Robert F. Kennedy 1968 presidential campaign
The Robert F. Kennedy presidential campaign began on March 16, 1968, when Robert Francis Kennedy, a United States Senator from New York, mounted an unlikely challenge to incumbent Democratic United States President Lyndon B. Johnson. Following an upset in the New Hampshire primary, Johnson announced on March 31 that he would not seek re-election. Kennedy still faced two rival candidates for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination: the leading challenger United States Senator Eugene McCarthy and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey had entered the race after Johnson's withdrawal, but Kennedy and McCarthy remained the main challengers to the policies of the Johnson administration. During the spring of 1968, Kennedy led a leading campaign in presidential primary elections throughout the United States. Kennedy's campaign was especially active in Indiana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, California, and Washington, D.C. After declaring victory in the California primary on June 4, 1968, Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He died on June 6, 1968 at Good Samaritan Hospital. Had Kennedy been elected president, he would have been the first brother of a former U.S. president (John F. Kennedy) to win the presidency himself.
Robert F. Kennedy for President 1968
Robert F. Kennedy
U.S. Senator from New York
(1965–1968)
Announced: March 16, 1968
Assassinated: June 6, 1968
Joseph Gargan, chairman[1]
Relationships with groups and people[edit]
Black communities[edit]
Kennedy had been a supporter of the civil rights movement.[119] During the campaign, there were signs in black neighborhoods that read "Kennedy white but alright / The one before, he opened the door."[120] In the Indiana primary, Kennedy secured 86% of the black vote.[121] His performance was strongest in cities with the largest black populations.[122] Richardson noted that Kennedy was appealing to low-earning black voters. Kennedy had received support from black people by "an overwhelming margin."[56] Support amongst black voters was one of the key factors in Kennedy's victory in Indiana, where he gave a notable speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Indianapolis days before the primary took place.[123] Samuel Lubell argued that the victory was partially inspired by Kennedy's support for corporate attempts to hire blacks; he wrote that Kennedy had largely won "the Negro wards."[124][125] However, Indianapolis Star journalist Will Higgins noted that Kennedy got a boost from the King assassination speech, which, unlike many other American cities, aided Indianapolis in being spared of riots.[123] Higgins also noted that the crowd which Kennedy spoke with that evening was estimated to be only 2,500 people.[123]