Tuesday, November 8, 1960
1960 presidential election results
John F. Kennedy (Democratic) and running mate Lyndon B. Johnson won with 303 electoral votes and 49.7% of the popular vote.
Tipping-point state: Missouri, D+0.5 (nation D+0.2). It delivered electoral vote number 269 for the winner. What is a tipping-point state?
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John F. Kennedy Won | Lyndon B. Johnson | Democratic | 303 | 34,226,731 | 49.70% | 24 |
| Richard M. Nixon | Henry Cabot Lodge | Republican | 219 | 34,108,157 | 49.50% | 26 |
| Harry F. Byrd | Strom Thurmond | Democratic | 15 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Total popular votes counted | 68,838,219 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
* Harry F. Byrd (D Va.), received 15 electoral votes from unpledged electors: 6 in Alabama; 8 in Mississippi; and 1 in Oklahoma
Results by state
Download CSV| State | John F. Kennedy | Richard M. Nixon | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 56.8% 5 | 41.7% | 15.1 | 5 | 570,225 |
| Alaska | 49.1% | 50.9% 3 | 1.9 | 3 | 60,762 |
| Arizona | 44.4% | 55.5% 4 | 11.2 | 4 | 398,491 |
| Arkansas | 50.2% 8 | 43.1% | 7.1 | 8 | 428,509 |
| California | 49.6% | 50.1% 32 | 0.6 | 32 | 6,506,578 |
| Colorado | 44.9% | 54.6% 6 | 9.7 | 6 | 736,236 |
| Connecticut | 53.7% 8 | 46.3% | 7.5 | 8 | 1,222,883 |
| Delaware | 50.6% 3 | 49.0% | 1.6 | 3 | 196,683 |
| Florida | 48.5% | 51.5% 10 | 3.0 | 10 | 1,544,176 |
| Georgia | 62.5% 12 | 37.4% | 25.1 | 12 | 733,349 |
| Hawaii | 50.0% 3 | 50.0% | 0.1 | 3 | 184,705 |
| Idaho | 46.2% | 53.8% 4 | 7.6 | 4 | 300,450 |
| Illinois | 50.0% 27 | 49.8% | 0.2 | 27 | 4,757,409 |
| Indiana | 44.6% | 55.0% 13 | 10.4 | 13 | 2,135,360 |
| Iowa | 43.2% | 56.7% 10 | 13.5 | 10 | 1,273,810 |
| Kansas | 39.1% | 60.4% 8 | 21.4 | 8 | 928,825 |
| Kentucky | 46.4% | 53.6% 10 | 7.2 | 10 | 1,124,462 |
| Louisiana | 50.4% 10 | 28.6% | 21.8 | 10 | 807,891 |
| Maine | 43.0% | 57.0% 5 | 14.1 | 5 | 421,767 |
| Maryland | 53.6% 9 | 46.4% | 7.2 | 9 | 1,055,349 |
| Massachusetts | 60.2% 16 | 39.6% | 20.7 | 16 | 2,469,480 |
| Michigan | 50.9% 20 | 48.8% | 2.0 | 20 | 3,318,097 |
| Minnesota | 50.6% 11 | 49.2% | 1.4 | 11 | 1,541,887 |
| Mississippi | 36.3% | 24.7% | 11.7 | — | 298,171 |
| Missouri | 50.3% 13 | 49.7% | 0.5 | 13 | 1,934,422 |
| Montana | 48.6% | 51.1% 4 | 2.5 | 4 | 277,579 |
| Nebraska | 37.9% | 62.1% 6 | 24.1 | 6 | 613,095 |
| Nevada | 51.2% 3 | 48.8% | 2.3 | 3 | 107,267 |
| New Hampshire | 46.6% | 53.4% 4 | 6.8 | 4 | 295,761 |
| New Jersey | 50.0% 16 | 49.2% | 0.8 | 16 | 2,773,111 |
| New Mexico | 50.2% 4 | 49.4% | 0.7 | 4 | 311,107 |
| New York | 52.5% 45 | 47.3% | 5.3 | 45 | 7,291,079 |
| North Carolina | 52.1% 14 | 47.9% | 4.2 | 14 | 1,368,556 |
| North Dakota | 44.5% | 55.4% 4 | 10.9 | 4 | 278,431 |
| Ohio | 46.7% | 53.3% 25 | 6.6 | 25 | 4,161,859 |
| Oklahoma | 41.0% | 59.0% 7 | 18.0 | 7 | 903,150 |
| Oregon | 47.3% | 52.6% 6 | 5.2 | 6 | 776,421 |
| Pennsylvania | 51.1% 32 | 48.7% | 2.3 | 32 | 5,006,541 |
| Rhode Island | 63.6% 4 | 36.4% | 27.3 | 4 | 405,535 |
| South Carolina | 51.2% 8 | 48.8% | 2.5 | 8 | 386,688 |
| South Dakota | 41.8% | 58.2% 4 | 16.4 | 4 | 306,487 |
| Tennessee | 45.8% | 52.9% 11 | 7.1 | 11 | 1,051,792 |
| Texas | 50.5% 24 | 48.5% | 2.0 | 24 | 2,311,084 |
| Utah | 45.2% | 54.8% 4 | 9.6 | 4 | 374,709 |
| Vermont | 41.3% | 58.6% 3 | 17.3 | 3 | 167,324 |
| Virginia | 47.0% | 52.4% 12 | 5.5 | 12 | 771,449 |
| Washington | 48.3% | 50.7% 9 | 2.4 | 9 | 1,241,572 |
| West Virginia | 52.7% 8 | 47.3% | 5.5 | 8 | 837,781 |
| Wisconsin | 48.0% | 51.8% 12 | 3.7 | 12 | 1,729,082 |
| Wyoming | 45.0% | 55.0% 3 | 10.0 | 3 | 140,782 |
Shares are of the votes counted for president; bold numbers are electoral votes won. Margin is the winner’s lead over the runner-up in points.
Closest states in 1960
- Hawaii John F. Kennedy by 115 votes (0.06 pts)
- Illinois John F. Kennedy by 8,858 votes (0.19 pts)
- Missouri John F. Kennedy by 9,980 votes (0.52 pts)
- California Richard M. Nixon by 35,623 votes (0.55 pts)
- New Mexico John F. Kennedy by 2,294 votes (0.74 pts)
- New Jersey John F. Kennedy by 22,091 votes (0.80 pts)
- Minnesota John F. Kennedy by 22,018 votes (1.43 pts)
- Delaware John F. Kennedy by 3,217 votes (1.64 pts)
Flipped since 1956
- Connecticut: Republican → Democratic (8 EV)
- Delaware: Republican → Democratic (3 EV)
- Illinois: Republican → Democratic (27 EV)
- Louisiana: Republican → Democratic (10 EV)
- Maryland: Republican → Democratic (9 EV)
- Massachusetts: Republican → Democratic (16 EV)
- Michigan: Republican → Democratic (20 EV)
- Minnesota: Republican → Democratic (11 EV)
- Nevada: Republican → Democratic (3 EV)
- New Jersey: Republican → Democratic (16 EV)
- New Mexico: Republican → Democratic (4 EV)
- New York: Republican → Democratic (45 EV)
- Pennsylvania: Republican → Democratic (32 EV)
- Rhode Island: Republican → Democratic (4 EV)
- Texas: Republican → Democratic (24 EV)
- West Virginia: Republican → Democratic (8 EV)
Source: 1960
Questions and answers
Who won the 1960 presidential election?
John F. Kennedy (Democratic) won the 1960 election with 303 electoral votes, with Lyndon B. Johnson as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1960?
John F. Kennedy 303; Richard M. Nixon 219; Harry F. Byrd 15 (out of 537).
Who won the popular vote in 1960?
John F. Kennedy received the most popular votes: 34,226,731 (49.7%) of 68,838,219 counted.
What was the closest state in 1960?
Hawaii, which John F. Kennedy won by 115 votes (0.06 points).
Which states flipped in 1960?
Compared with 1956, 16 states changed party: Connecticut (to Democratic), Delaware (to Democratic), Illinois (to Democratic), Louisiana (to Democratic), Maryland (to Democratic), Massachusetts (to Democratic), Michigan (to Democratic), Minnesota (to Democratic), Nevada (to Democratic), New Jersey (to Democratic), New Mexico (to Democratic), New York (to Democratic), Pennsylvania (to Democratic), Rhode Island (to Democratic), Texas (to Democratic) and West Virginia (to Democratic).
What was the tipping-point state in 1960?
Missouri. Ranking the states by the winner's margin, it delivered electoral vote number 269; it voted Democratic by 0.5 points, against Democratic by 0.2 points nationally.
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data