October Surprise - 1968 Humphrey Vs. Nixon

1968 Humphrey Vs. Nixon

During the Vietnam War, the Republican challenger Richard Nixon anticipated announcement of a last-minute deal to end US involvement in the Vietnam war by President Lyndon Johnson, which might earn incumbent Vice-President Hubert Humphrey enough votes to win election as President of the United States in the 1968 Presidential election. Lyndon Johnson tried to salvage the election for his vice president, Hubert Humphrey, with a false claim of a peace breakthrough in the Vietnam talks a few days before the election. LBJ announced an enhanced bombing halt and more intensive talks in which the Viet Cong and the Saigon government would be “free to participate”. After President Johnson announced a halt of the bombing of North Vietnam on October 30, 1968, Humphrey surged ahead of Nixon in some polls, where days before they had been in a dead heat. Ultimately, however, Nixon garnered 43.4% of the popular vote, Humphrey 42.7%.

In her autobiography, Anna Chennault directly addressed the allegation of an October Surprise when North Vietnam negotiators after speaking with ranking Nixon campaign officials (headed by Kissinger) walked away from the American delegation under President Johnson after being offered a better deal if negotiations began after the election. In a phone conversation between President Johnson and Minority Leader Senator Everett Dirksen, Johnson singled out the Nixon campaign as the primary reason why negotiations had stalled and called him and his party "traitors".