06%
image2	Richard Nixon official portrait as Vice President (cropped).tiff
nominee2	Richard Nixon
party2	Republican Party (United States)
home_state2	California
running_mate2	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
electoral_vote2	0
popular_vote2	2,439,956
percentage2	48.74%
map_image	Pennsylvania Presidential Election Results 1960.svg
map_size	300px
map_caption	County results
title	President
before_election	Dwight D. Eisenhower
before_party	Republican Party (United States)
after_election	John F. Kennedy
after_party	Democratic

Kennedy Nixon Main article: 1960 United States presidential election

The 1960 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. Voters chose 32 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Pennsylvania had historically been a powerfully Republican state that owing to the industrialization had become Democratic-leaning following the New Deal: 1960 saw Democrats surpass Republicans in registration for the first time since the Civil War. However, the nomination of the second Catholic presidential candidate in John F. Kennedy complicated this issue because most of rural Pennsylvania was powerfully Protestant and extremely hostile to voting for a Catholic, creating the potential for large anti-Democratic swings and trends in the northeastern non-Yankee Pocono Mountains. The Pennsylvania Dutch Country had been similarly hostile to Catholicism throughout the state's history, and, owing to the opposition to Irish control of the Democratic Party, most of the state's urban Catholics would, before the New Deal, back dominant Republican machines in which they had no actual political power.

However, in 1958 Pennsylvania – a state historically very reluctant to elect Catholics to major offices – had elected David L. Lawrence as governor. Nevertheless, his margin was much smaller than polls had previously predicted, with decreases vis-à-vis the 1954 gubernatorial election even in heavily Catholic urban counties. Kennedy had emerged as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination but Pennsylvania Democrats were reluctant to run him for fear of an anti-Catholic reaction in traditionally Democratic rural counties. However, lobbying by Boston Archbishop Richard Cushing meant Governor Lawrence released 64 of the state's 81 delegates for Kennedy in a bid to stop Adlai Stevenson II from gaining a third nomination.

Pennsylvania narrowly voted for Kennedy over the Republican nominee, Vice President Richard Nixon. Kennedy won Pennsylvania by a slim margin of 2.32%, being aided rather than hindered by his Catholic faith owing to the numerical power of his co-religionists in urban Philadelphia, Lackawanna County, and in the industrial areas around Lake Erie. This clearly outnumbered anti-Catholic sentiment in rural areas, which caused him to lose ground vis-à-vis Adlai Stevenson in 16 rural counties. Kennedy became the first Democrat ever to win the White House without York County and the second to win without Columbia County and Berks County. Kennedy also became the first non-incumbent Democrat since James Buchanan in 1856 to win the state.

Primaries

Pennsylvania held its primaries on April 26.

Democratic primary

With 81 delegates to the 1960 Democratic National Convention, Pennsylvania was among the largest states to hold a primary. Pennsylvania's nonbinding Democratic primary did not list candidate's names. However, write-in presidential preference votes were allowed. Delegates were elected directly.

By January 1960, the Kennedy campaign became aware of "non-partisan citizen committees" operating in support of Kennedy's candidacy in the state, without any direct connection to his official campaign. However, the state as a whole was still cold on Kennedy. Its liberals were fervent supporters of Adlai Stevenson II, and therefore hoped to see Stevenson nominated for a third time. Philadelphia's Democratic organization, which had a significant sway upon the state's Democratic establishment, was led by William J. Green Jr., who favored the prospective candidacy of Stuart Symington. As the year progressed, Green and other leaders were persuaded by polls to switch their allegiance to Kennedy. Liberal senator Joseph S. Clark Jr. even made it known that Kennedy ranked at least second (behind Stevenson) in his own preference.

However, despite others moving to embrace Kennedy, Governor David L. Lawrence withheld his own support from Kennedy, even as he picked up momentum in the state. Lawrence still reserved hope that Adlai Stevenson could be successfully nominated at the convention. An older Catholic Democrat, Lawrence was public in his belief that the country was still not ready to elect a Catholic president. Kennedy would tell reporters that inquired with him about Lawrence's frequent comments doubting the viability of a Catholic presidential nominee by stating that he was, "deeply disturbed" by them. Referencing Lawrence's own strong victory in the state's 1958 gubernatorial election, Kennedy commented that, "It still behooves him now to be urging that this same opportunity should be denied to others."

Kennedy handily won the primary.

Results

1960 Pennsylvania Democratic Presidential Primary Results	Party	Candidate	Votes
Democratic	John F. Kennedy	183,073	71.3%
Democratic	Adlai Stevenson II	29,660	11.5%
Republican	Richard Nixon	15,136	5.9%
Democratic	Hubert Humphrey	13,860	5.4%
Democratic	Stuart Symington	6,791	2.6%
Democratic	Lyndon B. Johnson	2,918	1.1%
Republican	Nelson Rockefeller	1,078	0.4%
Democratic	Others	4,297	1.7%
Totals	* *	100.00%

Republican primary

Nixon was the only candidate on the Republican primary ballot and won nearly all of the vote. However, thousands of write-in votes were cast for other individuals.

Results

1960 Pennsylvania Republican Presidential Primary Results	Party	Candidate	Votes
Republican	Richard Nixon	968,538	98.1%
Republican	Nelson Rockefeller (write-in)	12,491	1.3%
Democratic	John F. Kennedy (write-in)	3,886	0.4%
Democratic	Adlai Stevenson II (write-in)	428	0.0%
Republican	Barry Goldwater (write-in)	286	0.0%
Republican	Others (write-in)	1,202	0.1%
Totals		100%

Results

1960 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania	Party	Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Democratic	John F. Kennedy	2,556,282	51.06%	32
Republican	Richard Nixon	2,439,956	48.74%	0
Socialist Labor	Eric Hass	7,185	0.14%	0
Militant Workers	Farrell Dobbs	2,678	0.05%	0
Write-ins	Write-ins	440	0.01%	0
Totals	5,006,541	100.00%	32
Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered)	70%/88%

Results by county

County	John F. Kennedy
Democratic	Richard Nixon
Republican	Various candidates
Other parties	Margin	Total votes cast	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Totals	2,556,282	51.06%	2,439,956	48.74%	10,303	0.20%	116,326	2.32%	5,006,541
	Adams		7,895		37.86%		12,933		62.02%		26		0.12%		-5,038		-24.16%		20,854
	Allegheny		428,455		57.07%		320,970		42.76%		1,293		0.17%		107,485		14.31%		750,718
	Armstrong		14,799		42.59%		19,883		57.23%		63		0.18%		-5,084		-14.64%		34,745
	Beaver		47,182		56.04%		36,796		43.71%		212		0.25%		10,386		12.33%		84,190
	Bedford		6,030		32.41%		12,542		67.42%		32		0.17%		-6,512		-35.01%		18,604
	Berks		50,572		44.87%		61,743		54.78%		391		0.35%		-11,171		-9.91%		112,706
	Blair		19,445		35.48%		35,297		64.40%		67		0.12%		-15,852		-28.92%		54,809
	Bradford		6,920		29.82%		16,252		70.04%		33		0.14%		-9,332		-40.22%		23,205
	Bucks		57,177		45.70%		67,501		53.95%		438		0.35%		-10,324		-8.25%		125,116
	Butler		17,805		38.45%		28,348		61.22%		152		0.33%		-10,543		-22.77%		46,305
	Cambria		52,409		58.48%		37,062		41.35%		151		0.17%		15,347		17.13%		89,622
	Cameron		1,353		38.80%		2,129		61.06%		5		0.14%		-776		-22.26%		3,487
	Carbon		12,391		49.50%		12,586		50.28%		55		0.22%		-195		-0.78%		25,032
	Centre		8,601		31.85%		18,357		67.98%		46		0.17%		-9,756		-36.13%		27,004
	Chester		30,167		36.18%		53,059		63.64%		147		0.18%		-22,892		-27.46%		83,373
	Clarion		5,506		34.74%		10,307		65.04%		34		0.21%		-4,801		-30.30%		15,847
	Clearfield		14,212		42.81%		18,911		56.97%		72		0.22%		-4,699		-14.16%		33,195
	Clinton		5,965		39.34%		9,184		60.58%		12		0.08%		-3,219		-21.24%		15,161
	Columbia		9,322		37.82%		15,310		62.11%		19		0.08%		-5,988		-24.29%		24,651
	Crawford		12,050		38.99%		18,754		60.68%		102		0.33%		-6,704		-21.69%		30,906
	Cumberland		15,968		30.83%		35,636		68.79%		197		0.38%		-19,668		-37.96%		51,801
	Dauphin		33,962		35.33%		61,726		64.22%		427		0.44%		-27,764		-28.89%		96,115
	Delaware		124,629		47.79%		135,672		52.02%		482		0.18%		-11,043		-4.23%		260,783
	Elk		8,398		53.95%		7,155		45.96%		14		0.09%		1,243		7.99%		15,567
	Erie		53,723		50.90%		51,525		48.82%		295		0.28%		2,198		2.08%		105,543
	Fayette		41,560		60.35%		27,120		39.38%		181		0.26%		14,440		20.97%		68,861
	Forest		828		35.51%		1,497		64.19%		7		0.30%		-669		-28.68%		2,332
	Franklin		12,088		35.41%		22,010		64.48%		36		0.11%		-9,922		-29.07%		34,134
	Fulton		1,672		38.18%		2,698		61.61%		9		0.21%		-1,026		-23.43%		4,379
	Greene		9,645		56.21%		7,498		43.70%		16		0.09%		2,147		12.51%		17,159
	Huntingdon		4,710		29.69%		11,116		70.07%		38		0.24%		-6,406		-40.38%		15,864
	Indiana		13,174		41.15%		18,756		58.59%		83		0.26%		-5,582		-17.44%		32,013
	Jefferson		7,811		36.01%		13,845		63.82%		38		0.18%		-6,034		-27.81%		21,694
	Juniata		2,615		35.19%		4,805		64.66%		11		0.15%		-2,190		-29.47%		7,431
	Lackawanna		80,098		61.72%		49,636		38.25%		49		0.04%		30,462		23.47%		129,783
	Lancaster		33,233		29.70%		78,390		70.06%		266		0.24%		-45,157		-40.36%		111,889
	Lawrence		24,309		50.58%		23,646		49.20%		109		0.23%		663		1.38%		48,064
	Lebanon		11,761		31.49%		25,525		68.33%		67		0.18%		-13,764		-36.84%		37,353
	Lehigh		39,640		42.10%		54,278		57.64%		249		0.26%		-14,638		-15.54%		94,167
	Luzerne		102,998		59.10%		70,711		40.58%		562		0.32%		32,287		18.52%		174,271
	Lycoming		18,351		37.85%		30,083		62.05%		48		0.10%		-11,732		-24.20%		48,482
	McKean		7,767		36.07%		13,699		63.62%		66		0.31%		-5,932		-27.55%		21,532
	Mercer		24,243		45.33%		29,109		54.43%		128		0.24%		-4,866		-9.10%		53,480
	Mifflin		4,816		31.68%		10,315		67.85%		72		0.47%		-5,499		-36.17%		15,203
	Monroe		6,312		35.61%		11,299		63.74%		115		0.65%		-4,987		-28.13%		17,726
	Montgomery		92,212		39.18%		142,796		60.68%		318		0.14%		-50,584		-21.50%		235,326
	Montour		2,629		38.71%		4,154		61.17%		8		0.12%		-1,525		-22.46%		6,791
	Northampton		41,552		50.48%		40,683		49.43%		71		0.09%		869		1.05%		82,306
	Northumberland		22,233		44.61%		27,568		55.31%		40		0.08%		-5,335		-10.70%		49,841
	Perry		3,413		29.50%		8,134		70.30%		23		0.20%		-4,721		-40.80%		11,570
	Philadelphia		622,544		68.02%		291,000		31.79%		1,733		0.19%		331,544		36.23%		915,277
	Pike		1,676		29.49%		4,000		70.39%		7		0.12%		-2,324		-40.90%		5,683
	Potter		2,715		34.67%		5,099		65.12%		16		0.20%		-2,384		-30.45%		7,830
	Schuylkill		44,430		50.10%		44,187		49.82%		70		0.08%		243		0.28%		88,687
	Snyder		1,998		19.75%		8,103		80.09%		16		0.16%		-6,105		-60.34%		10,117
	Somerset		14,739		41.71%		20,554		58.17%		42		0.12%		-5,815		-16.46%		35,335
	Sullivan		1,471		44.79%		1,808		55.05%		5		0.15%		-337		-10.26%		3,284
	Susquehanna		5,760		36.07%		10,201		63.88%		9		0.06%		-4,441		-27.81%		15,970
	Tioga		4,076		26.86%		11,082		73.04%		15		0.10%		-7,006		-46.18%		15,173
	Union		1,993		21.04%		7,466		78.82%		13		0.14%		-5,473		-57.78%		9,472
	Venango		8,064		31.90%		17,193		68.01%		23		0.09%		-9,129		-36.11%		25,280
	Warren		6,525		35.86%		11,611		63.81%		59		0.32%		-5,086		-27.95%		18,195
	Washington		53,729		58.28%		38,348		41.59%		120		0.13%		15,381		16.69%		92,197
	Wayne		4,425		32.04%		9,360		67.77%		26		0.19%		-4,935		-35.73%		13,811
	Westmoreland		85,641		55.31%		68,825		44.45%		374		0.24%		16,816		10.86%		154,840
	Wyoming		2,726		30.56%		6,188		69.36%		7		0.08%		-3,462		-38.80%		8,921
	York		39,164		41.02%		55,922		58.57%		393		0.41%		-16,758		-17.55%		95,479

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Alleghany
Beaver
Cambria
Elk
Erie
Lackawanna
Lawrence
Luzerne
Northampton
Schuylkill

References

See Phillips, Kevin P.; ''The Emerging Republican Majority'', p. 135 {{ISBN. 978-0-691-16324-6
Kennedy, John J.; ''Pennsylvania Elections'', p. 191 {{ISBN. 0761864431
Menendez, Albert J.; ''The Religious Factor in the 1960 Presidential Election: An Analysis of the Kennedy Victory Over Anti-Catholic Prejudice'', pp. 193, 196 {{ISBN. 0786484934
Menendez, ''The Religious Factor in the 1960 Presidential Election'', p. 195
Phillips; ''The Emerging Republican Majority'', p. 34
McKenna, William J.; ‘The Influence of Religion in the Pennsylvania Elections of 1958 and 1960’; ''Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies'', vol. 29, no. 4 (October, 1962), pp. 407-419
Carty, Thomas; ''A Catholic in the White House?: Religion, Politics, and John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Campaign'', p. 102 {{ISBN. 1403981302
Donaldson, Gary; ''The First Modern Campaign: Kennedy, Nixon, and the Election of 1960'', p. 75 {{ISBN. 0742548007
(2017). "The road to Camelot: Inside JFK's Five-Year Campaign". Simon & Schuster.
. ["RESULTS OF 1960 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PRIMARIES"](https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy/fast-facts-john-f-kennedy/results-of-1960-presidential-election-primaries). *John F. Kennedy presidential library*.
David Leip. "1960 Presidential General Election Results – Pennsylvania". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.

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