1968 Democratic National Convention - Richard J. Daley and The Convention

Richard J. Daley and The Convention

The Democratic Presidential Nominating Convention had been held in Chicago just 12 years earlier. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley had played an integral role in the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960 by being the man who was able to turn out enough voters to win Illinois for Kennedy, the first Catholic U.S. president. In 1968, however, it did not seem that Daley had maintained the clout which would allow him to bring out the voters again to produce a Democratic victory as he had in 1960. On October 7, 1967, at a one thousand dollars a plate fundraiser for President Johnson’s reelection campaign, Daley and Johnson met together for a private meeting. During the meeting, Daley explained to the president that in the 1966 congressional races, there had been a disappointing showing of Democrats, and that if the convention were not held in Illinois, that the president might lose the swing state with its twenty-seven electoral votes. Johnson’s war policies had already created a great division within the party, and with the selection of Chicago for the convention, Johnson hoped that there would not be a need for him to confront any more opposition. The Committee head for selecting the location, New Jersey Democrat David Wilentz, gave the official reason for choosing Chicago as, “It is centrally located geographically which will reduce transportation costs and because it has been the site of national conventions for both Parties in the past and is therefore attuned to holding them.” In the end, however, the conversation between Johnson and Daley had been leaked to the press and published in the Chicago Tribune and several other papers.