Editing Lyndon B. Johnson (section)

==Campaigns of 1960==
{{See also|1960 United States presidential election}}
[[File:Lbj1960 copy.gif|thumb|1960 campaign logo]]

In [[1960 United States presidential election|1960]], Johnson's success in the Senate rendered him a potential Democratic presidential candidate. [[James H. Rowe]] repeatedly urged Johnson to launch a campaign in early 1959, but Johnson thought it was better to wait, thinking that Senator [[John F. Kennedy]]'s candidacy would create a division in the ranks that could then be exploited.<ref name=CaroPassage1>{{cite book | author=Robert A. Caro | author-link=Robert Caro | title=[[The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson]] | chapter= Chapter 1 The Prediction| year=2014 | isbn=9780679405078}}</ref> Johnson's strategy was to sit out the [[1960 Democratic Party presidential primaries|primaries]] and to rely on his legislative record as [[Senate Majority Leader]], the support of [[Southern Democrats]], and the favors owed by Democratic senators to him and by Democratic representatives to his close ally Sam Rayburn, the Speaker of the House.<ref name=CaroPassage1 />
In July 1960, Johnson finally entered the campaign. Johnson's late entry, coupled with his reluctance to leave Washington, D.C., allowed rival John F. Kennedy to secure a substantial early lead in securing support from Democratic state party officials. Johnson underestimated Kennedy's endearing charm and intelligence in comparison to his perceived crude and wheeling-dealing "Landslide Lyndon" style.<ref>{{harvp|Dallek|1991|p=560}}</ref> Caro suggests that Johnson's hesitancy to enter the race resulted from his fear of losing.<ref>Caro 2012, Part I (passim).</ref>

Johnson attempted in vain to capitalize on Kennedy's youth, poor health, and failure to take a position regarding [[McCarthyism]].<ref>{{harvp|Dallek|1991|p=570}}</ref> He had formed a "Stop Kennedy" coalition with [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]], [[Stuart Symington]], and [[Hubert Humphrey]], but it proved a failure. Despite Johnson having the support of established Democrats and the party leadership, this did not translate into popular approval. Johnson received 409 votes on the only ballot at the Democratic convention to Kennedy's 806, and so the convention nominated Kennedy. [[Tip O'Neill]] was a representative from Kennedy's home state of [[Massachusetts]] at that time, and he recalled that Johnson approached him at the convention and said, "Tip, I know you have to support Kennedy at the start, but I'd like to have you with me on the second ballot." O'Neill replied, "Senator, there's not going to be any second ballot."<ref>{{cite book |title=Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century: A Biography |first=John A. |last=Farrell |year=2001 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-0-316-26049-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/tiponeilldemoc00farr}}</ref>

===Vice presidential nomination===
{{main|1960 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection}}

After much discussion with party leaders and others, Kennedy offered Johnson the vice presidential nomination at the [[Millennium Biltmore Hotel|Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel]] on July 14, the morning after Kennedy was nominated, and Johnson accepted. From that point to the actual nomination that evening, several facts are in dispute, including whether convention chairman [[LeRoy Collins]]' had the two-thirds majority required to begin the convention's proceedings.<ref>{{harvp|Dallek|1991|pp=578–582}}</ref> Kennedy's choice of Johnson as his running mate was intended to attract Southern votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lyndon B. Johnson |url=https://www.lbjlibrary.org/life-and-legacy/the-man-himself/biography |website=LBJ Presidential Library}}</ref> Kennedy was a liberal [[Boston]]ian and a [[Roman Catholic]]. Johnson was more conservative, a [[Southern United States|Southerner]], and a member of the [[Disciples of Christ]].<ref name=lawrence>{{cite news|last1=Lawrence|first1=WH|title=Johnson is Nominated for Vice President; Kennedy Picks Him to Placate the South|url=https://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/600715convention-dem-ra.html|accessdate=October 6, 2015|work=New York Times|date=July 15, 1960}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=LBJ |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/lbj/#transcript |website=PBS American Experience}}</ref> Nevertheless, labor leaders were unanimous in their opposition to Johnson. [[AFL-CIO]] president [[George Meany]] called Johnson "the arch-foe of labor", and Illinois AFL-CIO president [[Reuben Soderstrom]] asserted Kennedy had "made chumps out of leaders of the American labor movement".<ref>{{harvp|Caro|2012|p=406}}</ref><ref>Soderstrom, Carl; Soderstrom, Robert; Stevens, Chris; Burt, Andrew (2018). [http://www.fortygavels.com/ ''Forty Gavels: The Life of Reuben Soderstrom and the Illinois AFL-CIO''.] '''3'''. Peoria, IL: CWS Publishing. pp. 175–176. {{ISBN|978-0-9982575-3-2}}.</ref>

===Re-election to U.S. Senate===
At the same time as his vice presidential run, Johnson also sought a third term in the U.S. Senate. According to Robert Caro: <blockquote>Johnson won an election for both the vice presidency of the United States, on the Kennedy–Johnson ticket, and for a third term as senator (he had Texas law changed to allow him to run for both offices). When he won the vice presidency, he made arrangements to resign from the Senate, as he was required to do under federal law, as soon as it convened on January 3, 1961.<ref>{{harvp|Caro|2002|p=1035}}</ref></blockquote> Johnson was re-elected senator with 1,306,605 votes (58&nbsp;percent) to Republican [[John Tower]]'s 927,653 (41.1&nbsp;percent). Fellow Democrat [[William A. Blakley]] was appointed to replace Johnson, but lost a [[1961 United States Senate special election in Texas|special election]] in May 1961 to Tower.