Who was more familiar to the American public at the time, Kennedy or Nixon?
1 Answer
Nixon.
Explanation:
Most people don't know this, but Richard Nixon was actually vice president for 8 years. He was on the Eisenhower ticket as the VP. Before then he was a senator from California. So Nixon already had name recognition nation wide and favorability on the west coast, by the time that he announced his candidacy for the 1960 presidential election.
Kennedy wasn't as well known as Nixon. A Massachusetts senator, he was known in the state and a little around New England. The Kennedy family is known as an icon for New England Democratic politics, but before then, not so much.
Kennedy chose Texas senator Lyndon B. Johnson as his VP nominee (assuring he'd win Texas and gain affluence in the South in the election) and Nixon chose Henry Lodge, who was a former senator from MA and the current UN ambassador.
Throughout the general election, polls were tight. People liked and trusted Nixon, but Kennedy was a fresh face who was energetic and smart. Then Nixon made a gaffe. During a presidential debate, which Nixon was known as a fierce debater, Nixon refused to have someone apply makeup to him. As a result, Nixon sweated profusely under the hot stage lights. Kennedy was calm, smooth, and never skipped a beat. This was a bad image for Nixon. Another thing that happened was that Nixon had a knee injury, which meant he couldn't campaign.
Here are the final election results.
Nixon carried more states than Kennedy (26-22), but Kennedy got more votes and more electoral votes, thus giving him the win.
You might notice the orange. MS and part of AL were won by a third party candidate. Those were won by the Byrd/Thurmond ticket. Some people complained that they took away possible votes from Nixon and made the theory that third party candidates were "spoilers" of the election. If you want to learn more about this "spoiler" theory, check out Ralph Nader in 2000.
Nixon did eventually win the presidency in the 1968 election. He was reelected in 1972 and resigned due to the Watergate Scandal in 1974.
