1960 Republican National Convention

1960 Republican National Convention
1960 presidential election;
	Nominees ; Nixon and Lodge
Convention
Date(s)	July 25–28, 1960
City	Chicago
Venue	International Amphitheatre
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Richard M. Nixon of California
Vice presidential nominee	Henry C. Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts
	‹ 1956 · 1964 ›

Highlights of 1960 Republican convention

The 1960 Republican National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, from July 25 to July 28, 1960, at the International Amphitheatre. It was the 14th and most recent time overall that Chicago hosted the Republican National Convention, more times than any other city.

The convention nominated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for president and former Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts for vice president.

Presidential nomination

Presidential candidates

Vice President
Richard Nixon
of California
Senator
Barry Goldwater
of Arizona
(Declined Consideration)

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.^[1] At the convention, Nixon promised that he would visit every state during his campaign.^[2]

Presidential Balloting
Candidate	1st
Nixon	1,321
Goldwater	10

Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (July 27, 1960)

1st Presidential Ballot

Vice Presidential nomination

Vice Presidential candidates

UN Ambassador
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
of Massachusetts
Senator
Thruston B. Morton
of Kentucky
Representative
Walter Judd
of Minnesota
Treasury Secretary
Robert B. Anderson
of Texas
Senator
Prescott Bush
of Connecticut
Senate Minority Leader
Everett Dirksen
of Illinois
HEW Secretary
Arthur Flemming
of Ohio
Representative
Gerald Ford
of Michigan
Labor Secretary
James P. Mitchell
of New Jersey
Governor
Nelson Rockefeller
of New York
Senator
Hugh Scott
of Pennsylvania
Interior Secretary
Fred A. Seaton
of Nebraska
Governor
William Stratton
of Illinois
Former State Representative
Philip Willkie
of Indiana

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.^[3] 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.^[3]

Lodge was unpopular with the conservative wing of the party, who regarded him as a Northeastern moderate.^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[4] After the session, Nixon announced his choice publicly, and the convention ratified it.