1960 Republican Party presidential primaries

1960 Republican Party presidential primaries
	Results map by state.
Previous Republican nominee; Dwight D. Eisenhower;	Republican nominee ; Richard Nixon;

From March 8 to June 7, 1960, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1960 United States presidential election. Incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1960 Republican National Convention held from July 25 to July 28, 1960, in Chicago, Illinois.^[1]

At this time, primaries were not conclusive in deciding a party's nominee. However, Nixon faced no formidable opposition. He swept the primaries without difficulty and received the nomination unanimously at the July convention. He was briefly opposed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York, who withdrew and endorsed Nixon after struggling in the polls.

Candidates

The following political leaders were candidates for the 1960 Republican presidential nomination:

Nominee

Candidate			Most recent office	Home state	Campaign Withdrawal date	Popular vote	Contests won	Running mate
Richard Nixon			Vice President of the United States (1953–1961)	California	(Campaign) Secured nomination: July 28, 1960	4,975,938 (86.6%)	11	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.

Other major candidates

These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.

Candidate			Most recent office	Home state	Campaign Withdrawal date
Nelson Rockefeller			Governor of New York (1959–1973)	New York	(Campaign) Suspended campaign: December 26, 1959 Re-entered race: June 8, 1960

Favorite sons

The following candidates ran only in their home state's primary or caucus for the purpose of controlling its delegate slate at the convention and did not appear to be considered national candidates by the media.

Former U.S. Senator George H. Bender of Ohio
State Senator James M. Lloyd of South Dakota
Governor Cecil H. Underwood of West Virginia

Declined to run

The following persons were listed in two or more major national polls or were the subject of media speculation surrounding their potential candidacy, but declined to actively seek the nomination.

Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona
Secretary Oveta Culp Hobby of Texas
Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts

Polling

National polling

Poll source	Publication	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.	Richard Nixon	Nelson Rockefeller
Gallup^[2]	July 1957	6%	48%	–
Gallup^[2]	Oct. 1957	7%	48%	–
Gallup^[2]	Jan. 1958	4%	64%	–
Gallup^[2]	Jan. 1959	6%	56%	27%
Gallup^[2]	Mar. 1959	8%	56%	23%
Gallup^[2]	Apr. 1959	10%	58%	17%
Gallup^[2]	May 1959	6%	63%	20%
Gallup^[2]	June 1959	11%	61%	18%
Gallup^[2]	July 1959	5%	65%	19%
Gallup^[2]	Aug. 1959	4%	68%	18%
Gallup^[2]	Oct. 1959	6%	67%	19%
Gallup^[2]	Nov. 1959	4%	66%	19%
Gallup^[2]	Jan. 1960	6%	84%	–
Gallup^[2]	May 1960	2%	75%	13%
Gallup^[2]	July 1960	4%	75%	12%

Statewide contests by winner


		Richard M. Nixon	George H. Bender	Cecil Underwood	James M. Lloyd	Nelson Rockefeller	Unpledged
March 8	New Hampshire	89.28%	-	-	-	3.76%	-
April 5	Wisconsin	100%	-	-	-	-	-
April 12	Illinois	99.94%	-	-	-	-	-
April 19	New Jersey	-	-	-	-	-	100%
April 26	Massachusetts	85.96%	-	-	-	6.58%	-
April 26	Pennsylvania	98.15%	-	-	-	1.27%	-
May 1	Washington, D.C.	-	-	-	-	-	100%
May 3	Indiana	95.40%	-	-	-	-	-
May 3	Ohio	70.48%	29.52%	-	-	-	-
May 10	Nebraska	93.82%	0%	0%	0%	2.56%	0%
May 10	West Virginia	-	-	100%	-	-	-
May 20	Oregon	93.06%	-	-	-	4.10%	-
May 24	Florida	100%	-	-	-	-	-
June 7	California	100%	-	-	-	-	-
June 7	South Dakota	-	-	-	100%	-	-