Nov. 4, 1964 | LBJ sweeps nation

Soon after the polls closed on the Eastern seaboard, it became clear that Mr. Johnson would celebrate an unprecedented victory in the six New England states.

Thereafter the Johnson bandwagon rolled from Vermont, which had never before in its history given its support to a Democratic Presidential candidate, to California, which gave its 50 electoral votes to Richard Nixon in 1960.

Technically, the election was over at 10:11 p.m. E.S.T., when the President’s native state of Texas handed him its 25 electoral votes to boost him over the 270 needed for victory in the electoral college.

Sen. Goldwater’s only appreciable show of strength came in the traditionally Democratic South where the Senator carried South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia.

Except for Georgia, these states represent the same area which supported Dixiecrat candidate Strom Thurmond in 1948.

But even in his one strong area, the challenger could only manage to come within 500,000 votes of Mr. Johnson, who took 98 of the South’s 145 electoral votes.

With only a few notable exceptions, the President’s landslide brought with it a barrage of Democratic gains, in both state and national returns.

Democratic Congress

Clinching control of both houses for the 89th Congress, the Democrats won three Senate seats previously held by Republicans, while the G.O.P gained one. As of 2 a.m., seven Senate seats were still undecided, the closest race being in California where Democrat Pierre Salinger trailed Republican George Murphy in a close race.

The House of Representatives will have an equally Democratic tinge. Based on 2 a.m. totals, the President had swept 178 representatives into office with him, while the Republicans had only taken 53.

Republican Bright Lights

A few Republicans, however, showed up well in the face of disaster, most notably in Ohio’s Robert Taft Jr., who edged incumbent Democrat Stephen Young in their Senate race.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

GOP Governor George Romney of Michigan held his office by overcoming challenger Neil Staebler, and Pennsylvania Senator Hugh Scott boasted an inconclusive edge over his Democratic opponent, Genevieve Blatt.

But Mr. Johnson’s coattails were long enough to hold a number of Democrats whose cases were considered doubtful by pre-election prognosticators.

White Backlash

One of the most discussed issues of the campaign, the so-called white backlash, apparently had little or no effect on election results, for the President carried Maryland, Wisconsin and Indiana, the three states where Alabama Gov. George Wallace made strong showings in the primaries.

At 2:45 a.m., the President entered Austin’s Municipal Auditorium for his victory statement. The President asked the people of America to “bind up our wounds, heal our history, and make our nation whole.”

— John Kretzmann